# Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. Some pre-existing music is allowed, though, but a contending film must include a minimum of original music. This minimum since 2021 is established as 35% of the music, which is raised to 80% for sequels and franchise films. Fifteen scores are shortlisted before nominations are announced.

## History

The Academy began awarding movies for their scores in 1935. The category was originally called Best Scoring. At the time, winners and nominees were a mix of original scores and adaptations of pre-existing material. Following the controversial win of Charles Previn for One Hundred Men and a Girl in 1938, a film without a credited composer that featured pre-existing classical music, the Academy added a Best Original Score category in 1939. In 1942, the distinction between the two Scoring categories changed slightly as they were renamed to Best Music Score of a Dramatic Picture and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. This marked the first time the category was split into separate genres. From 1942 to 1985, musical scores had their own category, with the exception of 1958, 1981, and 1982. During that time, both categories had many name changes:
Following the wins of four Walt Disney Feature Animation films in six years from 1990 to 1995 (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) during a period called the Disney Renaissance, it was decided to once again split the Best Original Score category by genres, this time by combining comedies and musicals together. As Alan Bergman, the chairman of the Academy's music branch said, "People were voting for the songs, not the underscores. We felt that Academy members outside the music branch didn't distinguish between the two. So when a score like The Lion King is competing against a drama like Forrest Gump, it's apples and oranges – not in the quality of the score, but in the way it functions in the movie. There's a big difference." The category was therefore split into Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score in 1996. This change proved unpopular in the other branches of the Academy as Charles Bernstein, chairman of the Academy's rules committee, noted that "no other Oscar category depended on a film's genre" and "the job of composing an underscore for a romantic comedy is not substantially different from working on a heavy drama." This split was reverted in 2000.
In 2020, rules were changed to require that a film's score include a minimum of 60% original music. Franchise films and sequels must include a minimum of 80% new music. In 2021, the rules were changed again, lowering the minimum percentage of original music from 60% to 35% of the total music in the film.

## Academy Award for Best Original Musical

The Academy Award for Best Original Musical is a category that was re-established in 2000 after the Best Original Musical or Comedy Score category was retired. It has never been awarded in its present form due to a prolonged drought of films meeting the sufficient eligibility requirements. The Music Branch Executive Committee of the Academy decides whether there are enough quality submissions to justify its activation.
According to the rules, the Best Original Musical is defined as follows:
   An original musical consists of not fewer than five original songs by the same writer or team of writers, either used as voiceovers or visually performed. Each of these songs must be substantively rendered, clearly audible, intelligible, and must further the storyline of the motion picture. An arbitrary group of songs unessential to the storyline will not be considered eligible.

## Winners and nominees

The following is the list of nominated composers organized by year, and listing both films and composers. The years shown in the following list of winners are the production years, thus a reference to 1967 means the Oscars presented in 1968 for films released in 1967.

### 1930s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1934 (7th) | One Night of Love | Columbia Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (Thematic music by Victor Schertzinger and Gus Kahn) |
| 1934 (7th) | The Gay Divorcee | RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Max Steiner, head of department (Score by Kenneth Webb and Sam Hoffenstein) |
| 1934 (7th) | The Lost Patrol | RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Steiner, head of department (Score by Steiner) |
| 1935 (8th) |
| 1935 (8th) | The Informer | RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Max Steiner, head of department (Score by Steiner) |
| 1935 (8th) | Captain Blood (write-in) | Warner Bros.-First National Studio Music Department, Leo F. Forbstein, head of department (Score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold) |
| 1935 (8th) | Mutiny on the Bounty | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department, Nat W. Finston, head of department (Score by Herbert Stothart) |
| 1935 (8th) | Peter Ibbetson | Paramount Studio Music Department, Irvin Talbot, head of department (Score by Ernst Toch) |
| 1936 (9th) |
| 1936 (9th) | Anthony Adverse | Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Leo F. Forbstein, head of department (Score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold) |
| 1936 (9th) | The Charge of the Light Brigade | Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Forbstein, head of department (Score by Max Steiner) |
| 1936 (9th) | The Garden of Allah | Selznick International Pictures Music Department, Steiner, head of department (Score by Steiner) |
| 1936 (9th) | The General Died at Dawn | Paramount Studio Music Department, Boris Morros, head of department (Score by Werner Janssen) |
| 1936 (9th) | Winterset | RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Nathaniel Shilkret, head of department (Score by Shilkret) |
