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Here’s a look at the Oscars’ hosts and TV ratings over the years

March 14, 2026

On Sunday, March 15 the 98th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles. We have a look at the Academy and the history of what once was one of the most-watched TV shows.

At the first ceremony in 1929, the winners had been announced three months before. From 1930-1940 the Academy kept the results secret but gave an advance list to newspapers to enable next-day publication. This was discontinued after the Los Angeles Times published the winners in its evening edition in 1940.

The sealed-envelope system began in 1941.

Today’s Academy basics

The nonprofit Academy was founded in May 1927 by 36 people of film prominence, including Louis B. Meyer, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Today, membership in the Academy is by invitation of the 55-person Board of Governors, the governing body of the Academy, and is limited to those who have distinguished themselves in the motion picture industry.

Members representing the many professional areas within the motion picture industry are organized into 19 branches. Here are the branches and how many members are in each (11,104 total).

Actors: 1,307

Animation: 746

Casting directors: 183

Cinematographers: 367

Costume designers: 211

Directors: 634

Documentary: 736

Executives: 812

Film editors: 442

Makeup artists and hairstylists: 267

Marketing and public relations: 732

Music: 438

Producers: 721

Production design: 506

Production and technology: 448

Short films: 229

Sound: 685

Visual effects: 723

Writers: 544

Artist representatives: 271 (not a branch)

24% of the members live outside the U.S.:

43 in Africa

309 in Asia

1,683 in Europe

334 in North America beyond the U.S.

217 in Oceania

113 in South America

Note: International broadcasts began in 1969

Formally the statures are called the ‘Academy Award of Merit,’ and nicknamed ‘Oscar.’

Standing at 13.5 inches tall and weighing a solid 8.5 pounds, these iconic awards are crafted from solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold.

More than half of movie-watching adults (56% in a May 2025 survey) say they waited to watch a movie at home when it was out of theaters using a subscription service, but without paying extra.

Best Picture and box office

“Titanic” won Best Picture in 1997 and made more than $2 billion worldwide at the box office. It’s not often that top-grossing films are also favored by the Academy.

Film, studio and # of nominations

“Bugonia,” Focus, 4 nominations

Domestic: $17.7 million

Worldwide: $38.8 million

“F1,” Apple, 4 nominations

Domestic: $189.6 million

Worldwide: $631.7 million

“Frankenstein,” Netflix, 9 nominations

No box office totals reported by Netflix.

“Hamnet,” 8 nominations

Domestic: $15.3 million

Worldwide: $28.2 million

“Marty Supreme,” A24, 9 nominations

Domestic: $80.6 million

Worldwide: $100.5 million

“One Battle After Another,” Warner Bros., 13 nominations

Domestic: $71.6 million

Worldwide: $206.1 million

“The Secret Agent,” Neon, 4 nominations

Domestic: $2.6 million

Worldwide: Not available

“Sentimental Value,” Neon, 9 nominations

Domestic: $4.3 million

Worldwide: Not available

“Sinners,” Warner Bros. 16 nominations

Domestic: $280 million

Worldwide: $368.3 million

“Train Dreams,” Netflix, 4 nominations

No box office totals reported by Netflix.

Note: “Sinners” 16 nominations is the most of any film.

Sources: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Box Office Mojo, Internet Movie Database, Nielsen Media Research Inc., Variety, TV Guide, The Associated Press

Here’s a look at the Oscars’ hosts and TV ratings over the years Orange County Register

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Here’s a look at the Oscars’ hosts and TV ratings over the years

Today’s Academy basics

Best Picture and box office

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