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Background
Often called “the Oscars” after the eponymous gold statue, the Academy Awards are an annual ceremony recognizing artistic and technical merit in the film industry. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences vote for winners across a range of categories, including acting, cinematography, sound design, and more.
Even among international film awards, such as Britain’s BAFTAs or the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, an Academy Award is often considered the most prestigious.
History
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios, as a way of managing labor disputes and the public image of the film industry. The original 36 members came from five main groups: producers, actors, directors (including Cecil B. DeMille), writers, and technicians. In 1929, they presented the first Academy Awards in 12 categories, such as engineering effects, best actor, and unique and artistic picture.
Until 1941, the names of the winners were made public prior to the ceremony. The 1941 awards were the first to use a sealed envelope for the announcement.
Early awards focused almost exclusively on Hollywood films, but in 1948, a category was added for best foreign language film, now called best international feature film. Other additions over the years include best animated feature, best documentary feature, and beginning in 2026, best casting.
Years in which commercially successful films are nominated for best picture typically have higher viewership numbers. In 2024, 19.5 million people watched the awards, up from a pandemic-era low of 10.4 million (2021) and boosted by the Barbenheimer effect. The 1998 Oscars—aka the year of “Titanic”—were the most-watched in history, with more than 55 million viewers.
How the Awards Work
Individual award categories have their own eligibility criteria, but every film nominated for an Oscar must have been released in the calendar year before the awards are held.
Lists of eligible films and performances are provided to AMPAS members in late December. For this round, voters are asked to weigh in on their area of expertise—actors on actors, etc.—ranking a list of preferred nominees. This means that when Christopher Nolan is on the ballot, it’s because his fellow AMPAS directors and voters selected him as among the best that year.
Once the nominees have been chosen, final voting begins. For this round, all AMPAS voting members can cast ballots in every category, regardless of their branch. Votes are then tabulated by accounting firm PwC, also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, and kept secret until the ceremony. Most categories are awarded by plurality, but best picture is chosen through a ranked-choice system (watch overview).
As of 2022, AMPAS members were majority white and male (81% and 67%, respectively). Critics have noted that most awards ceremonies underrepresent other demographics. In 2024, 16% of winners were women, and 7% were people of color.
The Oscar Statuette
At 13.5 inches tall and 8.5 pounds, the gold-plated knight statuette called the Academy Award of Merit is better known as the Oscar. (Why? Nobody knows for sure, but there’s plenty of speculation.) The design—a knight standing atop a film reel—has gone nearly unchanged since it debuted in 1929.
More than 3,000 Oscars have been awarded overall. Walt Disney has taken home more than any other individual, with 26 wins, while “Ben-Hur,” “Titanic,” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” are the most-awarded films, with 11 Oscars apiece.