| 1937 (10th) |
| 1937 (10th) | One Hundred Men and a Girl | Universal Studio Music Department, Charles Previn, head of department (no composer credit) |
| 1937 (10th) | The Hurricane | Samuel Goldwyn Studio Music Department, Alfred Newman, head of department (Score by Newman) |
| 1937 (10th) | In Old Chicago | 20th Century-Fox Studio Music Department, Louis Silvers, head of department (no composer credit) |
| 1937 (10th) | The Life of Emile Zola | Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Leo F. Forbstein, head of department (Score by Max Steiner) |
| 1937 (10th) | Lost Horizon | Columbia Studio Music Department, Morris Stoloff, head of department (Score by Dimitri Tiomkin) |
| 1937 (10th) | Make a Wish | Principal Productions, Hugo Riesenfeld, head of department (Score by Riesenfeld) |
| 1937 (10th) | Maytime | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department, Nat W. Finston, head of department (Score by Herbert Stothart) |
| 1937 (10th) | Portia on Trial | Republic Studio Music Department, Alberto Colombo, head of department (Score by Colombo) |
| 1937 (10th) | The Prisoner of Zenda | Selznick International Pictures Music Department, Alfred Newman, head of department (Score by Newman) |
| 1937 (10th) | Quality Street | RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Roy Webb, head of department (Score by Webb) |
| 1937 (10th) | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Walt Disney Studio Music Department, Leigh Harline, head of department (Score by Frank Churchill, Harline and Paul Smith) |
| 1937 (10th) | Something to Sing About | Grand National Studio Music Department, Constantin Bakaleinikoff, head of department (Score by Victor Schertzinger) |
| 1937 (10th) | Souls at Sea | Paramount Studio Music Department, Boris Morros, head of department (Score by W. Franke Harling and Milan Roder) |
| 1937 (10th) | Way Out West | Hal Roach Studio Music Department, Marvin Hatley, head of department (Score by Hatley) |
| 1938 (11th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1938 (11th) | The Adventures of Robin Hood | Erich Wolfgang Korngold |
| 1938 (11th) | Army Girl | Victor Young |
| 1938 (11th) | Block-Heads | Marvin Hatley |
| 1938 (11th) | Blockade | Werner Janssen |
| 1938 (11th) | Breaking the Ice | Victor Young |
| 1938 (11th) | The Cowboy and the Lady | Alfred Newman |
| 1938 (11th) | If I Were King | Richard Hageman |
| 1938 (11th) | Marie Antoinette | Herbert Stothart |
| 1938 (11th) | Pacific Liner | Russell Bennett |
| 1938 (11th) | Suez | Louis Silvers |
| 1938 (11th) | The Young in Heart | Franz Waxman |
| Scoring ||
| 1938 (11th) | Alexander's Ragtime Band | Alfred Newman |
| 1938 (11th) | Carefree | Victor Baravalle |
| 1938 (11th) | Girls' School | Morris Stoloff and Gregory Stone |
| 1938 (11th) | The Goldwyn Follies | Alfred Newman |
| 1938 (11th) | Jezebel | Max Steiner |
| 1938 (11th) | Mad About Music | Charles Previn and Frank Skinner |
| 1938 (11th) | Storm Over Bengal | Cy Feuer |
| 1938 (11th) | Sweethearts | Herbert Stothart |
| 1938 (11th) | There Goes My Heart | Marvin Hatley |
| 1938 (11th) | Tropic Holiday | Boris Morros |
| 1938 (11th) | The Young in Heart | Franz Waxman |
| 1939 (12th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1939 (12th) | The Wizard of Oz | Herbert Stothart |
| 1939 (12th) | Dark Victory | Max Steiner |
| 1939 (12th) | Eternally Yours | Werner Janssen |
| 1939 (12th) | Golden Boy | Victor Young |
| 1939 (12th) | Gone with the Wind | Max Steiner |
| 1939 (12th) | Gulliver's Travels | Victor Young |
| 1939 (12th) | The Man in the Iron Mask | Lud Gluskin and Lucien Moraweck |
| 1939 (12th) | Man of Conquest | Victor Young |
| 1939 (12th) | Nurse Edith Cavell | Anthony Collins |
| 1939 (12th) | Of Mice and Men | Aaron Copland |
| 1939 (12th) | The Rains Came | Alfred Newman |
| 1939 (12th) | Wuthering Heights | Alfred Newman |
| Scoring ||
| 1939 (12th) | Stagecoach | Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold and Leo Shuken |
| 1939 (12th) | Babes in Arms | Roger Edens and Georgie Stoll |
| 1939 (12th) | First Love | Charles Previn |
| 1939 (12th) | The Great Victor Herbert | Phil Boutelje and Arthur Lange |
| 1939 (12th) | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Alfred Newman |
| 1939 (12th) | Intermezzo | Louis Forbes |
| 1939 (12th) | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1939 (12th) | Of Mice and Men | Aaron Copland |
| 1939 (12th) | The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Erich Wolfgang Korngold |
| 1939 (12th) | She Married a Cop | Cy Feuer |
| 1939 (12th) | Swanee River | Louis Silvers |
| 1939 (12th) | They Shall Have Music | Alfred Newman |
| 1939 (12th) | Way Down South | Victor Young |

### 1940s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1940 (13th) | Original Score | Original Score |
| 1940 (13th) | Pinocchio | Leigh Harline, Paul Smith and Ned Washington |
| 1940 (13th) | Arizona | Victor Young |
| 1940 (13th) | Dark Command | Victor Young |
| 1940 (13th) | The Fight for Life | Louis Gruenberg |
| 1940 (13th) | The Great Dictator | Meredith Willson |
| 1940 (13th) | The House of the Seven Gables | Frank Skinner |
| 1940 (13th) | The Howards of Virginia | Richard Hageman |
| 1940 (13th) | The Letter | Max Steiner |
| 1940 (13th) | The Long Voyage Home | Richard Hageman |
| 1940 (13th) | The Mark of Zorro | Alfred Newman |
| 1940 (13th) | My Favorite Wife | Roy Webb |
| 1940 (13th) | North West Mounted Police | Victor Young |
| 1940 (13th) | One Million B.C. | Werner Heymann |
| 1940 (13th) | Our Town | Aaron Copland |
| 1940 (13th) | Rebecca | Franz Waxman |
| 1940 (13th) | The Thief of Bagdad | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1940 (13th) | Waterloo Bridge | Herbert Stothart |
| Scoring ||
| 1940 (13th) | Tin Pan Alley | Alfred Newman |
| 1940 (13th) | Arise, My Love | Victor Young |
