Oscars pick up award for least-watched show

FILMS about psychopaths, greedy oilmen and corrupt lawyers failed to click with moviegoers, and they proved a turnoff to US television viewers as this year’s Oscars show hit record low ratings.

The 80th anniversary edition of the Academy Awards, dominated by European stars and films that played poorly at the box office, averaged 32 million viewers, entering the record books as the least-watched Oscar telecast ever.

The national viewer tally reported by Nielsen Media Research for ABC’s live, three-hour-plus telecast on Sunday was down about 1m viewers from the previous record low, set in 2003 when the Oscars were on just after the US-led invasion of Iraq.