TheOscarsusually generates excitement in most moviegoers and Hollywood centerpieces. Seth Rogen, however, doesn’t see why the ceremony gets so much hype.The Pam & Tommystar is perplexed by Hollywood’s overall obsession to have people care about the awards show, indicating that the feelings it once created aren’t fully there anymore.
Rogen’s comments come days after the Academy Awards nominations were revealed, with Netflix’sThe Power of the Dogleading the way with 12 total nominations, including Best Picture. For years theOscarsceremony has tried to add and eliminate elements from its programming to reignite excitement in a dissipating viewership, such as cutbacks to the original song performances to scale down the ceremony’s duration. In addition, there was a brief discussion around the inclusion of a Most Popular Film category, but the idea never came to fruition. The avalanche plaguing the awards show numbers have been an issue for a while, and the changes don’t appear to be attracting new eyes.
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Rogen expressed his feelings during a sit-down withInsiderwhile promoting hisnew Super Bowl commercialwith Paul Rudd. “I don’t get why movie people care so much if other people care what awards we give ourselves,” disclosed Rogen. “To me, maybe people just don’t care. I don’t care who wins the automobile awards. No other industry expects everyone to care about what awards they shower upon themselves. Maybe people just don’t care. Maybe they did for a while and they stopped caring. And why should they?” Rogen has never been nominated for an Academy Award throughout his diverse career, but he has attended the ceremony in the past.
However,the Game Awardshas seen a massive increase in viewership over the years, surpassing the numbers earned by the Academy Awards. In 2020, the Oscars ceremony generated 23.6 million views but saw a decline the following year, with a total viewership of only 9.8 million. On the other hand, the gaming awards show has seen a more upward trend in its numbers, accumulating 83 million livestreams in 2020, which leaped in 2021 with a generated total of 85 million livestreams. The two ceremonies focus on different entertainment segments, but the trend is hard to ignore. This year, it’ll be interesting to see viewership, especially since many feel some deserving films and performances failed to earn nominations.
Jimmy Kimmel recently expressed his disappointment thatSpider-Man: No Way Homewas not nominated in the Best Picture category, disclosing his beliefs that the film was better than the nominated Netflix filmDon’t Look Up. As a result, the beloved hero only earned one Oscar nomination, while the Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep-led film earned four. Theomission ofSpider-Man: No Way Home, the first domestic billion-dollar film since 2019, is probably just one reason the Oscars will face declining ratings. Many believe certain films don’t earn consideration based on their genre, which creates a biased nomination process. In addition, the absences of Lady Gaga for her performance inHouse of Gucciequally raised some eyebrows, but every year excellent performances are unexplainably left off the list for consideration.
As Rogen indicates, people have stopped caring, as noted in the awards show 2021 viewership, which was the lowest in the ceremony’s history. The addition of a host isan element the Oscarshopes will increase its numbers, but the figure to take center stage has yet to be determined. As a result, it’s unclear what steps the awards show will take better enhance the experience for viewers and raise its popularity back to the level where it once stood. While many deserving films and performances failed to earn nominations, some solid ones did, and it will be interesting to see who dominates the night.
TheOscarswill air on ABC on July 04, 2025.
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