| 1940 (13th) | Hit Parade of 1941 | Cy Feuer |
| 1940 (13th) | Irene | Anthony Collins |
| 1940 (13th) | Our Town | Aaron Copland |
| 1940 (13th) | The Sea Hawk | Erich Wolfgang Korngold |
| 1940 (13th) | Second Chorus | Artie Shaw |
| 1940 (13th) | Spring Parade | Charles Previn |
| 1940 (13th) | Strike Up the Band | Roger Edens and Georgie Stoll |
| 1941 (14th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1941 (14th) | The Devil and Daniel Webster | Bernard Herrmann |
| 1941 (14th) | Back Street | Frank Skinner |
| 1941 (14th) | Ball of Fire | Alfred Newman |
| 1941 (14th) | Cheers for Miss Bishop | Edward Ward |
| 1941 (14th) | Citizen Kane | Bernard Herrmann |
| 1941 (14th) | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Franz Waxman |
| 1941 (14th) | Hold Back the Dawn | Victor Young |
| 1941 (14th) | How Green Was My Valley | Alfred Newman |
| 1941 (14th) | King of the Zombies | Edward Kay |
| 1941 (14th) | Ladies in Retirement | Morris Stoloff and Ernst Toch |
| 1941 (14th) | The Little Foxes | Meredith Willson |
| 1941 (14th) | Lydia | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1941 (14th) | Mercy Island | Cy Feuer and Walter Scharf |
| 1941 (14th) | Sergeant York | Max Steiner |
| 1941 (14th) | So Ends Our Night | Louis Gruenberg |
| 1941 (14th) | Sundown | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1941 (14th) | Suspicion | Franz Waxman |
| 1941 (14th) | Tanks a Million | Edward Ward |
| 1941 (14th) | That Uncertain Feeling | Werner Heymann |
| 1941 (14th) | This Woman Is Mine | Richard Hageman |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1941 (14th) | Dumbo | Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace |
| 1941 (14th) | All-American Co-Ed | Edward Ward |
| 1941 (14th) | Birth of the Blues | Robert E. Dolan |
| 1941 (14th) | Buck Privates | Charles Previn |
| 1941 (14th) | The Chocolate Soldier | Herbert Stothart and Bronisław Kaper |
| 1941 (14th) | Ice-Capades | Cy Feuer |
| 1941 (14th) | The Strawberry Blonde | Heinz Roemheld |
| 1941 (14th) | Sun Valley Serenade | Emil Newman |
| 1941 (14th) | Sunny | Anthony Collins |
| 1941 (14th) | You'll Never Get Rich | Morris Stoloff |
| 1942 (15th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1942 (15th) | Now, Voyager | Max Steiner |
| 1942 (15th) | Arabian Nights | Frank Skinner |
| 1942 (15th) | Bambi | Frank Churchill (p.n.) and Edward Plumb |
| 1942 (15th) | The Black Swan | Alfred Newman |
| 1942 (15th) | The Corsican Brothers | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1942 (15th) | Flying Tigers | Victor Young |
| 1942 (15th) | The Gold Rush | Max Terr |
| 1942 (15th) | I Married a Witch | Roy Webb |
| 1942 (15th) | Joan of Paris | Roy Webb |
| 1942 (15th) | Jungle Book | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1942 (15th) | Klondike Fury | Edward Kay |
| 1942 (15th) | The Pride of the Yankees | Leigh Harline |
| 1942 (15th) | Random Harvest | Herbert Stothart |
| 1942 (15th) | The Shanghai Gesture | Richard Hageman |
| 1942 (15th) | Silver Queen | Victor Young |
| 1942 (15th) | Take a Letter, Darling | Victor Young |
| 1942 (15th) | The Talk of the Town | Friedrich Hollaender and Morris Stoloff |
| 1942 (15th) | To Be or Not to Be | Werner Heymann |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1942 (15th) | Yankee Doodle Dandy | Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld |
| 1942 (15th) | Flying with Music | Edward Ward |
| 1942 (15th) | For Me and My Gal | Roger Edens and Georgie Stoll |
| 1942 (15th) | Holiday Inn | Robert E. Dolan |
| 1942 (15th) | It Started with Eve | Hans J. Salter and Charles Previn |
| 1942 (15th) | Johnny Doughboy | Walter Scharf |
| 1942 (15th) | My Gal Sal | Alfred Newman |
| 1942 (15th) | You Were Never Lovelier | Leigh Harline |
| 1943 (16th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1943 (16th) | The Song of Bernadette | Alfred Newman |
| 1943 (16th) | The Amazing Mrs. Holliday | Frank Skinner and Hans J. Salter |
| 1943 (16th) | Casablanca | Max Steiner |
| 1943 (16th) | Commandos Strike at Dawn | Morris Stoloff and Louis Gruenberg |
| 1943 (16th) | The Fallen Sparrow | Roy Webb and Constantin Bakaleinikoff |
| 1943 (16th) | For Whom the Bell Tolls | Victor Young |
| 1943 (16th) | Hangmen Also Die! | Hanns Eisler |
| 1943 (16th) | Hi Diddle Diddle | Phil Boutelje |
| 1943 (16th) | In Old Oklahoma | Walter Scharf |
| 1943 (16th) | Johnny Come Lately | Leigh Harline |
| 1943 (16th) | The Kansan | Gerard Carbonara |
| 1943 (16th) | Lady of Burlesque | Arthur Lange |
| 1943 (16th) | Madame Curie | Herbert Stothart |
| 1943 (16th) | The Moon and Sixpence | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1943 (16th) | The North Star | Aaron Copland |
| 1943 (16th) | Victory Through Air Power | Edward Plumb, Paul Smith and Oliver Wallace |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1943 (16th) | This Is the Army | Ray Heindorf |
| 1943 (16th) | Coney Island | Alfred Newman |
| 1943 (16th) | Hit Parade of 1943 | Walter Scharf |
| 1943 (16th) | Phantom of the Opera | Edward Ward |
| 1943 (16th) | Saludos Amigos | Edward Plumb, Paul Smith and Charles Wolcott |
| 1943 (16th) | The Sky's the Limit | Leigh Harline |
| 1943 (16th) | Something to Shout About | Morris Stoloff |
| 1943 (16th) | Stage Door Canteen | Fred Rich |
| 1943 (16th) | Star Spangled Rhythm | Robert E. Dolan |
| 1943 (16th) | Thousands Cheer | Herbert P. Stothart |
| 1944 (17th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1944 (17th) | Since You Went Away | Max Steiner |
| 1944 (17th) | Address Unknown | Morris Stoloff and Ernst Toch |
| 1944 (17th) | The Adventures of Mark Twain | Max Steiner |
| 1944 (17th) | The Bridge of San Luis Rey | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1944 (17th) | Casanova Brown | Arthur Lange |
| 1944 (17th) | Christmas Holiday | Hans J. Salter |
