Oscar ratings reach record low in the U.S.

American television viewers could barely stifle a yawn for Hollywood's biggest night, with the Academy Awards plunging to a record-low viewership of 26.5 million people in the U.S.

In the U.S., the Nielsen company said that's a 20 per cent drop from the 33 million who watched the 2017 show, which was also hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Oscar viewership is often tied to the box office muscle of the big nominees, and best picture winner The Shape of Wateronly grossed $57.4 million in the United States.

The previous low-water mark for the Oscars came in 2008, when No Country For Old Menwon best picture.

Only four years ago, the Oscars reached nearly 44 million viewers. The biggest Academy Awards audience on record came in 1998, when the blockbuster Titanicwas named best picture.

In Canada, CTV said the award show peaked with 5.6 million viewers when Allison Janney accepted her supporting actress award.

Last year, CTV drew an average of 5.5 million viewers, according to Numeris. For the 2017 show, the company said viewership peaked with 6.7 million viewers as Mahershala Ali accepted his Oscar for best supporting actor, the first award of the night.