Difference Between Golden Globes and Academy Awards

The main difference between Golden Globes and Academy Awards is that the Golden Globes awards are for the artists in both film and television industry throughout the world whereas the Academy Awards are primarily for the artists in the American film industry.

Awarding is a prestigious way of recognizing and appreciating the talents of people. Therefore, the award not only affirms the excellence of their artistic achievements but also the popularity he or she holds in the contemporary world. Golden Globes and Academy Awards are among the most recognized and the respected awards in the world.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is the Golden Globes 
     – History, Facts, Eligibility Criteria 
2. What is the Academy Awards
     – History, Facts, Eligibility Criteria
3. What is the Difference Between Golden Globes and Academy Awards
    – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Awards, Hollywood, Golden Globes Awards, Academy Awards, Oscars

Difference Between Golden Globes and Academy Awards - Comparison Summary

What is the Golden Globes

Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. These awards appreciate and honor the excellence of artists in both film and TV industry throughout the world. Therefore, unlike Academy Awards, Golden Globe awards do not limit its nominees for Hollywood or the American film industry. Hence, it covers a wider scope in recognizing the talents of the artists throughout the globe. Therefore, in a way, these awards contribute to a significant role in film marketing.

Main Difference - Golden Globes vs Academy Awards

Figure 1: Golden Globes Awards Trophy

The committee for Golden Globes Awards is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which consists of a group of journalists from around 55 countries. They started this award ceremony in 1944 under the name ‘Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association’ which later came to be known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Moreover, since artists from both television and cinema industry meet each other in an award ceremony, Golden Globes is known for being festive with a more social atmosphere where the invitees sit at round tables and enjoy themselves in a more casual way rather than from a formal setting of a theatre. The annual ceremony and dinner are a major part of the awards, where the winners are announced. 

This ceremony often takes place annually in the month of January. The first Golden Globes ceremony was held in 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studio in Los Angeles, America whereas the latest ceremony, which was the 75th ceremony, was held on January 7, 2018, at the Beverly Hilton, California.

Selection Criteria

Since Golden globes awards cover a wider scope of honouring the excellent achievements of artists around the globe, their selection criteria are fundamentally based on the eligibility of the artists to become the nominees. Likewise, the qualifying eligibility period for all nominations is the calendar year from January 1 through December 31. The HFPA should receive the entry forms within ten days of the official screening.

For Films

The fundamental eligibility for a film is that it should be at least 70 minutes long in the run.

Local films (in the US) – The film must be at least 70 minutes, and should be released for at least a seven-day run in the Greater Los Angeles area starting before midnight on December 31.

Foreign Films – The film must be at least 70 minutes long, and they do not have to be released in the US, and it should consist of at least 51% of its dialogues in a language other than English. Moreover, they must be first released in their country of origin during a 14-month period from November 1 to December 31 before the Awards ceremony. However, if the film is not released in its country of origin, but if it had a one-week release in the United States during the qualifying calendar year it will be eligible to apply.

For Television Programmes

Local TV shows – They need to air in the United States between the prime time hours of 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m either on broadcast television, basic or premium cable, or digital delivery, However, reality shows and non-scripted shows are not eligible to apply.

Foreign TV shows – Foreign programs are not eligible for television awards unless they are the result of a co-production (both financially and creatively) between the United States and a foreign partner.

Official entry forms with the criteria for eligibility can be accessed via the official website of HFPA 

Eventually, the nominees will be the top five vote-getters in each category while the winners are those who garnered the most tick marks in the second round of balloting. Moreover, this award ceremony is telecasted around 167 countries worldwide, thus, making it the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars and the Grammy Awards. 

What is the Academy Awards

Academy Awards (official name) is also known by the nickname Oscars. Therefore, either Academy or Oscars refer to a set of 24 awards for artistic and technical merit in the American film industry. These Awards are given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), in order to recognise the excellence of artists in cinematic achievements. Accordingly, the Academy’s voting membership assesses the excellence of these artists. 

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a professional honorary organization in the United States presently with the goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Majority of its members are from the United States

Difference Between Golden Globes and Academy Awards

Figure 2: Academy Awards Trophy

Selection Criteria

The winners are selected by the Academy, and the awards are often given at a formal ceremony. Comparatively, the selection procedure in Academy awards is complex with regard to Golden Globes, since it involves a strict procedure governed by specific guidelines. It is exclusively done by approximately 6000 voting members and hundreds of eligible films, actors, actresses, directors, cinematographers, editors, composers, and more in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), via ballots. The candidates must have at least two screen credits to their names, while actors must have credited roles in at least three films to become the nominees. Accordingly, the ballots are mailed to voting members who vote accordingly. Eventually, the results are tallied, and the winners are announced. This process is managed by an accounting team at PricewaterhouseCoopers for the past 83 years.

More information regarding the rules and eligibility for the Academy Wards can be obtained via accessing the official website.

Another set of awards, known as the Students Academy Awards, is also presented by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, separately.

The Academy Awards take place in February of each year. The first ceremony was held in 1929, also making it the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. Moreover, with consideration to the formality of the ceremony, the Academy awards ceremony has a more formal atmosphere, unlike the Golden Globes awards ceremony.

Difference Between Golden Globes and Academy Awards

Main Difference

Golden Globe Awards are accolades for artists in recognizing their excellence in film and television, both American and non-American while Academy Awards a set of 24 awards for the artistic and technical merit of artists in the American film industry. This is the main difference between Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

Voting Bodies

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 93 journalists from around 55 countries, are the committee for the Globes. On the contrary, the voting body of Academy Awards; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) consist of 6,000 voting members.

Attendees and Nominees

The Golden Globes Award recognizes excellence of artists in both film and television industry in the United States as well as in other countries.

However, Academy awards only recognize the excellence of artists on their cinematic achievements, primarily in Hollywood or American film industry.

Award Categories

There are 25 categories for Golden Globes; 14 in motion pictures and 11 in television. At present, Academy Awards has 24 categories.  

Held on

Usually, Golden Globes ceremony is held in January of each year while Academy Awards ceremony is held in February of each year.

Conclusion

Being awarded one of the world-renowned awards is the dream of every artist. Golden Globes and Academy Awards are two such awards. Though both these awards honour and appreciate the talents and the excellence of an artist in the film or television industry, these two award types have differences with regard to the nominees and the categories they focus on. Therefore, the primary difference between Golden Globes and Academy Awards is that Golden Globes awards are for the artists in both film and television industry throughout the world whereas Academy Awards are primarily for the artists in the American film industry.

Reference:

1. “Golden Globe Award.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 July 2018, Available here.
2. “History of the Golden Globes.” Golden Globes, Available here.
3. “How Are Oscar Nominees Chosen?” Mental Floss, 24 Jan. 2017, Available here.
4. “Award Rules And Entry Forms.” Golden Globes, Available here.
5. “Rules & Eligibility.” Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26 June 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Academy Award trophy” By Source (WP:NFCC#4) (Fair use) via Commons Wikimedia 
2. “Golden Globe Trophy” By Source (Fair use) via Commons Wikimedia

About the Author: Upen

Upen, BA (Honours) in Languages and Linguistics, has academic experiences and knowledge on international relations and politics. Her academic interests are English language, European and Oriental Languages, Internal Affairs and International Politics, and Psychology.

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