| 1944 (17th) | Double Indemnity | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1944 (17th) | The Fighting Seabees | Walter Scharf and Roy Webb |
| 1944 (17th) | The Hairy Ape | Michel Michelet and Edward Paul |
| 1944 (17th) | It Happened Tomorrow | Robert Stolz |
| 1944 (17th) | Jack London | Fred Rich |
| 1944 (17th) | Kismet | Herbert Stothart |
| 1944 (17th) | None but the Lonely Heart | Constantin Bakaleinikoff and Hanns Eisler |
| 1944 (17th) | The Princess and the Pirate | David Rose |
| 1944 (17th) | Summer Storm | Karl Hajos |
| 1944 (17th) | Three Russian Girls | Franke Harling |
| 1944 (17th) | Up in Mabel's Room | Edward Paul |
| 1944 (17th) | Voice in the Wind | Michel Michelet |
| 1944 (17th) | Wilson | Alfred Newman |
| 1944 (17th) | The Woman of the Town | Miklós Rózsa |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1944 (17th) | Cover Girl | Morris Stoloff and Carmen Dragon |
| 1944 (17th) | Brazil | Walter Scharf |
| 1944 (17th) | Higher and Higher | Constantin Bakaleinikoff |
| 1944 (17th) | Hollywood Canteen | Ray Heindorf |
| 1944 (17th) | Irish Eyes Are Smiling | Alfred Newman |
| 1944 (17th) | Knickerbocker Holiday | Werner Heymann and Kurt Weill |
| 1944 (17th) | Lady in the Dark | Robert Emmett Dolan |
| 1944 (17th) | Lady, Let's Dance | Edward Kay |
| 1944 (17th) | Meet Me in St. Louis | Georgie Stoll |
| 1944 (17th) | The Merry Monahans | Hans J. Salter |
| 1944 (17th) | Minstrel Man | Ferde Grofé and Leo Erdody |
| 1944 (17th) | Sensations of 1945 | Mahlon Merrick |
| 1944 (17th) | Song of the Open Road | Charles Previn |
| 1944 (17th) | Up in Arms | Louis Forbes and Ray Heindorf |
| 1945 (18th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1945 (18th) | Spellbound | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1945 (18th) | The Bells of St. Mary's | Robert E. Dolan |
| 1945 (18th) | Brewster's Millions | Louis Forbes |
| 1945 (18th) | Captain Kidd | Werner Janssen |
| 1945 (18th) | The Enchanted Cottage | Roy Webb |
| 1945 (18th) | Flame of Barbary Coast | Morton Scott and Dale Butts |
| 1945 (18th) | G. I. Honeymoon | Edward J. Kay |
| 1945 (18th) | G. I. Joe | Louis Applebaum and Ann Ronell |
| 1945 (18th) | Guest in the House | Werner Janssen |
| 1945 (18th) | Guest Wife | Daniele Amfitheatrof |
| 1945 (18th) | The Keys of the Kingdom | Alfred Newman |
| 1945 (18th) | The Lost Weekend | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1945 (18th) | Love Letters | Victor Young |
| 1945 (18th) | The Man Who Walked Alone | Karl Hajos |
| 1945 (18th) | Objective, Burma! | Franz Waxman |
| 1945 (18th) | Paris Underground | Alexandre Tansman |
| 1945 (18th) | A Song to Remember | Miklós Rózsa and Morris Stoloff |
| 1945 (18th) | The Southerner | Werner Janssen |
| 1945 (18th) | This Love of Ours | Hans J. Salter |
| 1945 (18th) | The Valley of Decision | Herbert Stothart |
| 1945 (18th) | The Woman in the Window | Arthur Lange and Hugo Friedhofer |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1945 (18th) | Anchors Aweigh | Georgie Stoll |
| 1945 (18th) | Belle of the Yukon | Arthur Lange |
| 1945 (18th) | Can't Help Singing | Jerome Kern (p.n.) and Hans J. Salter |
| 1945 (18th) | Hitchhike to Happiness | Morton Scott |
| 1945 (18th) | Incendiary Blonde | Robert E. Dolan |
| 1945 (18th) | Rhapsody in Blue | Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner |
| 1945 (18th) | State Fair | Alfred Newman and Charles Henderson |
| 1945 (18th) | Sunbonnet Sue | Edward J. Kay |
| 1945 (18th) | The Three Caballeros | Edward Plumb, Paul Smith and Charles Wolcott |
| 1945 (18th) | Tonight and Every Night | Marlin Skiles and Morris Stoloff |
| 1945 (18th) | Why Girls Leave Home | Walter Greene |
| 1945 (18th) | Wonder Man | Louis Forbes and Ray Heindorf |
| 1946 (19th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1946 (19th) | The Best Years of Our Lives | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1946 (19th) | Anna and the King of Siam | Bernard Herrmann |
| 1946 (19th) | Henry V | William Walton |
| 1946 (19th) | Humoresque | Franz Waxman |
| 1946 (19th) | The Killers | Miklós Rózsa |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1946 (19th) | The Jolson Story | Morris Stoloff |
| 1946 (19th) | Blue Skies | Robert Emmett Dolan |
| 1946 (19th) | Centennial Summer | Alfred Newman |
| 1946 (19th) | The Harvey Girls | Lennie Hayton |
| 1946 (19th) | Night and Day | Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner |
| 1947 (20th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1947 (20th) | A Double Life | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1947 (20th) | The Bishop's Wife | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1947 (20th) | Captain from Castile | Alfred Newman |
| 1947 (20th) | Forever Amber | David Raksin |
| 1947 (20th) | Life with Father | Max Steiner |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1947 (20th) | Mother Wore Tights | Alfred Newman |
| 1947 (20th) | Fiesta | Johnny Green |
| 1947 (20th) | My Wild Irish Rose | Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner |
| 1947 (20th) | Road to Rio | Robert Emmett Dolan |
| 1947 (20th) | Song of the South | Daniele Amfitheatrof, Paul Smith and Charles Wolcott |
| 1948 (21st) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1948 (21st) | The Red Shoes | Brian Easdale |
| 1948 (21st) | Hamlet | William Walton |
| 1948 (21st) | Joan of Arc | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1948 (21st) | Johnny Belinda | Max Steiner |
| 1948 (21st) | The Snake Pit | Alfred Newman |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1948 (21st) | Easter Parade | Johnny Green and Roger Edens |
| 1948 (21st) | The Emperor Waltz | Victor Young |
| 1948 (21st) | The Pirate | Lennie Hayton |
| 1948 (21st) | Romance on the High Seas | Ray Heindorf |
| 1948 (21st) | When My Baby Smiles at Me | Alfred Newman |
