The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is already searching for a host for the 2025 Oscars, but so far, no one has accepted the offer. Despite their efforts, they have been met with rejection from two prominent comedians, Jimmy Kimmel and John Mulaney.
Kimmel, who has hosted the Oscars four times, including the last two years, turned down the offer to host again. Mulaney, whose memorable presentation of Field of Dreams was a highlight of this year’s Oscars, also declined the hosting offer.
This year’s Oscars saw a slight increase in ratings, with 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from last year’s 18.7 million viewers. However, the ratings are still far from the all-time record of 57.2 million viewers in 1998, when Titanic won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.
While the ratings have been steadily increasing each year after a record low of 10.4 million viewers in 2021, they have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is already searching for a host for the 2025 Oscars, but so far, no one has accepted the offer
Mulaney, whose memorable recollection of Field of Dreams was one of this year’s Oscar highlights, also turned down a hosting offer
Kimmel has hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018, before the Academy experimented with running the show with no host in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
A trio of comediennes – Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes – hosted in 2022, before they went back to Kimmel for 2023 and 2024.
Mulaney hosted the 14th Annual Governors Awards in January, showcasing his hosting skills.
After Kimmel’s third time hosting, he revealed in an interview that he didn’t think he’d ever host again.
However, when blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer started getting awards buzz, he started having second thoughts.
“I knew there was a movie that people had seen, and it just makes the job easier. I am sitting in a movie theater watching Barbie and thinking, ‘Well, maybe I’ll do this again, because at least I have a point of reference with everyone,'” he said.
Kimmel has hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018, before the Academy experimented with running the show with no host in 2019, 2020, and 2021
Mulaney hosted the 14th Annual Governors Awards in January
Academy CEO Bill Kramer was asked about Kimmel’s hosting duties and the possibility of Mulaney hosting in a June interview.
“We are lucky to have Jimmy [Kimmel], who helped create one of the best Oscars last year. John Mulaney also did an incredible job,” Kramer said.
“All I will say is, with whomever hosts the show moving forward, we want to continue with this tone of celebration, respect, humor, and a great love of movies. We have some great options,” he said.