Oscar ratings slip 7% as critics scorn hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco

Many critics dissed the hosting combo of James Franco and Anne Hathaway, but considering that the ceremony lacked a huge crowd-pleasing nominee such as last year's "Avatar," Sunday's 83rd Academy Awards telecast on ABC held up pretty well in the ratings.

The three-hour-plus show scored a 24.6 household rating in the top 56 TV markets, according to early results from the Nielsen Co. That was down 7% compared with last year's broadcast.

But the ceremony, which awarded the best picture prize to "The King's Speech," slipped just 2% among viewers ages 18 to 49. That may have been thanks to Hathaway and Franco, the youngest cohosts in Oscar history and an effort by the academy, as Hathaway alluded to in an early joke, to be "appealing" to a youthful demographic.

But the critics were mostly less than kind. The Hollywood Reporter said the awards show "could go down as one of the worst Oscar telecasts in history." Los Angeles Times critic Mary McNamara said the pair "played it safe" but nevertheless delivered what was expected of them.

More detailed ratings, including a total-viewer count, will be released later Monday.

What did you think of the show?

-- Scott Collins (Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT)

Related:

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The British are coming? Decoding the 'King's Speech' win

Big Picture: The triumph of Hollywood conservative values

Photo: James Franco and Anne Hathaway during Sunday's Oscar telecast. Credit: Michael Yada / European Pressphoto Agency

 

Comments

[Kay Parrish]

Well, the ratings are down because everyone is tired of watching overpaid self-important people sitting around patting each other on the back. I've got a minimum wage job and 3.25/gal gas. But no worries for people that get 20 mil for a movie.

[swf]

The best part of the Awards were the absence of the creepy Kardasians.

[Harriet Beecher Stowe]

First of all, the oscars should be given out a full 15 years after the film was released to ensure that what is honored has stood the test of time.

Since that will never happen, the date should be moved to January, long before the guilds render the Academy pointless. This is the second year in a row that the media worked hand in hand with the guilds to determine who the winners will be. I no longer care. I have no intention of watching again, or going out of my way to watch the nominated films.

I also find the 10 Best Picture nominees rather condescending. It does not make me want to watch more as apparently some pencil neck thinks. What is the point of 10 Best pic noms if only 5 have a shot at Best Director pics. These normally go hand in hand with the perennial snub and inclusion of an unexpected but justifiable citation. So, on average with only 5 Best director noms, at least 4 Best Pic noms are shut outs with the 10 pic system. Therefore, the academy is watering down the goods. If you must expand, do 7 nominations for all categories and call it a day.

And to those slamming Hathaway & Franco: Performers are only as good as they are allowed to be. (But Franco did look pretty damned defeated)

[Cassie]

Although the pair were quite disappointing, you can't help but feel for Hathaway as she seemed to have put her all into it. Franco, on the other hand, was not committed at all to the show. Another factor was how The King's Speech, Social Network and Inception received majority of the Oscars leaving no diversity or surprise each time they were called. They should stick with older hosts more popular names such as Robin Williams, Steve Carell or Bill Murray. Those are the comedians that people will tune in for.

[Susan]

When I first heard that James Franco and Anne Hathaway were going to host the Oscars I groaned because they're not professional comedians, and my instincts turned out to be right. Not that every professional comedian who hosted the show in the past were truly entertaining, but the likelihood of non-comedic hosts carrying the show well were even slimmer.

Although I like James Franco, he didn't seem to want to be there. Anne Hathaway had numerous hair and wardrobe changes because that was the only entertainment value she could provide. Yeah, she can sing well but her song was so unhip. If they're trying to reach a younger audience, why did they start out with Gone With the Wind? And why have Kirk Douglas be a presenter when he's hard to understand? It seems that the only way the producers thought of in trying to reach a younger audience was to hire two young hosts, but they forgot to modernize the rest of the show. Since it was televised by ABC, they could have hired Conan O'Brien to be the host -- he's young AND funny!

I do give them credit for not having any dance numbers, but they should've spent more time playing the nominated film scores with the film clips. I also commend them for the set design -- it was beautiful, elegant, grand, and sans cheese.

[Susan]

When I first heard that James Franco and Anne Hathaway were going to host the Oscars I groaned because they're not professional comedians, and my instincts turned out to be right. Not that every professional comedian who hosted the show in the past were truly entertaining, but the likelihood of non-comedic hosts carrying the show well were even slimmer.

Although I like James Franco, he didn't seem to want to be there. Anne Hathaway had numerous hair and wardrobe changes because that was the only entertainment value she could provide. Yeah, she can sing well but her song was so unhip. If they're trying to reach a younger audience, why did they start out with Gone With the Wind? And why have Kirk Douglas be a presenter when he's hard to understand? It seems that the only way the producers thought of in trying to reach a younger audience was to hire two young hosts, but they forgot to modernize the rest of the show. Since it was televised by ABC, they could have hired Conan O'Brien to be the host -- he's young AND funny!

I do give them credit for not having any dance numbers, but they should've spent more time playing the nominated film scores with the film clips. I also commend them for the set design -- it was beautiful, elegant, grand, and sans cheese.

