
The tie of Rawhide and Beautiful for Best Video Feature was a first for that category. Space Nuts, a shot-on-video feature with six wins, became one of the rare movies that didn't win a best picture category those having been won by Heart of Darkness (Best Film), Rawhide and Beautiful tying for Best Video Feature and The Fashionistas capturing Best DVD. The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on January 10, 2004.

Rawhide received the most nominations with 15, followed by Heart of Darkness with 14, Space Nuts and Compulsion each with 13 and Beautiful with 12. The nominees for the 21st AVN Awards were announced on December 1, 2003. Other multiple winners included Rawhide, with five awards Beautiful and Hard Edge with four wins apiece and Fetish: The Dream Scape and Looking In with three each. Heart of Darkness won five awards including Best Director-Film for Paul Thomas and Best Film, however, Space Nuts took home the most awards, with six. Comedian Jim Norton hosted the show for the first time with adult film star Jenna Jameson in her third stint as co-host. The ceremony, televised in the United States by Playboy TV, was produced and directed by Gary Miller. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in 94 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. The 21st AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), took place Januat the Venetian Hotel Grand Ballroom, at Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A.
