Time to Axe the Oscars? Calls Intensify!

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It's widely considered the biggest night in film. 

Yet there are growing calls to axe the after viewers were left bored by Sunday night's 'predictable' ceremony. 

In a particularly bland night, Oscars were handed out to the likes of , Amy Madiganand - the latter of which didn't even attend the ceremony.  

Taking to social media during the show, viewers questioned the show's future amid claims of unfair voting tactics and dwindling figures.

The ceremony has had less than 20 million viewers since 2020 after decades of easily reaching the milestone. 

In a bid to claw back viewers, the Oscars will be moving to in 2029 - marking the end of ABC's 50-year run as its broadcaster.

The new partnership 'will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible.'

Yet they'll need a change in tactics if they want viewers to tune into the livestream, with comments shared this year reading: 'Just cancel the Oscars at this point. Who cares';

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'Please cancel the oscars #Oscars'; 'Is it only me or #oscars this year is extremely boring'; 'Such a boring beginning. Yikes #oscars';

'How tf yal watch the Oscars??? put on for two minutes & sauuur boring omg just a bunch of old men I’ve never heard of & movies I never watched'; 'THIS SHOW IS SO BORING. #Oscars';

'#Oscars And thats done. This time around, I felt the ceremony was a bit... Boring. Like, very boring. Then again I didnt pay attention to the whole thing. Lol'; 'tbh it was kinda boring #Oscars';

'Very! The jokes are forced, dry, and fall very flat. #Oscars'; 'The Oscars are sooooo predictable it’s just what wins at BAFTA or sag'; 'they're calling it the most predictable oscars ever'.

While labelled predictable, there was one move that some may not have been expecting. 

At the beginning of the awards season race, Timothee Chalamet had originally been widely tipped to win his first Oscar for his role in Marty Supreme, yet he ended up losing to Michael B Jordan, 39 - who became a last minute frontrunner for the award. 

It's been suggested that Timothee's controversial comments about 'no one caring' about the ballet and opera .

However, before his clumsy comments, industry insiders were already suggesting that Timothee, 30, wouldn't be able to secure the win because of his age.  

There is a decline in young men winning a coveted award, despite actresses of all ages being recognised.

Across the last 97 ceremonies, the average age of a Best Actor winner is said to be around 44, while the Best Actress winner is younger by eight. 

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It means even the most admired male stars are routinely overlooked by the Academy until later in life.

Leonardo DiCaprio only managed to win his first Oscar when he was 41-years-old despite .

Sean Penn He had previously been turned down for Dead Man Walking, aged 36, Sweet and Lowdown Nominated, aged 40, and I Am Sam aged 42. 

He has gone on to win the three Oscars he's been nominated for since, including at Sunday's ceremony when he scooped Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another. 

However, he failed to attend the ceremony, with Kieran Culkin, who was announcing the winner, cracking a joke about Sean's absence.

'Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening or didn't want to, so I'll be accepting the award on his behalf,' the Succession star joked. 

His absence infuriated X users, who suggested that future shows cease awarding trophies to winners who are not present.

However, it was later revealed that the actor and activist had skipped the ceremony to visit Ukraine. He has visited multiple times, including to film a documentary about President Volodymyr Zelensky when Russia invaded the country.

Sean has previously missed out on past Oscars where he had been a nominee and also did not . 

Seasoned award's pro Michael Schulman believes the bias against younger actors is 'grounded in stereotypes, popular iconography and the gender politics embedded in our culture'.

He told The Telegraph: 'We tend to think of successful men as those who have worked their way up the ladder - who have achieved their highest levels of power in their 40s or 50s when they, say, become a CEO. 

'And as in life, so it is in Hollywood. For male actors, an Oscar can stand as recognition for their entire ascent, or just time served.' 

In contrast, women are more likely to win Best Actress if they're under the age of 40. 

Notably, there was widespread shock last year when Demi Moore, 63, missed out on the win for her career defining . 

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Schulman described the phenomenon as the 'Cinderella myth' noting: 'There’s an assumption that men will have longer, more sustained careers, so there’s no rush to recognise them for a breakthrough in their 20s. 

'But in Hollywood, like elsewhere in life, women aren’t allowed that same trajectory.'

The Oscars have increasingly come under fire in recent years for failing to , despite ratings for the ceremony continuing to dwindle.

It's thought that the Academy's 'representation and inclusion standards', first introduced at last year's ceremony, have had an impact as well.

The academy now requires that for films to be considered for Best Picture, they have to, which focus on underrepresented groups, including racial and ethnic groups, women, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community.

This has led to claims that some voters have refused to vote, with one expert sharing last year it could spell 'the end' of the awards show.

The Academy passed its Aperture 2025 initiative in 2020, five years after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in order to promote more diversity in the industry, but the move has been under fire ever since.

The initiative was spearheaded by black filmmaker Ava DuVernay and developed by the academy to set criteria - which included diversifying nearly every aspect of a movie, from cast and crew to production, marketing, financing, distribution and even internships by 30 percent.

Last year's ceremony was also , with jokes delivered with far less conviction and fanfare than past spectacles and drawing little response from critics or fans.