On Sunday, March 15, the biggest names in Hollywood will attend the 2026 Oscars, facing off for highly coveted awards. This will be the 98th Annual Academy Awards, and a lot has changed since the first Oscars in 1929.
While the last 98 years have delivered us wild fashion, a controversial slap, and many more moments that were talked about around the world, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted its first award ceremony, it was a very different affair from what we watch year to year.
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What Happened at the First Oscars?
The very first Academy Awards took place on May 16, 1929. It was a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel that, much like today, awarded key awards for achievements in film. However, that might be where the similarities end.
Here are some fun facts that might suprise you about the first Oscars.
Just 270 people attended
Compared to today’s audience, that’s tiny. The Dolby Theater, where the Oscars are held today, boasts a seating capacity of 3,300. Plus, millions of people all over the world watch the ceremony from home.
In 1929, guest tickets for that night’s ceremony were $5, which is equivalent to $94 in today’s money.
The ceremony lasted just 15 minutes
The show kept things short and sweet the first time around. The winners had been announced three months ahead of the ceremony, so guests spent the bulk of the time enjoying a dinner.
With opening monologues, musical performances, and many, many ad breaks, things have gotten longer in more recent years. The 2002 Academy Awards still hold the record for the longest Oscars ceremony, clocking in at 4 hours and 23 minutes. There probably wasn’t any need for wrap-up music in 1929!
There was no red carpet
The nominees walk a 33-foot-wide red carpet before today’s Academy Awards, but in 1929, there was far less pomp and circumstance.
Douglas Fairbanks Sr. hosted the first Oscars ceremony
He was also the first president of the Academy, which was founded in 1927 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the film industry.
Janet Gaynor won the first Oscar for Best Actress
Douglas Fairbanks presents Janet Gaynor with the first Academy Award for Best Actress, for her work in Seventh Heaven, as well as Street Angel, and Sunrise, at the first Academy Awards in 1929.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
At the first Oscars, some nominations did not reference a specific film. Janet Gaynor was nominated for three films: 7th Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise. The other nominees, Louise Dresser and Gloria Swanson, were nominated for one film each.
Emil Jannings won the first Oscar for Best Actor
He was nominated for two films: The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. The other nominee, Richard Barthelmess, was also nominated for the category twice.
Wings won for Oustanding Picture and Engineering Effects
However, the film wasn’t even nominated in any other category — a far cry from today’s award ceremonies, where certain categories are used as predictors for Best Picture wins (including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director).
Just three films were nominated for Outstanding Picture
That’s a pretty small number, especially when compared to this year. 317 feature films were eligible for nomination at the 2026 Academy Awards, and nine are nominated: Sinners, Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Train Dreams, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, Bugonia, and F1.
There were just 12 categories, plus special awards
Awards were given out for Best Actor, Best Actress, Art Direction, Cinematography, Directing (Comedy Picture), Directing (Dramatic Picture), Engineering Effects, Outstanding Picture, Unique and Artistic Picture, Writing (Adaptation), Writing (Original Story) and Writing (Title Writing). Today, awards are given out in 24 categories.
Charlie Chaplin received a special honorary award
Chaplin was originally nominated in three categories for The Circus, but he was removed to receive the special award.
“Talkies” had just entered the film industry
At the 1929 ceremony, Warner Bros.’ The Jazz Singer was not allowed to compete for Best Picture because the Academy thought sound gave the film an unfair advantage over the rest of the nominees, which were silent.
The Jazz Singer won a special award
To make up for the first-ever Oscar snub, the Academy gave the “talkie” a special award outside of the regular categories.
The Oscars weren’t yet nicknamed the Oscars
That wouldn’t happen until 10 years later, in 1939. Supposedly, Academy executive director Margaret Herrick said the statuettes given out to winners resembled her uncle Oscar.
The 1929 ceremony wasn’t broadcast
In 1942, the Academy began broadcasting the results of its secret ballot voting system, using the sealed envelopes that build so much suspense today. The ceremony wouldn’t be televised until 1953, with host Bob Hope.