By contrast , ceremonies honoring films that have not performed well at the box office tend to show weaker ratings . The 78th Academy Awards which awarded low-budgeted , independent film '' Crash '' ( with a pre-Oscar gross of US$ 53.4 million ) generated an audience of 38.64 million with a household rating of 22.91 % . In 2008 , the 80th Academy Awards telecast was watched by 31.76 million viewers on average with an 18.66 % household rating , the lowest rated and least watched ceremony at the time , in spite of celebrating 80 years of the Academy Awards . The Best Picture winner of that particular ceremony was another independently financed film ( '' No Country for Old Men '' )
80th Academy Awards
80th Academy Awards
Academy Awards