Jimmy Kimmel snuck in an early dig at Babylon during his Oscars opening monologue.
The biggest night in film took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (12 March).
Kimmel returned as host after having previously hosted the ceremony in 2017 and 2018.
The talk show host arrived onto the stage by parachute, after which he kicked off the proceedings with an opening monologue that was full of jokes.
Among those, however, was a poorly received dig at the star-studded film Babylon, starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Diego Calva, and Olivia Wilde.
Kimmel referenced the ongoing debate over whether film or TV shows are better, stating that “at least” the latter can’t lose $100m.
He said: “There are some things that movies can do that TV just can’t. For example, a TV show can’t lose $100m. Is the gang from Babylon here? They know.”
Babylon was directed by Oscar-winning La La Land filmmaker Damien Chazelle. The film has received three Oscar nominations, including Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Music (Original Score).
Despite the movie having a budget of $80m (£66.2m), Babylon bombed at the US domestic box office when it was released with a $5.3m (£4.3m) four-day start.
Viewers criticised Kimmel for the joke, with many sharing their thoughts on Twitter.
“Disrespecting Babylon (2022) is not as funny as they think,” said one person.
Another added: “Jimmy Kimmel keep Babylon out of your mouth.”
“That Babylon joke was hurt… ouch lmao,” said someone else.
A fourth person wrote: “Babylon slander in my presence, how dare you?”
“Jimmy Kimmel making an awful joke about Babylon at the Oscars, are you okay man?”
You can follow along with updates from the Oscars ceremony at The Independent’s live blog here.