| 1949 (22nd) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1949 (22nd) | The Heiress | Aaron Copland |
| 1949 (22nd) | Beyond the Forest | Max Steiner |
| 1949 (22nd) | Champion | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1949 (22nd) | On the Town | Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton |
| 1949 (22nd) | Jolson Sings Again | Morris Stoloff and George Duning |
| 1949 (22nd) | Look for the Silver Lining | Ray Heindorf |

### 1950s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1950 (23rd) | Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture |
| 1950 (23rd) | Sunset Boulevard | Franz Waxman |
| 1950 (23rd) | All About Eve | Alfred Newman |
| 1950 (23rd) | The Flame and the Arrow | Max Steiner |
| 1950 (23rd) | No Sad Songs for Me | George Duning |
| 1950 (23rd) | Samson and Delilah | Victor Young |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1950 (23rd) | Annie Get Your Gun | Adolph Deutsch and Roger Edens |
| 1950 (23rd) | Cinderella | Paul Smith and Oliver Wallace |
| 1950 (23rd) | I'll Get By | Lionel Newman |
| 1950 (23rd) | Three Little Words | André Previn |
| 1950 (23rd) | The West Point Story | Ray Heindorf |
| 1951 (24th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1951 (24th) | A Place in the Sun | Franz Waxman |
| 1951 (24th) | David and Bathsheba | Alfred Newman |
| 1951 (24th) | Death of a Salesman | Alex North |
| 1951 (24th) | Quo Vadis | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1951 (24th) | A Streetcar Named Desire | Alex North |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1951 (24th) | An American in Paris | Saul Chaplin and Johnny Green |
| 1951 (24th) | Alice in Wonderland | Oliver Wallace |
| 1951 (24th) | The Great Caruso | Peter Herman Adler and Johnny Green |
| 1951 (24th) | On the Riviera | Alfred Newman |
| 1951 (24th) | Show Boat | Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger |
| 1952 (25th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1952 (25th) | High Noon | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1952 (25th) | Ivanhoe | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1952 (25th) | The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima | Max Steiner |
| 1952 (25th) | The Thief | Herschel Burke Gilbert |
| 1952 (25th) | Viva Zapata! | Alex North |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1952 (25th) | With a Song in My Heart | Alfred Newman |
| 1952 (25th) | Hans Christian Andersen | Walter Scharf |
| 1952 (25th) | The Jazz Singer | Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner |
| 1952 (25th) | The Medium | Gian Carlo Menotti |
| 1952 (25th) | Singin' in the Rain | Lennie Hayton |
| 1953 (26th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1953 (26th) | Lili | Bronisław Kaper |
| 1953 (26th) | Above and Beyond | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1953 (26th) | From Here to Eternity | George Duning and Morris Stoloff |
| 1953 (26th) | Julius Caesar | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1953 (26th) | This Is Cinerama | Louis Forbes |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1953 (26th) | Call Me Madam | Alfred Newman |
| 1953 (26th) | The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. | Friedrich Hollaender and Morris Stoloff |
| 1953 (26th) | The Band Wagon | Adolph Deutsch |
| 1953 (26th) | Calamity Jane | Ray Heindorf |
| 1953 (26th) | Kiss Me Kate | Saul Chaplin and André Previn |
| 1954 (27th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1954 (27th) | The High and the Mighty | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1954 (27th) | The Caine Mutiny | Max Steiner |
| 1954 (27th) | Genevieve | Larry Adler |
| 1954 (27th) | On the Waterfront | Leonard Bernstein |
| 1954 (27th) | The Silver Chalice | Franz Waxman |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1954 (27th) | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Saul Chaplin and Adolph Deutsch |
| 1954 (27th) | Carmen Jones | Herschel Burke Gilbert |
| 1954 (27th) | The Glenn Miller Story | Joseph Gershenson and Henry Mancini |
| 1954 (27th) | A Star Is Born | Ray Heindorf |
| 1954 (27th) | There's No Business Like Show Business | Alfred Newman and Lionel Newman |
| 1955 (28th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1955 (28th) | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | Alfred Newman |
| 1955 (28th) | Battle Cry | Max Steiner |
| 1955 (28th) | The Man with the Golden Arm | Elmer Bernstein |
| 1955 (28th) | Picnic | George Duning |
| 1955 (28th) | The Rose Tattoo | Alex North |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1955 (28th) | Oklahoma! | Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch |
| 1955 (28th) | Daddy Long Legs | Alfred Newman |
| 1955 (28th) | Guys and Dolls | Jay Blackton and Cyril J. Mockridge |
| 1955 (28th) | It's Always Fair Weather | André Previn |
| 1955 (28th) | Love Me or Leave Me | Percy Faith and Georgie Stoll |
| 1956 (29th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1956 (29th) | Around the World in 80 Days | Victor Young (p.r.) |
| 1956 (29th) | Anastasia | Alfred Newman |
| 1956 (29th) | Between Heaven and Hell | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1956 (29th) | Giant | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1956 (29th) | The Rainmaker | Alex North |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1956 (29th) | The King and I | Ken Darby and Newman |
| 1956 (29th) | The Best Things in Life Are Free | Lionel Newman |
| 1956 (29th) | The Eddy Duchin Story | George Duning and Morris Stoloff |
| 1956 (29th) | High Society | Saul Chaplin and Johnny Green |
| 1956 (29th) | Meet Me in Las Vegas | Johnny Green and Georgie Stoll |
| 1957 (30th) |
| 1957 (30th) | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Malcolm Arnold |
| 1957 (30th) | An Affair to Remember | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1957 (30th) | Boy on a Dolphin | Hugo Friedhofer |