[Ramya]

Franco and Hathaway were terrible.

[not a fan]

i think it wud be better if james marsden; instead of james franco, to co-host with anne hathaway

[Emma]

Kirk Douglas was pathetic with trying to crack onto Anne and Melissa Leo. He's a wonderful actor and should have kept his dignity, he tried to be hip and cool but it came off as very off coloured. Anne H. came off as one of the biggest idiots I've ever seen, she acted like a dumb 13 year old that only knows how to giggle.

[Logo]

I loved Anne Hathaway last night, she hosted the whole thing by herself, it was like James wasn't even there. What was that about? Other than that Sandra Bullock was the funniest (can she host next year?) along with Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr, Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. Colin Firth was a darling too and Natalie is just too adorable.

[Mark]

James Franco did a very good job of standing next to Anne Hathaway's fashion show, and with just a hint of an ironic "too cool for the room" glassy-eyed grin staring blankly into the audience. Maybe next year the Motion Picture Academy will replace these models with a real comic actor who is actually witty to host the Oscars; someone like Martin Short.

[stuuuu]

Franco must be some rich producers boy toy to have gotten this gig. He has no talent and zero charisma. a complete bore. Hathaway is a hot little number no doubt. Next year go with ricky gervais.

[jt]

what a mess. I mean, Hathaway did the best she could, but whose idea was it to allow these two to host? she's nothing but a young, rom-com actress that still can't out-draw box office champs like Meg Ryan and he's a quirky upstart that seems more interested in his Yale education and being able to carve his own path rather than conform to the usual actor stance (a noble pursuit, but still...).

a host should be able to think on their feet and know when to break it all up with genuine levity, which is why only comedians or people with naturally comic timing are needed. and this pandering to the youth market is insane. as a former manager, I know for a fact that most of the"stars" today are cast in dreadfully forgettable movies based on looks, not on talent.

it's bad enough that there are a zillion other award shows on to honor actor efforts that have all but neutered the thrill of an Oscar, but really, handing out technical awards first? way to lose an audience FAST. the academy and producers have made bad decisions for several years now including the expanding of nominees, trying to push the air date around and making the red carpet a bigger deal than necessary. considering that their stylists did all the work, even watching that has become a yawn.

when a 90-something, screen legend/ stroke survivor steals the show, I'd say you've got some serious back-to-the-drawing-board stuff on your hands.

[Piccolina]

The worst part of the Oscars telecast? Where to start?

How about James Franco, period. What a blunder to let this man MC. It would have been more captivating to see Anne Hathaway (bless her soul) exchange barbs with a bronze statue of Franco, instead. But then again, having a bronze made of James might entice him to take up sculpture, too, because god knows he needs yet another endeavour to make us all believe that he's a Renaissance Man. Hey James, do us all a favor, while you're at Yale, look up what it means to "give it the old college try".

How about Melissa Leo's hideously self-aggrandizing speech, punctuated with the always classy F-bomb, followed by her taking Kirk Douglas's cane and proceeding to walk offstage "like an old man". How dignified. In three agonizing minutes, the world found out who Melissa Leo is.

This was the most embarassing Oscars that I've seen in the last, oh, 32 years or so.

[Mark]

The show was a total snooze-fest. I had high hopes after the intro, which I thought was cute. But it went down hill from there. Franco seemed nervous, tired, scared and uninterested. This is Hollywood's biggest showcase and the Academy flubbed it by choosing two actors to host. Franco and Hathaway had no chemistry and Annie couldn't carry the entire show on her own, not for lack of effort. It was just a boring show. If i'm going to invest 3 plus hours in a telecast, I want to be entertained and excited about it. This show did neither. Stick to folks who can truly host and entertain.

[Marisol Henriquez]

I thought the show was fairly enjoyable. It didn't seem as long as previous telecasts. I loved Anne Hathaway and her many getups but was very disappointed by James Franco. He made zero contributions to the show. Anne carried the whole thing on her shoulders. How about Jackman and Hathaway instead? They have much more chemistry together. I was pleased with the winners, though I admittedly fast-forwarded through the speeches, and was extra happy to see Christian Bale and Colin Firth rightfully recognized. I still don't understand the point of nominating 10 movies in the best picture category. Does anyone even remember which movies were nominated besides King's Speech and the Social Network? Okay, maybe Inception (best movie in my opinion), Black Swan, and The Fighter. There, no need for the other five.

[Jack]

Goody-two-shoes Anne Hathaway is already annoying as it is, but her "woops" throughout the evening when a guest presented and lack of self-awareness was excruciating . Changing her dress every 5 minutes to blowing kisses to Kirk Douglas and being thankful for the host job 'cause she can breathe the same air as Oprah is a solid reason why the person who hired her should be sacked immediately.

So they bring out the Oscar host legend Billy Crystal. I mean why would you bring out a classic host like that when all you're going to do is point out that Hathaway and Franco are absolute crap at the job? Maybe the people that hired them secretly hate them. We should be thanking them then as this will be the last time we have to see her do the job.

[erin]

because of the sequins on that dress (it sticks out) it makes Ann barfaway look even more Hippy than she already is. FAIL!

[Mary]

the hosts killed the show … simple