The Oscars scored its biggest audience in three years, bolstered by a crop of widely seen movies and a closely contested race.

The 85th Academy Awards rounded up 40.3 million viewers, a 3% rise from last year when the scantily-seen 'The Artist' won best picture, according to ratings data from ABC. In the key 18-to-49-year-old category for advertisers, the ceremony delivered an 11% rise from last year.

Still, the show, hosted by salty comedian Seth MacFarlane, fell short of the 2010 ceremony when box office heavyweight 'Avatar' was in the running and the Academy expanded the best picture category.

The Oscars rank as the second biggest draw in U.S. television after the Super Bowl, attracting big brand advertisers who spent as much as $1.8 million for a 30-second spot this year. The show commands a global audience of some 1 billion.

Morning-after griping about the Hollywood institution has become a popular sport and this year was no different. The Los Angeles Times described the ceremony, which concluded by awarding 'Argo' best picture, as 'long, self-indulgent and dull even by the show's time-honored dull-defining standards.' The Washington Post pronounced it a show 'by and for showfolk.' But the Hollywood Reporter said the host, Mr. MacFarlane, did 'impressively better than one would have wagered.'

Before they started, this year's producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, said they anticipated being 'ripped to shreds.' Unlike other awards shows like the Golden Globes, the Oscar ceremony is required to hand out dozens of trophies on air