>A big reason for the Oscars to exist in the first place is to promote the nominated films and boost the careers of the cast and crew who made them

The Academy Awards were invented as a labor management tool.

Studio heads figured if you turned acting into a legitimate competition and could set the talent against each other in competition for recognition and awards, it would minimize their attempts to come together against their miserly, predatory labor practices.

which absolutely worked.

Later on, it became extra useful to them as an advertisement for their product (much in the same way the Game Awards are now).

The Oscars have never primarily been about properly recognizing good work in the industry, which is why they're frequently terrible at that part.