| 1957 (30th) | Perri | Paul Smith |
| 1957 (30th) | Raintree County | Johnny Green |
| 1958 (31st) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1958 (31st) | The Old Man and the Sea | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1958 (31st) | The Big Country | Jerome Moross |
| 1958 (31st) | Separate Tables | David Raksin |
| 1958 (31st) | White Wilderness | Oliver Wallace |
| 1958 (31st) | The Young Lions | Hugo Friedhofer |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1958 (31st) | Gigi | André Previn |
| 1958 (31st) | The Bolshoi Ballet | Yuri Fayer and Gennady Rozhdestvensky |
| 1958 (31st) | Damn Yankees | Ray Heindorf |
| 1958 (31st) | Mardi Gras | Lionel Newman |
| 1958 (31st) | South Pacific | Ken Darby and Alfred Newman |
| 1959 (32nd) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1959 (32nd) | Ben-Hur | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1959 (32nd) | The Diary of Anne Frank | Alfred Newman |
| 1959 (32nd) | The Nun's Story | Franz Waxman |
| 1959 (32nd) | On the Beach | Ernest Gold |
| 1959 (32nd) | Pillow Talk | Frank De Vol |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1959 (32nd) | Porgy and Bess | Ken Darby and André Previn |
| 1959 (32nd) | The Five Pennies | Leith Stevens |
| 1959 (32nd) | Li'l Abner | Joseph J. Lilley and Nelson Riddle |
| 1959 (32nd) | Say One for Me | Lionel Newman |
| 1959 (32nd) | Sleeping Beauty | George Bruns |

### 1960s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1960 (33rd) | Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture |
| 1960 (33rd) | Exodus | Ernest Gold |
| 1960 (33rd) | The Alamo | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1960 (33rd) | Elmer Gantry | André Previn |
| 1960 (33rd) | The Magnificent Seven | Elmer Bernstein |
| 1960 (33rd) | Spartacus | Alex North |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1960 (33rd) | Song Without End | Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman |
| 1960 (33rd) | Bells Are Ringing | André Previn |
| 1960 (33rd) | Can-Can | Nelson Riddle |
| 1960 (33rd) | Let's Make Love | Earle Hagen and Lionel Newman |
| 1960 (33rd) | Pepe | Johnny Green |
| 1961 (34th) |
| Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ||
| 1961 (34th) | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Henry Mancini |
| 1961 (34th) | El Cid | Miklós Rózsa |
| 1961 (34th) | Fanny | Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman |
| 1961 (34th) | The Guns of Navarone | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1961 (34th) | Summer and Smoke | Elmer Bernstein |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture ||
| 1961 (34th) | West Side Story | Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal and Sid Ramin |
| 1961 (34th) | Babes in Toyland | George Bruns |
| 1961 (34th) | Flower Drum Song | Alfred Newman and Ken Darby |
| 1961 (34th) | Khovanshchina | Dmitri Shostakovich |
| 1961 (34th) | Paris Blues | Duke Ellington |
| 1962 (35th) |
| Music Score — Substantially Original ||
| 1962 (35th) | Lawrence of Arabia | Maurice Jarre |
| 1962 (35th) | Freud | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1962 (35th) | Mutiny on the Bounty | Bronisław Kaper |
| 1962 (35th) | Taras Bulba | Franz Waxman |
| 1962 (35th) | To Kill a Mockingbird | Elmer Bernstein |
| Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment ||
| 1962 (35th) | The Music Man | Ray Heindorf |
| 1962 (35th) | Billy Rose's Jumbo | Georgie Stoll |
| 1962 (35th) | Gigot | Michel Magne |
| 1962 (35th) | Gypsy | Frank Perkins |
| 1962 (35th) | The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm | Leigh Harline |
| 1963 (36th) |
| Music Score — Substantially Original ||
| 1963 (36th) | Tom Jones | John Addison |
| 1963 (36th) | 55 Days at Peking | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1963 (36th) | Cleopatra | Alex North |
| 1963 (36th) | How the West Was Won | Alfred Newman and Ken Darby |
| 1963 (36th) | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Ernest Gold |
| Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment ||
| 1963 (36th) | Irma la Douce | André Previn |
| 1963 (36th) | Bye Bye Birdie | Johnny Green |
| 1963 (36th) | A New Kind of Love | Leith Stevens |
| 1963 (36th) | Sundays and Cybele | Maurice Jarre |
| 1963 (36th) | The Sword in the Stone | George Bruns |
| 1964 (37th) |
| Music Score — Substantially Original ||
| 1964 (37th) | Mary Poppins | Sherman Brothers |
| 1964 (37th) | Becket | Laurence Rosenthal |
| 1964 (37th) | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| 1964 (37th) | Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Frank De Vol |
| 1964 (37th) | The Pink Panther | Henry Mancini |
| Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment ||
| 1964 (37th) | My Fair Lady | André Previn |
| 1964 (37th) | A Hard Day's Night | George Martin |
| 1964 (37th) | Mary Poppins | Irwin Kostal |
| 1964 (37th) | Robin and the 7 Hoods | Nelson Riddle |
| 1964 (37th) | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Robert Armbruster, Leo Arnaud, Jack Elliott, Jack Hayes, Calvin Jackson and Leo Shuken |
| 1965 (38th) |
| Music Score — Substantially Original ||
| 1965 (38th) | Doctor Zhivago | Maurice Jarre |
| 1965 (38th) | The Agony and the Ecstasy | Alex North |
| 1965 (38th) | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Alfred Newman |
| 1965 (38th) | A Patch of Blue | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1965 (38th) | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Jacques Demy and Michel Legrand |
| Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment ||
| 1965 (38th) | The Sound of Music | Irwin Kostal |
| 1965 (38th) | Cat Ballou | Frank De Vol |
| 1965 (38th) | The Pleasure Seekers | Sandy Courage and Lionel Newman |
| 1965 (38th) | A Thousand Clowns | Don Walker |
| 1965 (38th) | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Michel Legrand |
