Smaller movies didn't mean smaller viewer numbers for the Oscars.
An estimated 19.7 million viewers watched Sunday night's 97th Academy Awards ceremony, the biggest audience in five years.
That's according to figures released by ABC on Tuesday.
The triumph of "Anora," which won five Oscars including best picture, and other relatively little-seen winners still brought a lift over the 19.5 million viewers from last year, when the major hit "Oppenheimer" dominated.
The Conan O'Brien-hosted telecast did have the benefit of 10 nominations for the big hit "Wicked" and an opening performance from its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.