The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They are regarded as the most famous and prestigious awards in the entertainment industry. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style.
The award was originally sculpted by George Stanley from a design sketch by Cedric Gibbons. AMPAS first presented it in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in what would become known as the 1st Academy Awards. The Academy Awards ceremony was first broadcast by radio in 1930 and was televised for the first time in 1953. It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and is now televised live worldwide. It is also the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards; its equivalents – the Emmy Awards (daytime/primetime) for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music – are modeled after the Academy Awards. They are widely cited as the most famous and prestigious competitive awards in the field of entertainment.
Ceremonies[]
| Edition | Date | Venue | Host(s) | Broadcaster(s) | Best Picture winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | May 16, 1929 | Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Douglas Fairbanks and William C. deMille | N/A | Wings |
| 2nd | April 3, 1930 | Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California | William C. deMille | KNX-AM | The Broadway Melody |
| 3rd | November 5, 1930 | Conrad Nagel | All Quiet on the Western Front | ||
| 4th | November 10, 1931 | Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Lawrence Grant | KHJ-AM | Cimarron |
| 5th | November 18, 1932 | Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Lionel Barrymore and Conrad Nagel | KECA-AM | Grand Hotel |
| 6th | March 16, 1934 | Will Rogers | none | Cavalcade | |
| 7th | February 27, 1935 | Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Irvin S. Cobb | It Happened One Night | |
| 8th | March 5, 1936 | Frank Capra | Mutiny on the Bounty | ||
| 9th | March 4, 1937 | George Jessel | The Great Ziegfeld | ||
| 10th | March 10, 1938 | Bob Burns | The Life of Emile Zola | ||
| 11th | February 23, 1939 | none | KHJ-AM | You Can't Take It With You | |
| 12th | February 29, 1940 | Cocoanut Grove, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Bob Hope | KNX-AM | Gone with the Wind |
| 13th | February 27, 1941 | Biltmore Bowl, Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California | KECA-AM | Rebecca | |
| 14th | February 26, 1942 | KNX-AM | How Green Was My Valley | ||
| 15th | March 4, 1943 | Cocoanut Grove, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Mrs. Miniver | ||
| 16th | March 2, 1944 | Grauman's Chinese Theater, Los Angeles, California | Jack Benny | Casablanca | |
| 17th | March 15, 1945 | Bob Hope and John Cromwell | ABC Radio | Going My Way | |
| 18th | March 7, 1946 | Bob Hope and James Stewart | The Lost Weekend | ||
| 19th | March 13, 1947 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Jack Benny | The Best Years of Our Lives | |
| 20th | March 20, 1948 | Agnes Moorehead and Dick Powell | Gentleman's Agreement | ||
| 21st | March 24, 1949 | The Academy Theater, Los Angeles, California | Robert Montgomery | Hamlet | |
| 22nd | March 23, 1950 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California | Paul Douglas | All the King's Men | |
| 23rd | March 29, 1951 | Fred Astaire | All About Eve | ||
| 24th | March 20, 1952 | Danny Kaye | An American in Paris | ||
| 25th | March 19, 1953 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California NBC International Theatre, New York City, New York |
Bob Hope and Conrad Nagel | NBC Radio NBC |
The Greatest Show on Earth |
| 26th | March 25, 1954 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California NBC Century Theatre, New York City, New York |
Donald O'Connor and Fredric March | From Here to Eternity | |
| 27th | March 30, 1955 | Bob Hope and Thelma Ritter | On the Waterfront | ||
| 28th | March 21, 1956 | Jerry Lewis, Claudette Colbert and Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Marty | ||
| 29th | March 27, 1957 | Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holm | Around the World in 80 Days | ||
| 30th | March 26, 1958 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California | Bob Hope, David Niven, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Rosalind Russell and Donald Duck | The Bridge on the River Kwai | |
| 31st | April 6, 1959 | Bob Hope, David Niven, Tony Randall, Mort Sahl, Laurence Olivier and Jerry Lewis | Gigi | ||
