# Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947.

## History

Since the 5th Golden Globe Awards (1947), the award is presented annually, except from 1953 to 1958. The nominations from 1947 and 1948 are not available. The first Best Original Score award went to Max Steiner for his compositional work on Life with Father.
John Williams is the artist with the most nominations (24); those resulted in 4 wins. Dimitri Tiomkin had the same number of wins, but out of only 5 nominations. Other notable achievers include Maurice Jarre (10 nominations, 4 wins), Alan Menken (5 nominations, 3 wins), Hans Zimmer (15 nominations, 3 wins), Justin Hurwitz (3 nominations, 3 wins) and Alexandre Desplat (11 nominations, 2 wins).
Artists like Jerry Goldsmith (9 nominations) and Michel Legrand (7 nominations) were nominated several times but never received the award. Dimitri Tiomkin, Alan Menken and Howard Shore are the only composers to win two consecutive awards. Additionally, Dimitri Tiomkin received Special Achievement Awards for his services to film music in 1955 and 1957, as did Hugo Friedhofer in 1958. The most recent recipient of this award was Ludwig Göransson for the film Oppenheimer.

## Winners and nominees
### Key

| Sign | Meaning |
| | Indicates the winner |

### 1940s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 1947 | Life with Father | Max Steiner |
| 1948 | The Red Shoes | Brian Easdale |
| 1949 | The Inspector General | Johnny Green |
| 1949 | All the King's Men | Louis Gruenberg |

### 1950s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) | Ref. |
| 1950 | Sunset Boulevard | Franz Waxman | |
| 1950 | A Life of Her Own | Bronisław Kaper | |
| 1950 | Destination Moon | Leith Stevens | |
| 1951 | September Affair | Victor Young | |
| 1951 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | Bernard Herrmann | |
| 1951 | The Well | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
| 1952 | High Noon | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
| 1952 | Ivanhoe | Miklós Rózsa | |
| 1952 | The Quiet Man | Victor Young | |
| 1953–1958 | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1959 | On the Beach | Ernest Gold | |
| 1960 | The Alamo | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
| 1960 | Exodus | Ernest Gold | |
| 1960 | Pepe | Johnny Green | |
| 1960 | Spartacus | Alex North | |
| 1960 | The World of Suzie Wong | George Duning | |

### 1960s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) | Ref. |
| 1961 | The Guns of Navarone | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
| 1961 | El Cid | Miklós Rózsa | |
| 1961 | Fanny | Harold Rome | |
| 1961 | King of Kings | Miklós Rózsa | |
| 1961 | Summer and Smoke | Elmer Bernstein | |
| 1962 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Elmer Bernstein | |
| 1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | Maurice Jarre | |
| 1962 | Mutiny on the Bounty | Bronisław Kaper | |
| 1962 | Taras Bulba | Franz Waxman | |
| 1962 | The Music Man | Meredith Willson | |
| 1963 | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1964 | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
| 1964 | Becket | Laurence Rosenthal | |
| 1964 | Mary Poppins | Sherman Brothers | |
| 1964 | Seven Days in May | Jerry Goldsmith | |
| 1964 | Zorba the Greek (Alexis Zorbas) | Mikis Theodorakis | |
| 1965 | Doctor Zhivago | Maurice Jarre | |
| 1965 | Battle of the Bulge | Benjamin Frankel | |
| 1965 | The Great Race | Henry Mancini | |
| 1965 | The Sandpiper | Johnny Mandel | |
| 1965 | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Riz Ortolani | |
| 1966 | Hawaii | Elmer Bernstein | |
| 1966 | A Man and a Woman | Francis Lai | |
| 1966 | Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?) | Maurice Jarre | |
| 1966 | The Bible: In the Beginning... | Toshiro Mayuzumi | |
| 1966 | The Sand Pebbles | Jerry Goldsmith | |
| 1967 | Camelot | Frederick Loewe | |
| 1967 | Doctor Dolittle | Leslie Bricusse | |
| 1967 | Live for Life (Vivre Pour Vivre) | Francis Lai | |
| 1967 | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Elmer Bernstein | |
| 1967 | Two for the Road | Henry Mancini | |
| 1968 | The Shoes of the Fisherman | Alex North | |
| 1968 | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Sherman Brothers | |
| 1968 | Oliver! | Lionel Bart (declared ineligible and removed from ballot) | |
| 1968 | Romeo and Juliet | Nino Rota | |
| 1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Krzysztof Komeda | |
| 1968 | The Lion in Winter | John Barry | |
| 1968 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Michel Legrand |
| 1969 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Burt Bacharach | |
| 1969 | Anne of the Thousand Days | Georges Delerue | |
| 1969 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Leslie Bricusse | |
| 1969 | The Happy Ending | Michel Legrand | |
| 1969 | The Secret of Santa Vittoria | Ernest Gold | |

