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About 18 Million People Watched Oscars Honor ‘Anora’ 

Host Conan O'Brien holds an Oscar statue during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Host Conan O'Brien holds an Oscar statue during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)
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About 18 Million People Watched Oscars Honor ‘Anora’ 

Host Conan O'Brien holds an Oscar statue during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Host Conan O'Brien holds an Oscar statue during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. (Reuters)

This year's Oscars telecast that honored independent film "Anora" brought in an estimated 18.1 million US viewers on television and streaming, according to data released by broadcaster ABC on Monday.

The audience for the highest honors in Hollywood fell 7% from the 2024 ceremony, when 19.5 million people tuned in to see blockbuster biopic "Oppenheimer" take best picture.

Among adults under 50, viewership rose 3% from last year, ABC said.

"Anora," an unconventional fairy tale about an exotic dancer and the son of a Russian oligarch, won this year's best picture prize and four other honors at the ceremony. The movie has brought in $40 million at global box offices, compared with nearly $976 million for "Oppenheimer."

Comedian Conan O'Brien hosted the Oscars for the first time and was generally applauded by TV critics. The show ran nearly four hours and mostly avoided politics.

O'Brien "absolutely rocked his debut as a host, walking the perfect line between acid and affection," wrote Owen Gleiberman of Variety. "This was Conan at his acerbic best, giving Jimmy Kimmel a run for his money."

The Academy Awards aired live on Walt Disney's ABC and streamed on Hulu. Some viewers reported glitches on Hulu and said the stream ended just before best actress and best picture were announced.

Viewership of Hollywood awards ceremonies has dropped in recent years as audiences ditched traditional television for streaming and social media.

Sunday's awards generated 104.2 million social interactions, more than music's Grammy Awards and the National Football League's Super Bowl, ABC said. The highest-rated Academy Awards telecast aired in 1998, when megahit "Titanic" swept the honors. More than 57 million people tuned in that year. In 2021, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar ratings hit their low point with 10.5 million viewers.

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Entertainment

Dudamel Says Chalamet Shows Ignorance in Claiming ‘No One Cares’ About Opera and Ballet

New York Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel appears at a special screening of "El Canto de las Manos" in New York on Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
New York Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel appears at a special screening of "El Canto de las Manos" in New York on Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
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Dudamel Says Chalamet Shows Ignorance in Claiming ‘No One Cares’ About Opera and Ballet

New York Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel appears at a special screening of "El Canto de las Manos" in New York on Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
New York Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel appears at a special screening of "El Canto de las Manos" in New York on Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel said Timothee Chalamet showed ignorance when the Oscar-nominated actor claimed “no one cares” about opera and ballet.

“Sadly sometimes it’s a little bit of ignorance but, look, that is why we have to open more spaces for people to connect with classical music,” Dudamel said Tuesday night at an event to announce the programming of his first season as the New York Philharmonic's music director.

Dudamel spoke from the stage of Lincoln Center's David Geffen to an audience that included donors, musicians, the orchestra board, community leaders and composers in addition to journalists. Dudamel's remarks sparked loud applause.

During a conversation with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey at a CNN and Variety town hall at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication in February, the 30-year-old Chalamet was asked by McConaughey about whether shortened audience attention spans have impacted studio decisions about the content of theatrical films, forcing more early action.

“I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, to go on a talk show and go: Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive. We got to keep this genre alive,’” Chalamet said. “And another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like 'Barbie,' like 'Oppenheimer,' they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it. And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it's like where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive,’ even though no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”

Chalamet received his third Academy Award nomination, for “Marty Supreme.” His comments sparked an online backlash from arts organizations.

“Everybody has the right to say, but you have to do things with knowledge, with facts. I think we have to say to the young generation, the opposite,” Dudamel said. “It’s very funny. Cinema is a result of opera, of music, of all of these kind of things.”

Matías Tarnopolsky, the New York Philharmonic CEO, was seated next to Dudamel and issued a public offer to Chalamet.

“He can sit with me anytime,” Tarnopolsky said. “I’ll give him a free ticket and he’s invited to come and hear the New York Philharmonic.”

Dudamel, 45, is among the world's most famous conductors. He is leaving the Los Angeles Philharmonic this summer after 17 seasons as music director to become the music director of the New York orchestra.

At one point, Dudamel feigned not knowing Chalamet, saying: “Which is the name of that?” before cutting off as the audience laughed.

“That way of thinking has to end,” he said. “Music is reborn all the time and it brings us the values of empathy through the beauty of what it is. So this is the reality of music. This is the real dimension of music and we need that more for our young people.”

Entertainment

Alleged Rihanna Mansion Shooter Charged with Attempted Murder

The exterior of Rihanna's residence is shown Monday, March 9, 2026, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The exterior of Rihanna's residence is shown Monday, March 9, 2026, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Alleged Rihanna Mansion Shooter Charged with Attempted Murder

The exterior of Rihanna's residence is shown Monday, March 9, 2026, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The exterior of Rihanna's residence is shown Monday, March 9, 2026, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A woman alleged to have shot up the luxury Los Angeles home of global megastar Rihanna was charged Tuesday with attempted murder.

Prosecutors in the city said Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, had opened fire at the sprawling estate on Sunday.

Aerial footage after the attack showed bullet holes in a gate at the property, which Rihanna shares with rapper A$AP Rocky and the couple's three children.

Ortiz, who is from Florida, has previously been involuntarily committed and lost custody of her then 10-year-old child, entertainment news outlet TMZ reported.

A Facebook page that appears to belong to her includes a number of videos and posts that refer to celebrities including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Cardi B, according to AFP.

One post tags Rihanna, whom she challenged "to say something to me directly instead of sneaking around like you talking to me where I'm not at."

In another video, she claims Rihanna wants to kill her.

Ortiz was charged with one count of attempted murder, 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and one count of shooting at an inhabited vehicle.

She was ordered to be held on $1.875 million bail and instructed to have no contact with the Barbados-born singer.

Ortiz is next expected to appear in court on March 25.

Police officers previously said an AR-15-style assault rifle was used in the incident, which happened in the middle of day on Sunday while Rihanna was reportedly in the home.

Entertainment

Australian Katie Perry Wins Trademark Spat Against Singer Katy Perry

Katy Perry. (AFP)
Katy Perry. (AFP)
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Australian Katie Perry Wins Trademark Spat Against Singer Katy Perry

Katy Perry. (AFP)
Katy Perry. (AFP)

Australian designer Katie Perry has won the right to sell clothes under her name, claiming victory Wednesday in a years-long trademark spat with US pop megastar Katy Perry.

Designer Katie Perry accused her far more famous namesake of trademark infringement, arguing she had claimed the "Katie Perry" brand before the singer became a global sensation.

But songstress Katy Perry said her music had already gone "viral" as the designer started selling clothes around 2008 and sought to have the Australian trademark scrubbed out.

An Australian court agreed with the singer, ruling in 2024 the clothing trademark should be cancelled.

But Australia's High Court has now ruled in favor of the local designer on appeal, finding there was unlikely to be any risk of "confusion" between the two.

A representative for the singer told AFP that despite the legal action she "has never sought to close down" the Australian business.