| 1966 (39th) |
| Original Music Score ||
| 1966 (39th) | Born Free | John Barry |
| 1966 (39th) | The Bible: In the Beginning... | Toshiro Mayuzumi |
| 1966 (39th) | Hawaii | Elmer Bernstein |
| 1966 (39th) | The Sand Pebbles | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1966 (39th) | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Alex North |
| Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment ||
| 1966 (39th) | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Ken Thorne |
| 1966 (39th) | The Gospel According to St. Matthew | Luis Bacalov |
| 1966 (39th) | Return of the Seven | Elmer Bernstein |
| 1966 (39th) | The Singing Nun | Harry Sukman |
| 1966 (39th) | Stop the World – I Want to Get Off | Al Ham |
| 1967 (40th) |
| Original Music Score ||
| 1967 (40th) | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Elmer Bernstein |
| 1967 (40th) | Cool Hand Luke | Lalo Schifrin |
| 1967 (40th) | Doctor Dolittle | Leslie Bricusse |
| 1967 (40th) | Far from the Madding Crowd | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1967 (40th) | In Cold Blood | Quincy Jones |
| Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment ||
| 1967 (40th) | Camelot | Ken Darby and Alfred Newman |
| 1967 (40th) | Doctor Dolittle | Sandy Courage and Lionel Newman |
| 1967 (40th) | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Frank De Vol |
| 1967 (40th) | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Joseph Gershenson and André Previn |
| 1967 (40th) | Valley of the Dolls | John Williams |
| 1968 (41st) |
| Original Score — For a Motion Picture (Not a Musical) ||
| 1968 (41st) | The Lion in Winter | John Barry |
| 1968 (41st) | The Fox | Lalo Schifrin |
| 1968 (41st) | Planet of the Apes | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1968 (41st) | The Shoes of the Fisherman | Alex North |
| 1968 (41st) | The Thomas Crown Affair | Michel Legrand |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation ||
| 1968 (41st) | Oliver! | Johnny Green (adaptation score) |
| 1968 (41st) | Finian's Rainbow | Ray Heindorf (adaptation score) |
| 1968 (41st) | Funny Girl | Walter Scharf (adaptation score) |
| 1968 (41st) | Star! | Lennie Hayton (adaptation score) |
| 1968 (41st) | The Young Girls of Rochefort | Michel Legrand (music and adaptation score) and Jacques Demy (lyrics) |
| 1969 (42nd) |
| Original Score — For a Motion Picture (Not a Musical) ||
| 1969 (42nd) | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Burt Bacharach |
| 1969 (42nd) | Anne of the Thousand Days | Georges Delerue |
| 1969 (42nd) | The Reivers | John Williams |
| 1969 (42nd) | The Secret of Santa Vittoria | Ernest Gold |
| 1969 (42nd) | The Wild Bunch | Jerry Fielding |
| Scoring of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation ||
| 1969 (42nd) | Hello, Dolly! | Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman (adaptation score) |
| 1969 (42nd) | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Leslie Bricusse (music and lyrics) and John Williams (adaptation score) |
| 1969 (42nd) | Paint Your Wagon | Nelson Riddle (adaptation score) |
| 1969 (42nd) | Sweet Charity | Cy Coleman (adaptation score) |
| 1969 (42nd) | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Johnny Green and Albert Woodbury (adaptation score) |

### 1970s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1970 (43rd) | Original Score | Original Score |
| 1970 (43rd) | Love Story | Francis Lai |
| 1970 (43rd) | Airport | Alfred Newman (p.n.) |
| 1970 (43rd) | Cromwell | Frank Cordell |
| 1970 (43rd) | Patton | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1970 (43rd) | Sunflower | Henry Mancini |
| Original Song Score ||
| 1970 (43rd) | Let It Be | The Beatles (music and lyrics) |
| 1970 (43rd) | The Baby Maker | Fred Karlin (music) and Tylwyth Kymry (lyrics) |
| 1970 (43rd) | A Boy Named Charlie Brown | Rod McKuen (music and lyrics), John Scott Trotter (music), Bill Melendez, Al Shean (lyrics), Vince Guaraldi (adaptation score) |
| 1970 (43rd) | Darling Lili | Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) |
| 1970 (43rd) | Scrooge | Leslie Bricusse (music and lyrics), Ian Fraser and Herbert W. Spencer (adaptation score) |
| 1971 (44th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1971 (44th) | Summer of '42 | Michel Legrand |
| 1971 (44th) | Mary, Queen of Scots | John Barry |
| 1971 (44th) | Nicholas and Alexandra | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1971 (44th) | Shaft | Isaac Hayes |
| 1971 (44th) | Straw Dogs | Jerry Fielding |
| Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score ||
| 1971 (44th) | Fiddler on the Roof | John Williams (adaptation score) |
| 1971 (44th) | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Sherman Brothers (song score) and Irwin Kostal (adaptation score) |
| 1971 (44th) | The Boy Friend | Peter Maxwell Davies and Peter Greenwell (adaptation score) |
| 1971 (44th) | Tchaikovsky | Dimitri Tiomkin (adaptation score) |
| 1971 (44th) | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley (song score) and Walter Scharf (adaptation score) |
| 1972 (45th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1972 (45th) | Limelight | Charlie Chaplin, Raymond Rasch (p.r.) and Larry Russell (p.r.) |
| 1972 (45th) | The Godfather (nomination revoked) | Nino Rota |
| 1972 (45th) | Images | John Williams |
| 1972 (45th) | Napoleon and Samantha | Buddy Baker |
| 1972 (45th) | The Poseidon Adventure | John Williams |
| 1972 (45th) | Sleuth | John Addison |
| Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score ||
| 1972 (45th) | Cabaret | Ralph Burns (adaptation score) |
| 1972 (45th) | Lady Sings the Blues | Gil Askey (adaptation score) |
| 1972 (45th) | Man of La Mancha | Laurence Rosenthal (adaptation score) |
| 1973 (46th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1973 (46th) | The Way We Were | Marvin Hamlisch |