### 1970s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 1970 | Love Story | Francis Lai |
| 1970 | Airport | Alfred Newman |
| 1970 | Cromwell | Frank Cordell |
| 1970 | Scrooge | Leslie Bricusse |
| 1970 | Wuthering Heights | Michel Legrand |
| 1971 | Shaft | Isaac Hayes |
| 1971 | Le Mans | Michel Legrand |
| 1971 | Mary, Queen of Scots | John Barry |
| 1971 | Summer of '42 | Michel Legrand |
| 1971 | The Andromeda Strain | Gil Melle |
| 1972 | The Godfather | Nino Rota |
| 1972 | Frenzy | Ron Goodwin |
| 1972 | The Getaway | Quincy Jones |
| 1972 | Lady Sings the Blues | Michel Legrand |
| 1972 | The Poseidon Adventure | John Williams |
| 1973 | Jonathan Livingston Seagull | Neil Diamond |
| 1973 | Breezy | Michel Legrand |
| 1973 | Cinderella Liberty | John Williams |
| 1973 | O Lucky Man! | Alan Price |
| 1973 | The Day of the Dolphin | Georges Delerue |
| 1973 | Tom Sawyer | Sherman Brothers, John Williams |
| 1974 | The Little Prince | Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe |
| 1974 | Chinatown | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1974 | Earthquake | John Williams |
| 1974 | Phantom of the Paradise | Paul Williams |
| 1974 | The Godfather Part II | Carmine Coppola, Nino Rota |
| 1975 | Jaws | John Williams |
| 1975 | Funny Lady | Fred Ebb, John Kander |
| 1975 | The Man Who Would Be King | Maurice Jarre |
| 1975 | The Other Side of the Mountain | Charles Fox |
| 1975 | The Return of the Pink Panther | Henry Mancini |
| 1976 | A Star is Born | Kenneth Ascher, Paul Williams |
| 1976 | Bugsy Malone | Paul Williams |
| 1976 | Rocky | Bill Conti |
| 1976 | The Slipper and the Rose | Sherman Brothers |
| 1976 | Voyage of the Damned | Lalo Schifrin |
| 1977 | Star Wars | John Williams |
| 1977 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | John Williams |
| 1977 | Pete's Dragon | Joel Hirschhorn, Al Kasha |
| 1977 | Saturday Night Fever | Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, David Shire |
| 1977 | The Spy Who Loved Me | Marvin Hamlisch |
| 1978 | Midnight Express | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1978 | An Unmarried Woman | Bill Conti |
| 1978 | Superman | John Williams |
| 1978 | The Children of Sanchez | Chuck Mangione |
| 1978 | The Lord of the Rings | Leonard Rosenman |
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now | Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola |
| 1979 | 10 | Henry Mancini |
| 1979 | A Little Romance | Georges Delerue |
| 1979 | Alien | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1979 | The Black Stallion | Carmine Coppola |
| 1979 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1979 | The Amityville Horror | Lalo Schifrin |

