# BAFTA Award for Best Original Music

The BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, is a film award that is presented to film composers by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. It has been presented annually at the British Academy Film Awards since 1968.
With seven wins out of sixteen nominations, John Williams is both the most nominated and most awarded in this category. Ennio Morricone is the only composer to win in consecutive years; for The Mission in 1987 and The Untouchables in 1988. Morricone also has the highest perfect score and record, with six wins from six nominations. George Fenton and Howard Shore share the record of most nominations without a win (six each).
Only six composers—John Williams (in 1978; his double citation in 1975 counted as one nomination), Vangelis (in 1982), Maurice Jarre (in 1985), Hans Zimmer (in 2017), and the composing duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (in 2020)—have received two nominations in the same year. In 2019, Lady Gaga became the first woman ever to win this award for A Star Is Born. In 2020, Hildur Guðnadóttir became the first woman ever credited for a solo win in this category for Joker. In 2022, Hans Zimmer won this award on his tenth nomination for Dune, setting the record for most nominations in this category before the first win.
In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.

## Winners and nominees
### 1960s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| Anthony Asquith Award for Original Film Music |||
| 1968 (22nd) | The Lion in Winter | John Barry |
| 1968 (22nd) | The Charge of the Light Brigade | John Addison |
| 1968 (22nd) | Live for Life | Francis Lai |
| 1968 (22nd) | Romeo and Juliet | Nino Rota |
| 1969 (23rd) | Z | Mikis Theodorakis |
| 1969 (23rd) | Secret Ceremony | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1969 (23rd) | The Thomas Crown Affair | Michel Legrand |
| 1969 (23rd) | Women in Love | Georges Delerue |

### 1970s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 1970 (24th) | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Burt Bacharach |
| 1970 (24th) | Alice's Restaurant | Arlo Guthrie |
| 1970 (24th) | Figures in a Landscape | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1970 (24th) | The Railway Children | Johnny Douglas |
| 1971 (25th) | Summer of '42 | Michel Legrand |
| 1971 (25th) | Little Big Man | John Hammond |
| 1971 (25th) | Shaft | Isaac Hayes |
| 1971 (25th) | Traffic | Charles Dumont |
| 1972 (26th) | The Godfather | Nino Rota |
| 1972 (26th) | Lady Caroline Lamb | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1972 (26th) | The Tragedy of Macbeth | Third Ear Band |
| 1972 (26th) | Young Winston | Alfred Ralston |
| 1973 (27th) | O Lucky Man! | Alan Price |
| 1973 (27th) | Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid | Bob Dylan |
| 1973 (27th) | Sounder | Taj Mahal |
| 1973 (27th) | State of Siege | Mikis Theodorakis |
| 1974 (28th) | Murder on the Orient Express | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1974 (28th) | Chinatown | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1974 (28th) | Happy New Year | Francis Lai |
| 1974 (28th) | Serpico | Mikis Theodorakis |
| 1974 (28th) | The Three Musketeers | Michel Legrand |
| 1975 (29th) | Jaws The Towering Inferno | John Williams |
| 1975 (29th) | The Godfather Part II | Nino Rota |
| 1975 (29th) | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | David Shire |
| 1975 (29th) | The Wind and the Lion | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1976 (30th) | Taxi Driver | Bernard Herrmann |
| 1976 (30th) | Bugsy Malone | Paul Williams |
| 1976 (30th) | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Jack Nitzsche |
| 1976 (30th) | The Slipper and the Rose | Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman |
| 1977 (31st) | A Bridge Too Far | John Addison |
| 1977 (31st) | Equus | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1977 (31st) | The Spy Who Loved Me | Marvin Hamlisch |
| 1977 (31st) | A Star Is Born | Paul Williams, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Ascher, Rupert Holmes, Leon Russell, Kenny Loggins, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and Donna Weiss |
| 1978 (32nd) | Star Wars | John Williams |
| 1978 (32nd) | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | John Williams |
| 1978 (32nd) | Julia | Georges Delerue |
| 1978 (32nd) | Saturday Night Fever | Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb |
| 1979 (33rd) | Days of Heaven | Ennio Morricone |
| 1979 (33rd) | Alien | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1979 (33rd) | Apocalypse Now | Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola |
| 1979 (33rd) | Yanks | Richard Rodney Bennett |

