This week’s Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report presents an interesting juxtaposition. The Oscars telecast, on Sunday, March 2, was far and away the most-watched linear program of the week, with 13.1 million households tuning in. While that celebration of movies drew massive viewership, the nominated movies themselves were not big draws over on streaming, where many are currently available across a variety of services.
During the weekend of the Oscars, Feb. 28 to March 2, the most-viewed Best Picture nominee was “A Complete Unknown,” was seen in 182,000 households, likely aided by its Feb. 25 launch on VOD. Meanwhile, eventual Best Picture winner “Anora” was seen in 82,000 households, placing it fifth among the nine nominees.
Now, many of these films may have been seen in theatres during their initial release, and some can expect a bump in the weeks to come. But the main story on streaming this week is TV series, which hold eight of the 10 spots. Leading the way is “The White Lotus” as the Max/HBO series tops the chart for the second consecutive week.
In second place is “Zero Day” on Netflix. The conspiracy thriller, with a cast led by Robert De Niro, moves up one spot from last week despite lukewarm reviews from critics and audiences alike.
It’s followed by two more chart climbers. “Reacher” sits at No. 3 this week, also moving up one slot from last week. Then comes “1923,” a spinoff in the “Yellowstone” universe, which moves up four spots on the chart this week.
We have a chart debut at number five, with the new Netflix comedy series “Running Point.” Kate Hudson stars as the owner of a famous basketball franchise in a story inspired by the life of Los Angeles Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss.
The sixth is one of two films to make the streaming top 10 this week, “Venom: The Last Dance.” Nonetheless, the third installment in the “Venom” franchise cannot boast any Academy Award nominations.
“Love is Blind” continues to bring in eyeballs for Netflix, moving down one spot to No. 7 this week. It’s followed by “Paradise,” No. 8, as the Hulu thriller series hurtles towards its conclusion. A climb back up the chart could be possible next week when we see viewership for the March 4 series finale.
The latest in Netflix’s long line of true crime docuseries is next: “American Murder: Gabby Petito” falls all the way down to No. 9 after holding the second spot last week.
Finally, we have the second film in our top T0. It’s “Despicable Me 4” and, much like “Venom,” the film lacks any Academy credentials.
Now, over to those much-discussed Oscars. The Academy Awards are so popular that while the main telecast topped the linear chart, the “Red Carpet Show” picked up enough viewers to land No. 4 this week.
Sandwiched in between are two singing series. “American Idol” comes in at No. 2 this week, topping last week’s number one, “The Voice,” which slides down to No. 3.
The rest of the list is full of familiar names, slightly shuffled up from previous weeks. “Chicago Med” is No. 5 this week, while its sibling show, “Chicago Fire” lands in No. 9. CBS places “Tracker” in No. 6 this week and “FBI” in No. 8. “Wheel of Fortune” rounds out the Top 10, landing at No. 7 and No. 10.
The Wrap Report provides an exclusive first look at the most watched movies and TV series from the past week across both streaming and linear television sourced from viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households, balanced to the U.S. Census.
The post Oscars Telecast Dominates Linear, but Nominated Films Are Absent From Streaming Top 10 | Chart appeared first on TheWrap.