### 1980s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 1980 | The Stunt Man | Dominic Frontiere |
| 1980 | American Gigolo | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1980 | Fame | Michael Gore |
| 1980 | Somewhere in Time | John Barry |
| 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | John Williams |
| 1980 | The Competition | Lalo Schifrin |
| 1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | John Williams |
| 1982 | Blade Runner | Vangelis |
| 1982 | Cat People | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1982 | Six Weeks | Dudley Moore |
| 1982 | Victor/Victoria | Henry Mancini |
| 1983 | Flashdance | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1983 | Rumble Fish | Stewart Copeland |
| 1983 | Scarface | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1983 | Under Fire | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1983 | Yentl | Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand |
| 1984 | A Passage to India | Maurice Jarre |
| 1984 | Starman | Jack Nitzsche |
| 1984 | Once Upon a Time in America | Ennio Morricone |
| 1984 | The Killing Fields | Mike Oldfield |
| 1984 | The River | John Williams |
| 1985 | Out of Africa | John Barry |
| 1985 | The Color Purple | Quincy Jones |
| 1985 | White Nights | Michel Colombier |
| 1985 | Witness | Maurice Jarre |
| 1985 | Year of the Dragon | David Mansfield |
| 1986 | The Mission | Ennio Morricone |
| 1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Miles Goodman |
| 1986 | Round Midnight | Herbie Hancock |
| 1986 | The Mosquito Coast | Maurice Jarre |
| 1986 | Top Gun | Harold Faltermeyer |
| 1987 | The Last Emperor | David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cong Su |
| 1987 | Cry Freedom | George Fenton, Jonas Gwangwa |
| 1987 | Empire of the Sun | John Williams |
| 1987 | The Glass Menagerie | Henry Mancini |
| 1987 | The Untouchables | Ennio Morricone |
| 1988 | Gorillas in the Mist | Maurice Jarre |
| 1988 | Madame Sousatzka | Gerald Gouriet |
| 1988 | The Accidental Tourist | John Williams |
| 1988 | The Last Temptation of Christ | Peter Gabriel |
| 1988 | The Milagro Beanfield War | Dave Grusin |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | Alan Menken |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | John Williams |
| 1989 | Casualties of War | Ennio Morricone |
| 1989 | Glory | James Horner |
| 1989 | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Dave Grusin |

### 1990s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 1990 | The Sheltering Sky | Richard Horowitz, Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| 1990 | Avalon | Randy Newman |
| 1990 | Dances with Wolves | John Barry |
| 1990 | Havana | Dave Grusin |
| 1990 | The Godfather Part III | Carmine Coppola |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Alan Menken |
| 1991 | At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Zbigniew Preisner |
| 1991 | Bugsy | Ennio Morricone |
| 1991 | Dead Again | Patrick Doyle |
| 1991 | For the Boys | Dave Grusin |
| 1991 | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | Michael Kamen |
| 1992 | Aladdin | Alan Menken |
| 1992 | 1492: Conquest of Paradise | Vangelis |
| 1992 | Basic Instinct | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1992 | Chaplin | John Barry |
| 1992 | The Last of the Mohicans | Randy Edelman, Trevor Jones |
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth | Kitarō |
| 1993 | Three Colors: Blue | Zbigniew Preisner |
| 1993 | Schindler's List | John Williams |
| 1993 | The Piano | Michael Nyman |
| 1993 | The Nightmare Before Christmas | Danny Elfman |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Hans Zimmer |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Alan Silvestri |
| 1994 | Interview with the Vampire | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 1994 | Legends of the Fall | James Horner |
| 1994 | Nell | Mark Isham |
| 1995 | A Walk in the Clouds | Maurice Jarre |
| 1995 | Braveheart | James Horner |
| 1995 | Don Juan DeMarco | Michael Kamen |
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Alan Menken |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Patrick Doyle |
| 1996 | The English Patient | Gabriel Yared |
| 1996 | Michael Collins | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 1996 | Shine | David Hirschfelder |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Alan Menken |
| 1996 | The Mirror Has Two Faces | Marvin Hamlisch |
| 1997 | Titanic | James Horner |
| 1997 | Gattaca | Michael Nyman |
| 1997 | Kundun | Philip Glass |
| 1997 | L.A. Confidential | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1997 | Seven Years in Tibet | John Williams |
| 1998 | The Truman Show | Burkhard Dallwitz, Philip Glass |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Randy Newman |
| 1998 | Mulan | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan | John Williams |
| 1998 | The Prince of Egypt | Stephen Schwartz, Hans Zimmer |
| 1999 | The Legend of 1900 | Ennio Morricone |
| 1999 | American Beauty | Thomas Newman |
| 1999 | Angela's Ashes | John Williams |
| 1999 | Anna and the King | George Fenton |
| 1999 | The End of the Affair | Michael Nyman |
| 1999 | Eyes Wide Shut | Jocelyn Pook |
| 1999 | The Insider | Pieter Bourke, Lisa Gerrard |
| 1999 | The Straight Story | Angelo Badalamenti |
| 1999 | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Gabriel Yared |

