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Oscars lack blockbuster to lure TV viewers
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
Next month's Academy Awards telecast will try to do what the Oscar nominees have not: attract a big audience.
For the first time in 18 years, the crop of best-picture nominees lacks a big hit. And that could spell trouble for the Oscar show, which is struggling to draw new viewers. Of the best-picture nominees —The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray and Sideways—Ray is the biggest box office success with $73.1 million so far. Leading up to Tuesday's nominations, the combined ticket sales for all five movies was just $204 million, the lowest total since 1988. Compare that to last year, when ticket sales for the nominated films totaled $637 million, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King raked in $338 million alone.
Studios are hoping to cash in on Oscar attention this weekend. Warner Bros. plans to release Baby on 2,000-plus screens, and Sideways will expand by 1,600 screens. Aviator, Neverland and Ray also are going into more theaters. But box office analysts say only one of the films could reach the blockbuster threshold of $100 million. "Aviator might have a chance at breaking $100 million because of all of its nominations," says Brandon Gray, president of BoxOfficeMojo.com. "But that's a long shot. The other movies are middling performers that people don't care about." That could bode poorly for the Feb. 27 Academy Awards telecast. Average Oscar viewership has hovered between 40 million and 50 million over the past decade, although hit movies can provide a ratings bump. In 1998, 55.3 million tuned in to see Titanic win best picture. Last year, Rings' sweep at the awards helped lure 43.5 million viewers, lifting a three-year ratings slump. Gil Cates, longtime producer of the Academy Awards telecast, told reporters Tuesday that the presence of first-time host Chris Rock, along with the nominations of multiple black actors including Jamie Foxx and Don Cheadle, will help lure young viewers. "There will be a higher under-40 group of people who watch because of Chris Rock," a favorite on college campuses, Cates said. Younger viewers are crucial because advertisers pay more to reach them. The Golden Globes drew 16.8 million viewers — down 37% from 2004 — but it aired opposite ABC's hit Desperate Housewives. The Oscars are on ABC and face less competition. But it will take more than that to lure viewers, says Damien Bona, co-author of Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards. "People watch because they have a movie to root for," Bona says. "You're in trouble when no one has seen the movies that have been nominated."
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