Updated

Awards season is here. Actually, its been going on for almost a month. From the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards in December to the Academy Awards in March, and the more than 70 awards ceremonies in between, that adds up to almost a quarter of a year of Hollywood celebrating its previous nine months.

And sure, the stars love the endless praise -- who wouldn't? But does anyone other than Tom Hanks, Martin Scorcese, Meryl Streep and the like really care about any award show other than the Oscars?

Publicist Jamie Krauss told FOX411's In the Zone that the nonstop awards mania is "enough to make you dizzy... They’re not all televised, but that’s a lot to keep track of. It’s a lot of ego stroking in Hollywood.”

“I think the big awards matter like the Academy Awards are obviously a big deal. It’s a big sign you’ve made it in your career," said Chris Spagnuolo, the editor of Guyism.com. "But the little ones like the Topeka Kansas Writer’s Association award? I’m sure that’s not something that’s going on Matthew McConaughey’s mantle.”

FOX411 movie reviewer Justin Craig agrees that "the award season goes on a little bit too long," but he said there is a method to the madness. "The Critics Circle Awards actually give recognition to smaller films that general audiences might not usually see, and that Academy voters don’t usually have on the radar.”

"The other awards are very much for industry people, but for the general audience, the Oscars are the ones that they’re watching," Craig added. "Why do they care? It’s just like sports. Why does somebody watch a football game? Everybody kind of gathers around the film that they like or the actor that they like, and they want to root for them."

Or root for them to fall.

“Most people these days tune in for the fashion and gossip," added Krauss. "Everybody loves to log on the next day to find out who had a nip slip, who tripped and fell, who had a flub, because that’s what makes for the most engaging and fun water cooler chatter."

Oh, and don't forget, Hollywood also makes a lot of money patting themselves on the back.

“Big companies are banking on the fact that people are going to care," Krauss said. "After the Super Bowl, the Oscars are the most watched event on television, particularly with women, so we see commercials and ad spots going for many millions of dollars for a 30 second ad.”

But Justin Craig says not all of the money goes into big wigs' pockets.

“One other thing that’s really important about the Oscars specifically is that the revenues that they make from the broadcast go into creating and funding advancement in technology for film and film preservation," he said. "So even though it’s all cynical and very political in how they nominate films, the actual end game is actually pretty positive."