| 32nd | April 4, 1960 | Bob Hope | Ben-Hur | ||
| 33rd | April 17, 1961 | Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California | ABC Radio ABC |
The Apartment | |
| 34th | April 9, 1962 | West Side Story | |||
| 35th | April 8, 1963 | Frank Sinatra | Lawrence of Arabia | ||
| 36th | April 13, 1964 | Jack Lemmon | Tom Jones | ||
| 37th | April 5, 1965 | Bob Hope | My Fair Lady | ||
| 38th | April 18, 1966 | The Sound of Music | |||
| 39th | April 10, 1967 | A Man for All Seasons | |||
| 40th | April 10, 1968 | In the Heat of the Night | |||
| 41st | April 14, 1969 | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | none | ABC | Oliver! |
| 42nd | April 7, 1970 | Midnight Cowboy | |||
| 43rd | April 15, 1971 | NBC | Patton | ||
| 44th | April 10, 1972 | Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jack Lemmon | The French Connection | ||
| 45th | March 27, 1973 | Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston and Rock Hudson | The Godfather | ||
| 46th | April 2, 1974 | John Huston, Burt Reynolds, David Niven and Diana Ross | The Sting | ||
| 47th | April 8, 1975 | Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Hope, Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra | The Godfather Part II | ||
| 48th | March 29, 1976 | Goldie Hawn, Gene Kelly, Walter Matthau, George Segal and Robert Shaw | ABC | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | |
| 49th | March 28, 1977 | Warren Beatty, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda and Richard Pryor | Rocky | ||
| 50th | April 3, 1978 | Bob Hope | Annie Hall | ||
| 51st | April 9, 1979 | Johnny Carson | The Deer Hunter | ||
| 52nd | April 14, 1980 | Kramer vs. Kramer | |||
| 53rd | March 31, 1981 | Ordinary People | |||
| 54th | March 29, 1982 | Chariots of Fire | |||
| 55th | April 11, 1983 | Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau | Gandhi | ||
| 56th | April 9, 1984 | Johnny Carson | Terms of Endearment | ||
| 57th | March 25, 1985 | Jack Lemmon | Amadeus | ||
| 58th | March 24, 1986 | Alan Alda, Jane Fonda and Minnie Mouse | Out of Africa | ||
| 59th | March 30, 1987 | Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan | Platoon | ||
| 60th | April 11, 1988 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Chevy Chase | The Last Emperor | |
| 61st | March 29, 1989 | none | Rain Man | ||
| 62nd | March 26, 1990 | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | Billy Crystal | Driving Miss Daisy | |
| 63rd | March 25, 1991 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Dances with Wolves | ||
| 64th | March 30, 1992 | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | The Silence of the Lambs | ||
| 65th | March 29, 1993 | Unforgiven | |||
| 66th | March 21, 1994 | Whoopi Goldberg | Schindler's List | ||
| 67th | March 27, 1995 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | David Letterman | Forrest Gump | |
| 68th | March 25, 1996 | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | Whoopi Goldberg | Braveheart | |
| 69th | March 24, 1997 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Billy Crystal | The English Patient | |
| 70th | March 23, 1998 | Titanic | |||
| 71st | March 21, 1999 | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | Whoopi Goldberg | Shakespeare in Love | |
| 72nd | March 26, 2000 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Billy Crystal | American Beauty | |
| 73rd | March 25, 2001 | Steve Martin | Gladiator | ||
| 74th | March 24, 2002 | Kodak Theatre/Hollywood and Highland Center/Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, California | Whoopi Goldberg | A Beautiful Mind | |
| 75th | March 23, 2003 | Steve Martin | Chicago | ||
| 76th | February 29, 2004 | Billy Crystal | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | ||
| 77th | February 27, 2005 | Chris Rock | Million Dollar Baby | ||
| 78th | March 5, 2006 | Jon Stewart | Crash | ||
| 79th | February 25, 2007 | Ellen DeGeneres | The Departed | ||
| 80th | February 24, 2008 | Jon Stewart | No Country for Old Men | ||
| 81st | February 22, 2009 | Hugh Jackman | Slumdog Millionaire | ||
| 82nd | March 7, 2010 | Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin | The Hurt Locker | ||
| 83rd | February 27, 2011 | James Franco and Anne Hathaway | The King's Speech | ||
| 84th | February 26, 2012 | Billy Crystal | The Artist | ||
| 85th | February 24, 2013 | Seth MacFarlane | Argo | ||
