The Academy Awards®, affectionately known as the Oscars®, are the oldest, best known, most influential, most prestigious, and famous of film awards. The awards (and gold-plated statuettes) have been presented annually (the first awards ceremony was held in May of 1929) by a non-profit professional organization - the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), based in Beverly Hills, California, and founded in 1927. Pricewaterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) has managed the Academy Awards balloting process since 1935 - all but the first six years of the Oscars. Ever since 1941, when their now-famous confidential envelope system was introduced, marking the first year of complete secrecy, "the Envelope Please" has become a familiar phrase that evokes the thought of the Academy Awards® ceremony.

Except for the early years of the institution, the awards honored films made during the previous 12-month calendar year. [At first, to be eligible for an award, a film had to open in Los Angeles during the twelve months ending on July 31 of the preceding year. To allow each ceremony to cover films for a single calendar year - matching the eligibility period, the 1932/33 awards were based on a 17-month qualifying period. Ever since then, beginning with the 1934 awards ceremony, all awards have been based on openings in the previous calendar year. Films also had to be over 40 minutes long to qualify as feature-length.] Until 1954, the Oscars were presented mostly on a Thursday evening. From 1955 to 1958, they were presented on a Wednesday. From 1959 until 1998 the Oscars were, with a few exceptions, presented on a Monday night. Only since 1999 have the Awards ceremony taken place on a Sunday (traditionally in March). In 2004, the ceremony was moved even earlier (usually in February) to improve ratings and to be more relevant to the awards 'season'.

Comments About the Awards Themselves:

The establishment of the Academy (and its awards system) has had a major effect and influence upon the film industry, due to the enormous boost a nomination or award (for a film or actor) creates, by giving prestige and bottom-line profits to a studio or performer. Studios have often engaged in expensive marketing and advertising campaigns to sway votes, and to encourage contractual loyalty during voting. The Academy has, with limited success, tried to limit the influences of pressure groups and promotion, box office gross receipts, and studio public relations and marketing on voting results. It has also attempted to limit votes for melodramatic sentimentality, atonement for past mistakes, personal popularity, and "prestige" or epic scale, but those influences have often had a decided effect upon the outcome of some of the poll results.

Unfortunately, the critical worth, artistic vision, cultural influence, and innovative qualities of many films are not given the same voting weight. Especially since the 80s, moneymaking 'formula-made' blockbusters with glossy production values have often been crowd-pleasing titans (and Best Picture winners), but they haven't necessarily been great films with depth or critical acclaim by any measure. See The Worst Academy Awards Oscars for more.

Like any other awards, recognitions, or "best" lists, the top nominees and winners do not necessarily reflect or objectively measure the greatest that cinematic history has to offer. Many of the most Deserving Films of All Time (see Films Without Awards) did not win Academy Awards® (and in some cases were not even included in the nominees). In addition, Top Box-Office Films aren't always guaranteed awards success either.

And certain Film Genres (notably westerns, science fiction, and comedy) as well as independent films are not represented in balanced numbers throughout Oscar history - see extensive analysis of Best Picture Genre Biases.

A full and complete history and commentary on the Academy Awards from its early beginnings to the present is available, by decade and by individual year. Each year displays the poster for the Best Picture winner. It must be noted that each year represents the production year of the films considered, not the year of the awards ceremony. For instance, the 1955 year refers to the Oscars awards ceremony in 1956, honoring films of 1955, and is referred to as the 1955 Academy Awards.

Academy Awards History (By Decade):
1927/8-39, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
Individual Years: (Branch Off Each Decade)

This multi-part section provides a number of charts showing the top award winners in various categories, including:

• The "Most Oscar® Wins By Film"
• The "Most Oscar® Nominations By Film"
• The "Most Acting Nominations By Film"
• The "Actors-Actresses with the Most Nominations and Wins" (charts)
• The Most Actor-Actress Nominations and Wins" (4 parts, detailed)

This multi-part section provides Winners Charts for each of the following award categories:

• "Best Picture" Oscar®
• "Best Director" Oscar®
• "Best Actor" Oscar®
• "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar®
• "Best Actress" Oscar®
• "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar®
• "Best Screenplay/Writer" Oscar®

This multi-part section provides a thorough overview of the 'Best Picture' category (originally known as Best Production):

• Best Picture: Facts & Trivia (1)
• Best Picture: Facts & Trivia (2)
• Best Picture: Genre Biases
• Best Picture: Winners Chart (part 1: 1927/28 - 1959)
  (with "Not Nominated for Best Picture" and "Should Have Won" categories)
• Best Picture: Winners Chart (part 2: 1960 - present))
  (with "Not Nominated for Best Picture" and "Should Have Won" categories)
• 20th Century Best Pictures (ranked by artistic merit) (part 1)
• 20th Century Best Pictures (ranked by artistic merit) (part 2)
• 'Great Pictures' Not Nominated for Best Picture
  

• Best Picture Oscar Winners - Movie Title Screens
• Best Picture Oscar Nominees - Movie Title Screens (begin here)

This multi-part section provides a complete detailed over-view by decade and year of the milestones achieved in the 'Best Picture' category. Each year provides both the title-screen and a prominent poster for the 'Best Picture' winner, plus lots of facts and trivia:

This multi-part section provides a thorough overview of the 'Best Actor' category (or Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role). It also includes a link to the Youngest & Oldest Nominees/Winners in the category.

This multi-part section provides a thorough overview of the 'Best Actor' category (or Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role). It also includes a link to the Youngest & Oldest Nominees/Winners in the category.

This multi-part section provides a thorough overview of the "Best Supporting Actor' category (or Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - first awarded in 1936). It also includes a link to the Youngest & Oldest Nominees/Winners in the category.

This multi-part section provides a thorough overview of the "Best Supporting Actress' category (or Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - first awarded in 1936). It also includes a link to the Youngest & Oldest Nominees/Winners in the category.

This multi-part section provides a thorough overview of the "Best Screenplay/Writer' category (known by many names throughout the years: Motion Picture Story, Adaptation, Original Story, Screenplay, Writing Achievement, etc.).

• Academy Award-Nominated Great Films That Didn't Win a Single Oscar
• Great Films That Weren't Nominated for a Single Academy Award

This multi-part section provides examples of Actors, Actresses, and Directors Who Were "Snubbed by Oscar" that occurred in the awarding of Academy Awards (Oscars):

• Great Acting Performances That Weren't Nominated for an Academy Award
• Great Actors, Great Actresses, and Great Directors - Never Nominated or Snubbed - Those Who Have Not Won Actor, Actress and Best Director Academy Awards®

The multiple charts in this section contain possible alternatives (albeit sometimes opinionated and subjective) for many of the awards given throughout Academy history.