Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, are presented each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor achievement in film. The Academy was founded in Hollywood in 1927, and the first awards were handed out at a private dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929. The ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and on television in 1953, and it has become the best-known film honor in the world.

Voting takes place in two rounds. Members of each branch of the Academy, such as actors, directors and writers, nominate candidates in their own field, and the full voting membership then chooses the winners in most categories, including Best Picture. On The Top Book List, the Oscars appear for films adapted from books, with a focus on Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Animated Feature.

Feature films that complete a qualifying theatrical release in the United States during the calendar year and meet the Academy's rules for each category.