Claim: Spotlight is a film.

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually since the awards debuted in 1929 , by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -LRB- AMPAS -RRB- . This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot . The actors or actresses in the film will not accept this award unless he or she produced the film .   Best Picture is considered the premier award of the Academy Awards , as it represents all the directing , acting , music composing , writing , editing , and other efforts put forth into a film production . Since 1973 , it is the final award presented at the ceremony and a drum roll was used when the winner is announced .   The Grand Staircase columns at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles , where the Academy Awards ceremonies have been held since 2002 , showcase every film that has won the Best Picture title since the award 's inception . As of 2017 , there have been 537 films nominated for Best Picture .