OSCARS 2023
What was the longest Oscars ceremony ever? How long did it last?
Award shows can often drag on too long for audiences in the room and at home... which Oscar ceremony was the longest?
The 74th Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, takes the cake as the longest Oscar ceremony in the show’s history.
Taking place on 24 March 2002, the show lasted 4 hours and 23 minutes, all of which were broadcasted live on ABC.
The show was watched by 41.82 million viewers, three percent lower than the year prior. Overall the 74th annual show received lower ratings than in the past, but it was not necessarily the length of the show that the audience took issue with.
Read more from AS USA:
What is the average length of the Oscar ceremony?
Most Oscar ceremonies last no longer than three and a half hours, meaning that the 2002 show was just over forty minutes longer than the average.
Interestingly, the show’s content and length have extended over the years. The first ceremony held in 1929 only lasted fifteen minutes.
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How long has the ceremony been in recent years?
In 2022, the ceremony lasted three hours and forty minutes, twenty-one minutes more than the year prior.
The last time Jimmy Kimmel, who will host this year’s show, led the program in 2018, the ceremony lasted three hours in fifty-three minutes. Kimmel also acted as host the year prior, and the show was only slightly shorter at three hours and forty-nine minutes.