| 86th | March 2, 2014 | Ellen DeGeneres | 12 Years a Slave | ||
| 87th | February 22, 2015 | Neil Patrick Harris | Birdman | ||
| 88th | February 28, 2016 | Chris Rock | Spotlight | ||
| 89th | February 26, 2017 | Jimmy Kimmel | Moonlight | ||
| 90th | March 4, 2018 | The Shape of Water | |||
| 91st | February 24, 2019 | none | Green Book | ||
| 92nd | February 9, 2020 | Parasite | |||
| 93rd | April 25, 2021 | Union Station, Los Angeles, California | Nomadland | ||
| 94th | March 27, 2022 | Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, California | Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes | CODA | |
| 95th | March 12, 2023 | Jimmy Kimmel | Everything Everywhere All at Once | ||
| 96th | March 10, 2024 | Oppenheimer | |||
| 97th | March 2, 2025 | Conan O'Brien | TBA |
Awards[]
| Award category | Years active | Inaugural recipient | Current recipient (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Picture | 1929-present | Wings | Oppenheimer |
| Best Director | 1929-present | Frank Borzage - 7th Heaven (Dramatic Picture) | Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer |
| Lewis Milestone - Two Arabian Nights (Comedy Picture) | |||
| Best Actor | 1929-present | Emil Jannings - The Last Command as General Dolgorucki (Grand Duke Sergius Alexander) and The Way of All Flesh as August Schilling | Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer as J. Robert Oppenheimer |
| Best Actress | 1929-present | Janet Gaynor - 7th Heaven as Diane, Street Angel as Angela and Sunrise as The Wife | Emma Stone - Poor Things as Bella Baxter |
|
Best Supporting Actor |
1937-present | Walter Brennan - Come and Get It as Swan Bostrom | Robert Downey Jr. - Oppenheimer as Lewis Strauss |
| Best Supporting Actress | 1937-present | Gale Sondergaard - Anthony Adverse as Faith Paleologus | Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers as Mary Lamb |
| Best Original Screenplay | 1940-present | Benjamin Glazer and John S. Toldy - Arise, My Love | Justine Triet and Arthur Harari - Anatomy of a Fall |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | 1929-present | Benjamin Glazer - 7th Heaven | Cord Jefferson - American Fiction (based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett) |
| Best Animated Feature | 2001-present | Shrek | The Boy and the Heron |
| Best International Feature Film | 1947-present | Shoeshine (Italy) | The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) |
| Best Documentary Feature Film | 1943-present | Desert Victory | 20 Days in Mariupol |
| Best Documentary Short Subject | 1941-present | Churchill's Island | The Last Repair Shop |
| Best Live Action Short Film | 1931-present | The Music Box (Comedy) | The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar |
| Wrestling Swordfish (Novelty) | |||
| Best Animated Short Film | 1930-present | Flowers and Trees | War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko |
| Best Original Score | 1935-present | Louis Silvers (for Columbia Studio Music Department) - One Night of Love | Ludwig Göransson - Oppenheimer |
| Best Original Song | 1934-present | "The Continental" by Ginger Rogers, Erik Rhodes and Lillian Miles (from The Gay Divorcee) | "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish (from Barbie) |
| Best Sound | 1930-present | Douglas Shearer (for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department) - The Big House | Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn - The Zone of Interest |
| Best Production Design | 1927-present | William Cameron Menzies (art director) - The Dove and Tempest | James Price, Shona Heath (production designer) and Zsuzsa Mihalek (set decorator) - Poor Things |
| Best Cinematography | 1929-present | Charles Rosher and Karl Struss - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans | Hoyte van Hoytema - Oppenheimer |
| Best Makeup and Hairstyling | 1981-present | Rick Baker - An American Werewolf in London | Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston - Poor Things |
| Best Costume Design | 1949-present | Roger K. Furse - Hamlet (Black-and-white) | Holly Waddington - Poor Things |
| Dorothy Jeakins and Karinska - Joan of Arc (Color) | |||
| Best Film Editing | 1935-present | Conrad A. Nervig - Eskimo | Jennifer Lame - Oppenheimer |
| Best Visual Effects | 1929-present | Roy Pomeroy - Wings | Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima - Godzilla Minus One |