Following the #OscarsSoWhite controversies of 2015, the Academy of Motion Pictures has been working on improving diversity among its members. This effort seems to be paying off as the 2019 Oscar® lineup is shaping up to be one of the most diverse in Academy history.

At Movio, we were interested in whether the increase in diversity among films being nominated for Best Picture has had any impact on the audiences attending these films. Some key insights include: 

• The audience attending films nominated for Best Picture 2019 represents the youngest and most racially diverse Best Picture audience over the past several years
• Caucasian moviegoers have gone from 72% of the audience for the 2016 nominees to 63% for the 2019 nominees
• African American attendance has risen by 75% to 14% of total audience in 2019, from 8% in 2016
• In 2016, 49% of the audience that attended the nominated films were 50 or older. Over the past three years that percentage has declined to 35% for the 2019 nominees
• Prior to 2019, child tickets accounted for between 1 – 2% of tickets sold among all tickets for Oscar ® nominated titles. This year child tickets are roughly 5% of tickets sold