Difference between Oscar and Academy Award

Key Difference: The Academy Awards are an accolade that are given annually for recognizing excellence in films and is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An Oscar is another term, interchangeable, for an Academy Award. There is no difference between both the terms.

The Academy Awards are an accolade that are given annually for recognizing excellence in films. The Academy Awards are run and maintained by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which was originally established by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio executive Louis B. Mayer. The winners of the awards are also selected by the Academy, which includes approximately 60,000 industry professionals. The awards are often given at a formal ceremony. The first award ceremony was held in 1929 and fifteen statuettes were awarded during that ceremony. Currently, the Academy Awards has more than a dozen categories and also includes various different types of film. The Academy Awards take place in February of each year.

Oscars The Oscars is an infromal term for the Academy Awards. The Oscars are more formally known as the Academy Awards because it is organized and overseen by AMPAS. An Oscar is interchangeable for an Academy Award. They are one and the same thing. There is no difference between both the terms. The Oscar name was discovered by an executive secretary Marget Herrick, in 1931. It was allegedly named because her ‘Uncle Oscar’ was nominated in that year and was the great winner among all the nominations, since then the name “Oscar” is widely used.

Comparison between Academy Award and Oscar:

	Academy Awards	Oscars
Description (Dictionary.com)	An annual award given to a performer, director, technician, etc., of the motion-picture industry for superior achievement in a specific category, as judged by the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and symbolized by the presentation of an Oscar.	One of a group of statuettes awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion-picture production and performance.
Term	Academy Awards are handed out to the winners.	Oscars is the other name for the Academy Awards. It used interchangeably.
Organized by	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Focuses on	Cinema / Movies and Films	Cinema / Movies and Films
Held	Annually	Annually
Awarded for	Excellence in cinematic achievements	Excellence in cinematic achievements