Money / The Hurt Locker Oscar Ratings Hit 5-Year High 41.3M viewers tune in, highest since 2005 By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Mar 8, 2010 4:15 PM CST Copied Kathryn Bigelow with the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture at the Governors Ball following the the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7, 2010, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) Last night's Oscar telecast attracted more viewers than the awards extravaganza has drawn in the last 5 years. Some 41.3 million viewers tuned in to see The Hurt Locker triumph over Avatar, compared to 36.3 for the 2009 show. The all-time high for Oscar viewership also involved James Cameron—55.2 million saw him declare himself "king of the world" as he accepted the Best Picture award for Titanic in 1998, Broadcasting & Cable reports. (More The Hurt Locker stories.) Report an error