### 1980s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| Best Original Film Music |||
| 1980 (34th) | The Empire Strikes Back | John Williams |
| 1980 (34th) | Breaking Glass | Hazel O'Connor |
| 1980 (34th) | Fame | Michael Gore |
| 1980 (34th) | Flash Gordon | John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Howard Blake |
| 1981 (35th) | The French Lieutenant's Woman | Carl Davis |
| 1981 (35th) | Arthur | Burt Bacharach |
| 1981 (35th) | Chariots of Fire | Vangelis |
| 1981 (35th) | Raiders of the Lost Ark | John Williams |
| Best Score for a Film |||
| 1982 (36th) | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | John Williams |
| 1982 (36th) | Blade Runner | Vangelis |
| 1982 (36th) | Gandhi | George Fenton and Ravi Shankar |
| 1982 (36th) | Missing | Vangelis |
| 1983 (37th) | Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| 1983 (37th) | Flashdance | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1983 (37th) | Local Hero | Mark Knopfler |
| 1983 (37th) | An Officer and a Gentleman | Jack Nitzsche |
| 1984 (38th) | Once Upon a Time in America | Ennio Morricone |
| 1984 (38th) | Carmen | Paco de Lucía |
| 1984 (38th) | The Killing Fields | Mike Oldfield |
| 1984 (38th) | Paris, Texas | Ry Cooder |
| 1985 (39th) | Witness | Maurice Jarre |
| 1985 (39th) | Beverly Hills Cop | Harold Faltermeyer |
| 1985 (39th) | The Emerald Forest | Brian Gascoigne and Junior Homrich |
| 1985 (39th) | A Passage to India | Maurice Jarre |
| 1986 (40th) | The Mission | Ennio Morricone |
| 1986 (40th) | Out of Africa | John Barry |
| 1986 (40th) | A Room with a View | Richard Robbins |
| 1986 (40th) | Round Midnight | Herbie Hancock |
| 1987 (41st) | The Untouchables | Ennio Morricone |
| 1987 (41st) | Cry Freedom | George Fenton and Jonas Gwangwa |
| 1987 (41st) | Hope and Glory | Peter Martin |
| 1987 (41st) | Wish You Were Here | Stanley Myers |
| 1988 (42nd) | Empire of the Sun | John Williams |
| 1988 (42nd) | Bird | Lennie Niehaus |
| 1988 (42nd) | The Last Emperor | Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su |
| 1988 (42nd) | Moonstruck | Dick Hyman |
| Best Original Film Score |||
| 1989 (43rd) | Dead Poets Society | Maurice Jarre |
| 1989 (43rd) | Dangerous Liaisons | George Fenton |
| 1989 (43rd) | Mississippi Burning | Trevor Jones |
| 1989 (43rd) | Working Girl | Carly Simon |

### 1990s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 1990 (44th) | Cinema Paradiso | Andrea Morricone and Ennio Morricone |
| 1990 (44th) | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Dave Grusin |
| 1990 (44th) | Memphis Belle | George Fenton |
| 1990 (44th) | Postcards from the Edge | Carly Simon |
| 1991 (45th) | Cyrano de Bergerac | Jean-Claude Petit |
| 1991 (45th) | Dances with Wolves | John Barry |
| 1991 (45th) | The Silence of the Lambs | Howard Shore |
| 1991 (45th) | Thelma & Louise | Hans Zimmer |
| 1992 (46th) | Strictly Ballroom | David Hirschfelder |
| 1992 (46th) | Beauty and the Beast | Howard Ashman and Alan Menken |
| 1992 (46th) | Hear My Song | John Altman |
| 1992 (46th) | The Last of the Mohicans | Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones |
| 1993 (47th) | Schindler's List | John Williams |
| 1993 (47th) | Aladdin | Alan Menken |
| 1993 (47th) | The Piano | Michael Nyman |
| 1993 (47th) | Sleepless in Seattle | Marc Shaiman |
| Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music |||
| 1994 (48th) | Backbeat | Don Was |
| 1994 (48th) | The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Guy Gross |
| 1994 (48th) | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1994 (48th) | The Lion King | Hans Zimmer |
| 1995 (49th) | Il Postino: The Postman | Luis Enríquez Bacalov |
| 1995 (49th) | Braveheart | James Horner |
| 1995 (49th) | The Madness of King George | George Fenton |
| 1995 (49th) | Sense and Sensibility | Patrick Doyle |
| 1996 (50th) | The English Patient | Gabriel Yared |
| 1996 (50th) | Brassed Off | Trevor Jones |
| 1996 (50th) | Evita | Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber |
| 1996 (50th) | Shine | David Hirschfelder |
| 1997 (51st) | Romeo + Juliet | Nellee Hooper, Craig Armstrong and Marius de Vries |
| 1997 (51st) | The Full Monty | Anne Dudley |
| 1997 (51st) | L.A. Confidential | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1997 (51st) | Titanic | James Horner |
| 1998 (52nd) | Elizabeth | David Hirschfelder |
| 1998 (52nd) | Hilary and Jackie | Barrington Pheloung |
| 1998 (52nd) | Saving Private Ryan | John Williams |
| 1998 (52nd) | Shakespeare in Love | Stephen Warbeck |
| 1999 (53rd) | American Beauty | Thomas Newman |
| 1999 (53rd) | Buena Vista Social Club | Ry Cooder and Nick Gold |
| 1999 (53rd) | The End of the Affair | Michael Nyman |
| 1999 (53rd) | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Gabriel Yared |

