RICHARD HARBAUGHAMPASAFP
Best actor winner Adrien Brody broke the record for Sunday's longest-ever Oscar acceptance speech. The lengthy gala suffered a slight ratings dip, reaching 18 million people on US network ABC and streamer Hulu.
Despite promising to be "brief" on multiple occasions during his marathon monologue, "The Brutalist" star Brody clocked a whopping five minutes and 40 seconds on stage, surpassing an eight-decade-old record.
The ceremony, in which the low-budget indie "Anora" won five Oscars, including best picture, lasted nearly four hours.
According to the Guinness World Records website, British star Greer Garson, who won best actress for "Mrs Miniver" in 1943, held the record with a five-minute-and-30-second speech.
The Academy introduced time limits and the practice of "playing off" winners with music following Garson's speech. But Brody ordered the orchestra to stop on Sunday.
"Please, turn the music off. I've done this before," said Brody, who won best actor in 2003 for "The Pianist."
"It's not my first rodeo, but I will be brief. I will not be egregious, I promise," said Brody, before continuing for another 90 seconds.
ABC shared the preliminary 18.1 million US audience figure on Monday, including Hulu. The Oscars went live on streaming for the first time, but technical glitches meant some online viewers missed the final prizes.
This means that the recent three-year streak of improved Oscar ratings has ended.
Last year's comparable early ratings figure was 19.5 million for a gala that saw Christopher Nolan's blockbuster "Oppenheimer" dominate prizes and featured live musical performances from the smash hit "Barbie."
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Oscars ratings sank as low as 10.4 million.
The Academy Awards telecast regularly topped 40 million just a decade ago.
