Most Americans Didn’t Watch Oscar-Nominated Films

Millions of viewers tuned in to the 87th Academy Awards last night, but for many this was their first look at the top films. Barna’s annual movie-going study revealed that Best Picture nominees were among the least attended of the 30 films surveyed. Only 4% of Americans said they viewed the Best Picture winner, Birdman, and a dismal 2% said they watched the highly celebrated Whiplash. The exception, of course, was American Sniper, which ranked 3rd in box office sales in 2014, grossing just under $320 million.

Here’s a look at who watched each of the nominated films.

About the Research
This research contains data from a study conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults conducted online from February 3 to February 11, 2015. The estimated maximum sampling error for this study is plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

The study relied on a research panel called KnowledgePanel®, created and maintained by Knowledge Networks. It is a probability-based online non-volunteer access panel. Panel members are recruited using a statistically valid sampling method with a published sample frame of residential addresses that covers approximately 97 percent of US households. Sampled non-Internet households, when recruited, are provided a netbook computer and free Internet services so they may participate as online panel members. KnowledgePanel consists of about 50,000 adult members (ages 18 and older) and includes persons living in cell-only households.

© Barna Group, 2015.