### 2000s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 2000 (54th) | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Tan Dun |
| 2000 (54th) | Almost Famous | Nancy Wilson |
| 2000 (54th) | Billy Elliot | Stephen Warbeck |
| 2000 (54th) | Gladiator | Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer |
| 2000 (54th) | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | T Bone Burnett and Carter Burwell |
| 2001 (55th) | Moulin Rouge! | Craig Armstrong and Marius de Vries |
| 2001 (55th) | Amélie | Yann Tiersen |
| 2001 (55th) | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Howard Shore |
| 2001 (55th) | Mulholland Dr. | Angelo Badalamenti |
| 2001 (55th) | Shrek | Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell |
| 2002 (56th) | The Hours | Philip Glass |
| 2002 (56th) | Catch Me If You Can | John Williams |
| 2002 (56th) | Chicago | Fred Ebb, Danny Elfman and John Kander |
| 2002 (56th) | Gangs of New York | Howard Shore |
| 2002 (56th) | The Pianist | Wojciech Kilar |
| 2003 (57th) | Cold Mountain | T Bone Burnett and Gabriel Yared |
| 2003 (57th) | Girl with a Pearl Earring | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2003 (57th) | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | RZA |
| 2003 (57th) | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Howard Shore |
| 2003 (57th) | Lost in Translation | Brian Reitzell and Kevin Shields |
| 2004 (58th) | The Motorcycle Diaries | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2004 (58th) | The Aviator | Howard Shore |
| 2004 (58th) | The Chorus | Bruno Coulais |
| 2004 (58th) | Finding Neverland | Jan A. P. Kaczmarek |
| 2004 (58th) | Ray | Craig Armstrong |
| 2005 (59th) | Memoirs of a Geisha | John Williams |
| 2005 (59th) | Brokeback Mountain | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2005 (59th) | The Constant Gardener | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2005 (59th) | Mrs Henderson Presents | George Fenton |
| 2005 (59th) | Walk the Line | T Bone Burnett |
| 2006 (60th) | Babel | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2006 (60th) | Casino Royale | David Arnold |
| 2006 (60th) | Dreamgirls | Henry Krieger |
| 2006 (60th) | Happy Feet | John Powell |
| 2006 (60th) | The Queen | Alexandre Desplat |
| Best Music |||
| 2007 (61st) | La Vie en Rose | Christopher Gunning |
| 2007 (61st) | American Gangster | Marc Streitenfeld |
| 2007 (61st) | Atonement | Dario Marianelli |
| 2007 (61st) | The Kite Runner | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2007 (61st) | There Will Be Blood | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2008 (62nd) | Slumdog Millionaire | A. R. Rahman |
| 2008 (62nd) | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2008 (62nd) | The Dark Knight | James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer |
| 2008 (62nd) | Mamma Mia! | Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus |
| 2008 (62nd) | WALL-E | Thomas Newman |
| 2009 (63rd) | Up | Michael Giacchino |
| 2009 (63rd) | Avatar | James Horner |
| 2009 (63rd) | Crazy Heart | T Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton |
| 2009 (63rd) | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2009 (63rd) | Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | Chaz Jankel |