### 2000s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 2000 | Gladiator | Lisa Gerrard, Hans Zimmer |
| 2000 | All the Pretty Horses | Larry Paxton, Marty Stuart, Kristin Wilkinson |
| 2000 | Chocolat | Rachel Portman |
| 2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) | Tan Dun |
| 2000 | Malèna | Ennio Morricone |
| 2000 | Sunshine | Maurice Jarre |
| 2001 | Moulin Rouge! | Craig Armstrong |
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind | James Horner |
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | John Williams |
| 2001 | Ali | Pieter Bourke, Lisa Gerrard |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Howard Shore |
| 2001 | Mulholland Drive | Angelo Badalamenti |
| 2001 | Pearl Harbor | Hans Zimmer |
| 2001 | The Shipping News | Christopher Young |
| 2002 | Frida | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 2002 | 25th Hour | Terence Blanchard |
| 2002 | Far from Heaven | Elmer Bernstein |
| 2002 | Rabbit-Proof Fence | Peter Gabriel |
| 2002 | The Hours | Philip Glass |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Howard Shore |
| 2003 | Big Fish | Danny Elfman |
| 2003 | Cold Mountain | Gabriel Yared |
| 2003 | Girl With a Pearl Earring | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Hans Zimmer |
| 2004 | The Aviator | Howard Shore |
| 2004 | Finding Neverland | Jan A. P. Kaczmarek |
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Clint Eastwood |
| 2004 | Sideways | Rolfe Kent |
| 2004 | Spanglish | Hans Zimmer |
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha | John Williams |
| 2005 | Brokeback Mountain | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2005 | King Kong | James Newton Howard |
| 2005 | Syriana | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2005 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| 2006 | The Painted Veil | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2006 | Babel | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2006 | Nomad | Carlo Siliotto |
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code | Hans Zimmer |
| 2006 | The Fountain | Clint Mansell |
| 2007 | Atonement | Dario Marianelli |
| 2007 | Eastern Promises | Howard Shore |
| 2007 | Grace Is Gone | Clint Eastwood |
| 2007 | Into the Wild | Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder |
| 2007 | The Kite Runner | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | A. R. Rahman |
| 2008 | Changeling | Clint Eastwood |
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2008 | Defiance | James Newton Howard |
| 2008 | Frost/Nixon | Hans Zimmer |
| 2009 | Up | Michael Giacchino |
| 2009 | A Single Man | Abel Korzeniowski |
| 2009 | Avatar | James Horner |
| 2009 | The Informant! | Marvin Hamlisch |
| 2009 | Where the Wild Things Are | Karen O, Carter Burwell |

