The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry.
The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929. The second ceremony, in 1930, was the first one broadcast by radio. The 1953 ceremony was the first one televised. It is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards. Its counterparts—the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music—are modeled after the Academy Awards.
Winners receive the iconic golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit. Major categories include Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and various awards recognizing technical and creative excellence.
Winning an Oscar is considered one of the highest honors for anyone involved in filmmaking, often defining careers and setting benchmarks for cinematic artistry.
✨ Quick Facts about Academy Awards:
- 🏆 Most Wins (Film): Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) — each won 11 Oscars.
- 🏆 Most Awards by an Individual: Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscars won by a single person, with 22 competitive awards and 4 honorary awards.
- 🎭 Most Nominated Actor/Actress: Meryl Streep holds the record for the most acting nominations with 21 nominations and 3 wins.
- 🧒 Youngest Oscar Winner: Tatum O’Neal became the youngest Oscar winner at just 10 years old, winning Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon (1973).
- 🎥 Best Picture Tie: In 1969, Oliver! and Funny Girl tied with 11 nominations each.
- 🥇 Most Awarded Best Picture Sweep: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) achieved a record clean sweep, winning all 11 categories it was nominated for.
- 🌎 International Recognition: In 2020, Parasite (South Korea) became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture.
| Category | Winner(s) |
|---|---|
| Best Picture | Anora (Sean Baker, Samantha Quan, Alex Coco) |
| Best Director | Sean Baker (Anora) |
| Best Actress | Mikey Madison (Anora) |
| Best Actor | Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) |
| Best Original Screenplay | Sean Baker (Anora) |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Peter Straughan (Conclave) |
| Best Cinematography | Lol Crawley (The Brutalist) |
| Best Original Score | Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist) |
| Best Production Design | Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales (Wicked) |
| Best Costume Design | Paul Tazewell (Wicked) |
| Best Makeup and Hairstyling | Pierre Olivier Persin, Marilyne Scarselli, Stéphanie Guillon (The Substance) |
| Best Sound | Richard King, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill (Dune: Part Two) |
| Best Visual Effects | Gerd Nefzer, Rhys Salcombe, Stephen James (Dune: Part Two) |
| Best Animated Feature | Flow (Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, etc.) |
| Best Documentary Feature | No Other Land (Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, etc.) |
| Best International Feature Film | I’m Still Here (Walter Salles) |
| Best Film Editing | Sean Baker (Anora) |
| Best Live Action Short Film | I’m Not a Robot (Victoria Warmerdam, Trent) |
| Best Animated Short Film | In the Shadow of the Cypress (Shirin Sohani, Hossein Molayemi) |
| Best Documentary (Short Subject) | The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Molly O’Brien, Lisa Remington) |
| Best Original Song | El Mal (Jacques Audiard, Camille, Clément Ducol) |