### 2010s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| Best Original Music |||
| 2010 (64th) | The King's Speech | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2010 (64th) | 127 Hours | A. R. Rahman |
| 2010 (64th) | Alice in Wonderland | Danny Elfman |
| 2010 (64th) | How to Train Your Dragon | John Powell |
| 2010 (64th) | Inception | Hans Zimmer |
| 2011 (65th) | The Artist | Ludovic Bource |
| 2011 (65th) | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross |
| 2011 (65th) | Hugo | Howard Shore |
| 2011 (65th) | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2011 (65th) | War Horse | John Williams |
| 2012 (66th) | Skyfall | Thomas Newman |
| 2012 (66th) | Anna Karerina | Dario Marianelli |
| 2012 (66th) | Argo | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2012 (66th) | Life of Pi | Mychael Danna |
| 2012 (66th) | Lincoln | John Williams |
| 2013 (67th) | Gravity | Steven Price |
| 2013 (67th) | 12 Years a Slave | Hans Zimmer |
| 2013 (67th) | The Book Thief | John Williams |
| 2013 (67th) | Captain Phillips | Henry Jackman |
| 2013 (67th) | Saving Mr. Banks | Thomas Newman |
| 2014 (68th) | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2014 (68th) | Birdman | Antonio Sánchez |
| 2014 (68th) | Interstellar | Hans Zimmer |
| 2014 (68th) | The Theory of Everything | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2014 (68th) | Under the Skin | Mica Levi |
| 2015 (69th) | The Hateful Eight | Ennio Morricone |
| 2015 (69th) | Bridge of Spies | Thomas Newman |
| 2015 (69th) | The Revenant | Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai |
| 2015 (69th) | Sicario | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2015 (69th) | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | John Williams |
| 2016 (70th) | La La Land | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2016 (70th) | Arrival | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2016 (70th) | Jackie | Mica Levi |
| 2016 (70th) | Lion | Hauschka and Dustin O'Halloran |
| 2016 (70th) | Nocturnal Animals | Abel Korzeniowski |
| 2017 (71st) | The Shape of Water | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2017 (71st) | Blade Runner 2049 | Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer |
| 2017 (71st) | Darkest Hour | Dario Marianelli |
| 2017 (71st) | Dunkirk | Hans Zimmer |
| 2017 (71st) | Phantom Thread | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2018 (72nd) | A Star Is Born | Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga and Lukas Nelson |
| 2018 (72nd) | BlacKkKlansman | Terence Blanchard |
| 2018 (72nd) | If Beale Street Could Talk | Nicholas Britell |
| 2018 (72nd) | Isle of Dogs | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2018 (72nd) | Mary Poppins Returns | Marc Shaiman |
| 2019 (73rd) | Joker | Hildur Guðnadóttir |
| 2019 (73rd) | 1917 | Thomas Newman |
| 2019 (73rd) | Jojo Rabbit | Michael Giacchino |
| 2019 (73rd) | Little Women | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2019 (73rd) | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | John Williams |

### 2020s

| Year | Film | Composer(s) |
| 2020 (74th) | Soul | Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross |
| 2020 (74th) | Minari | Emile Mosseri |
| 2020 (74th) | News of the World | James Newton Howard |
| 2020 (74th) | Promising Young Woman | Anthony Willis |
| 2020 (74th) | Mank | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross |
| 2021 (75th) | Dune | Hans Zimmer |
| 2021 (75th) | Being the Ricardos | Daniel Pemberton |
| 2021 (75th) | Don't Look Up | Nicholas Britell |
| 2021 (75th) | The French Dispatch | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2021 (75th) | The Power of the Dog | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2022 (76th) | All Quiet on the Western Front | Volker Bertelmann |
| 2022 (76th) | Babylon | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2022 (76th) | The Banshees of Inisherin | Carter Burwell |
| 2022 (76th) | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Son Lux |
| 2022 (76th) | Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2023 (77th) | Oppenheimer | Ludwig Göransson |
| 2023 (77th) | Killers of the Flower Moon | Robbie Robertson |
| 2023 (77th) | Poor Things | Jerskin Fendrix |
| 2023 (77th) | Saltburn | Anthony Willis |
| 2023 (77th) | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Daniel Pemberton |
| 2024 (78th) | The Brutalist | Daniel Blumberg |
| 2024 (78th) | Conclave | Volker Bertelmann |
| 2024 (78th) | Emilia Pérez | Clément Ducol, Camille |
| 2024 (78th) | Nosferatu | Robin Carolan |
| 2024 (78th) | The Wild Robot | Kris Bowers |