The show received a negative reception from most media publications . Film critic Roger Ebert said , " Despite the many worthy nominated films , the Oscarcast was painfully dull , slow , witless , and hosted by the ill-matched James Franco and Anne Hathaway . She might have made a delightful foil for another partner , but Franco had a deer-in-the-headlights manner and read his lines robotically . " He went on to praise the winners of the night , but he ended his review with the words , " Dead . In . The . Water . " Television critic Tim Goodman of '' The Hollywood Reporter '' commented , " In what could go down as one of the worst Oscar telecasts in history , a bad and risky idea — letting two actors host — played out in spectacularly unwatchable fashion on the biggest of all nights for the film world . " He also added , " These Oscars were a bore-fest that seemed to drag on relentlessly but listlessly . " Gail Pennington of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch '' wrote that the ceremony " felt a little like a bad night on '' Saturday Night Live '' — awkward , slow and not particularly entertaining . " Regarding the hosts , she quipped that Hathaway " at least tried " , but she remarked , " Franco seemed half asleep , or possibly stoned . " Some media outlets received the broadcast more positively . '' Entertainment Weekly '' television critic Ken Tucker stated that the show was " Funny , poised , relaxed , and smart , Anne Hathaway and James Franco made for marvelous Oscar hosts . Their combination of respect and informality struck the right tone for the night , a happily surprising production that had its share of fine moments both planned and ad-libbed . " On the overall aspect of the ceremony , they concluded " all in all , it was a fun , briskly paced night . " Mary McNamara from the '' Los Angeles Times '' commented , " The two seemed to be following the directive to " first do no harm , " as if they knew they could n't score as big as Jimmy Fallon did with the Emmy Awards , but were determined to avoid becoming morning show fodder like Ricky Gervais was after this year 's Golden Globes . The result was a show that moved along , with a few draggy bits and high notes , like precisely what it was : a very long and fancy awards show . " Her review further said " Overall , the evening had an oddly business-like feel , a mind-numbing evenness that was exacerbated by the relentless predictability of the winners , and the fact that none of the acting winners were played off no matter how long their " thank-yous " went . " The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 37.9 million people over its length , which was a 9 % decrease from the previous year 's ceremony . An estimated 71.3 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards . The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the two previous ceremonies , with 21.2 % of households watching over a 33 share . In addition , the program scored an 11.8 rating over a 30 share among the 18 – 49 demographic , which was a 12 percent decrease over last year 's demographic numbers
this year 's Golden Globes
68th Golden Globe Awards
83rd Academy Awards