By: Morgan Paul and Avery Korman

The 92nd annual Oscars aired live to the entire country on February 9, 2020. The revered event that has been a staple in Hollywood for close to a century had only 23.6 million viewers this year, the smallest audience this awards show has ever seen. While there are many theories as to why viewership is down, some of the more popular ones include poor choices of films to highlight and the ever-growing boycott based on various forms of discrimination set forth by multiple big names in the film industry.

Despite this underlying issue, the show must go on. This year’s Oscars brought together some of the biggest stars in Hollywood and featured several amazing performances. Billie Eilish, Elton John, and Janelle Monáe were a few of the performers who dazzled at the Oscars. Idina Manzel also performed at the 2020 Oscars, singing “Into the Unknown,” the popular track from Disney’s Frozen II. Idina Manzel was not only accompanied by Aurora, but also by nine other “Elsas” from other countries singing lines from “Into the Unknown ” in various languages other than English. It was truly a unique, inspiring performance.  

However, the real reason why most people watch the Oscars is to see who wins the awards. The movie everyone left the Oscars talking about was Parasite. Parasite made history as it won best picture, best director, best foreign language film, and best original screenplay. Parasite is not only the first South Korean film to win best picture at the Academy Awards, but it is also the first non-English film to win. It is also the first film to win best foreign-language film and best picture together. Other big winners from the 2020 Oscars include Renée Zellweger as best actress for her performance as Judy Garland in the movie Judy, Joaquin Phoenix as best actor for his performance as the Joker in the movie Joker, and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman for best original song. 

The 2020 Oscars broke many records and was still successful in many aspects despite the controversy surrounding it. All we can do now is wait and see what will happen next year with performances, awards, and viewership at the 93rd annual Oscars. 

Photo courtesy of NYPost.com