### 2010s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 2010 | The Social Network | Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross |
| 2010 | 127 Hours | A. R. Rahman |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Danny Elfman |
| 2010 | Inception | Hans Zimmer |
| 2010 | The King's Speech | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2011 | The Artist | Ludovic Bource |
| 2011 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross |
| 2011 | Hugo | Howard Shore |
| 2011 | War Horse | John Williams |
| 2011 | W.E. | Abel Korzeniowski |
| 2012 | Life of Pi | Mychael Danna |
| 2012 | Anna Karenina | Dario Marianelli |
| 2012 | Argo | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2012 | Lincoln | John Williams |
| 2012 | Cloud Atlas | Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil |
| 2013 | All Is Lost | Alex Ebert |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | Hans Zimmer |
| 2013 | The Book Thief | John Williams |
| 2013 | Gravity | Steven Price |
| 2013 | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom | Alex Heffes |
| 2014 | The Theory of Everything | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2014 | Birdman | Antonio Sánchez |
| 2014 | Gone Girl | Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross |
| 2014 | The Imitation Game | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2014 | Interstellar | Hans Zimmer |
| 2015 | The Hateful Eight | Ennio Morricone |
| 2015 | Carol | Carter Burwell |
| 2015 | The Danish Girl | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2015 | The Revenant | Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto |
| 2015 | Steve Jobs | Daniel Pemberton |
| 2016 | La La Land | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2016 | Arrival | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2016 | Hidden Figures | Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch |
| 2016 | Lion | Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka |
| 2016 | Moonlight | Nicholas Britell |
| 2017 | The Shape of Water | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2017 | Dunkirk | Hans Zimmer |
| 2017 | Phantom Thread | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2017 | The Post | John Williams |
| 2017 | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Carter Burwell |
| 2018 | First Man | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2018 | Black Panther | Ludwig Göransson |
| 2018 | Isle of Dogs | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2018 | Mary Poppins Returns | Marc Shaiman |
| 2018 | A Quiet Place | Marco Beltrami |
| 2019 | Joker | Hildur Guðnadóttir |
| 2019 | 1917 | Thomas Newman |
| 2019 | Little Women | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2019 | Marriage Story | Randy Newman |
| 2019 | Motherless Brooklyn | Daniel Pemberton |

### 2020s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 2020 | Soul | Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross |
| 2020 | Mank | Reznor & Ross |
| 2020 | The Midnight Sky | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2020 | News of the World | James Newton Howard |
| 2020 | Tenet | Ludwig Göransson |
| 2021 | Dune | Hans Zimmer |
| 2021 | Encanto | Germaine Franco |
| 2021 | The French Dispatch | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2021 | Parallel Mothers | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2021 | The Power of the Dog | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2022 | Babylon | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2022 | The Banshees of Inisherin | Carter Burwell |
| 2022 | The Fabelmans | John Williams |
| 2022 | Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2022 | Women Talking | Hildur Guðnadóttir |
| 2023 | Oppenheimer | Ludwig Göransson |
| 2023 | The Boy and the Heron | Joe Hisaishi |
| 2023 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Robbie Robertson (posthumous) |
| 2023 | Poor Things | Jerskin Fendrix |
| 2023 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Daniel Pemberton |
| 2023 | The Zone of Interest | Mica Levi |
| 2024 | Challengers | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross |
| 2024 | The Brutalist | Daniel Blumberg |
| 2024 | Conclave | Volker Bertelmann |
| 2024 | Dune: Part Two | Hans Zimmer |
| 2024 | Emilia Pérez | Clément Ducol and Camille |
| 2024 | The Wild Robot | Kris Bowers |

## Multiple wins

4 wins:
* Maurice Jarre
* Dimitri Tiomkin
* John Williams
3 wins:
* Justin Hurwitz
* Alan Menken
* Ennio Morricone
* Trent Reznor
* Atticus Ross
* Hans Zimmer
2 wins:
* Elmer Bernstein
* Alexandre Desplat
* Frederick Loewe
* Giorgio Moroder
* Howard Shore