| 1973 (46th) | Cinderella Liberty | John Williams |
| 1973 (46th) | The Day of the Dolphin | Georges Delerue |
| 1973 (46th) | Papillon | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1973 (46th) | A Touch of Class | John Cameron |
| Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation ||
| 1973 (46th) | The Sting | Marvin Hamlisch (adaptation score) |
| 1973 (46th) | Jesus Christ Superstar | André Previn, Herbert W. Spencer and Andrew Lloyd Webber (adaptation score) |
| 1973 (46th) | Tom Sawyer | Sherman Brothers (song score) and John Williams (adaptation score) |
| 1974 (47th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1974 (47th) | The Godfather Part II | Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola |
| 1974 (47th) | Chinatown | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1974 (47th) | Murder on the Orient Express | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| 1974 (47th) | Shanks | Alex North |
| 1974 (47th) | The Towering Inferno | John Williams |
| Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation ||
| 1974 (47th) | The Great Gatsby | Nelson Riddle (adaptation score) |
| 1974 (47th) | The Little Prince | Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (song score), Douglas Gamley and Angela Morley (adaptation score) |
| 1974 (47th) | Phantom of the Paradise | Paul Williams (song and adaptation score) and George Tipton (adaptation score) |
| 1975 (48th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1975 (48th) | Jaws | John Williams |
| 1975 (48th) | Birds Do It, Bees Do It | Gerald Fried |
| 1975 (48th) | Bite the Bullet | Alex North |
| 1975 (48th) | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Jack Nitzsche |
| 1975 (48th) | The Wind and the Lion | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation ||
| 1975 (48th) | Barry Lyndon | Leonard Rosenman (adaptation score) |
| 1975 (48th) | Funny Lady | Peter Matz (adaptation score) |
| 1975 (48th) | Tommy | Pete Townshend (adaptation score) |
| 1976 (49th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1976 (49th) | The Omen | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1976 (49th) | Obsession | Bernard Herrmann (p.n.) |
| 1976 (49th) | The Outlaw Josey Wales | Jerry Fielding |
| 1976 (49th) | Taxi Driver | Bernard Herrmann (p.n.) |
| 1976 (49th) | Voyage of the Damned | Lalo Schifrin |
| Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ||
| 1976 (49th) | Bound for Glory | Leonard Rosenman (adaptation score) |
| 1976 (49th) | Bugsy Malone | Paul Williams (song and adaptation score) |
| 1976 (49th) | A Star Is Born | Roger Kellaway (adaptation score) |
| 1977 (50th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1977 (50th) | Star Wars | John Williams |
| 1977 (50th) | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | John Williams |
| 1977 (50th) | Julia | Georges Delerue |
| 1977 (50th) | Mohammad, Messenger of God | Maurice Jarre |
| 1977 (50th) | The Spy Who Loved Me | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ||
| 1977 (50th) | A Little Night Music | Jonathan Tunick (adaptation score) |
| 1977 (50th) | Pete's Dragon | Joel Hirschhorn and Al Kasha (song score) and Irwin Kostal (adaptation score) |
| 1977 (50th) | The Slipper and the Rose | Sherman Brothers (song score) and Angela Morley (adaptation score) |
| 1978 (51st) |
| Original Score ||
| 1978 (51st) | Midnight Express | Giorgio Moroder |
| 1978 (51st) | The Boys from Brazil | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1978 (51st) | Days of Heaven | Ennio Morricone |
| 1978 (51st) | Heaven Can Wait | Dave Grusin |
| 1978 (51st) | Superman | John Williams |
| Adaptation Score ||
| 1978 (51st) | The Buddy Holly Story | Joe Renzetti |
| 1978 (51st) | Pretty Baby | Jerry Wexler |
| 1978 (51st) | The Wiz | Quincy Jones |
| 1979 (52nd) |
| Original Score ||
| 1979 (52nd) | A Little Romance | Georges Delerue |
| 1979 (52nd) | 10 | Henry Mancini |
| 1979 (52nd) | The Amityville Horror | Lalo Schifrin |
| 1979 (52nd) | The Champ | Dave Grusin |
| 1979 (52nd) | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ||
| 1979 (52nd) | All That Jazz | Ralph Burns (adaptation score) |
| 1979 (52nd) | Breaking Away | Patrick Williams (adaptation score) |
| 1979 (52nd) | The Muppet Movie | Paul Williams (song and adaptation score) and Kenny Ascher (song score) |

### 1980s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1980 (53rd) | Fame | Michael Gore |
| 1980 (53rd) | Altered States | John Corigliano |
| 1980 (53rd) | The Elephant Man | John Morris |
| 1980 (53rd) | The Empire Strikes Back | John Williams |
| 1980 (53rd) | Tess | Philippe Sarde |
| 1981 (54th) |
| 1981 (54th) | Chariots of Fire | Vangelis |
| 1981 (54th) | Dragonslayer | Alex North |
| 1981 (54th) | On Golden Pond | Dave Grusin |
| 1981 (54th) | Ragtime | Randy Newman |
| 1981 (54th) | Raiders of the Lost Ark | John Williams |
| 1982 (55th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1982 (55th) | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | John Williams |
| 1982 (55th) | Gandhi | George Fenton and Ravi Shankar |
| 1982 (55th) | An Officer and a Gentleman | Jack Nitzsche |
| 1982 (55th) | Poltergeist | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1982 (55th) | Sophie's Choice | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ||
| 1982 (55th) | Victor/Victoria | Henry Mancini (song and adaptation score) and Leslie Bricusse (song score) |
| 1982 (55th) | Annie | Ralph Burns (adaptation score) |
| 1982 (55th) | One from the Heart | Tom Waits (song score) |
| 1983 (56th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1983 (56th) | The Right Stuff | Bill Conti |
| 1983 (56th) | Cross Creek | Leonard Rosenman |
| 1983 (56th) | Return of the Jedi | John Williams |
| 1983 (56th) | Terms of Endearment | Michael Gore |
| 1983 (56th) | Under Fire | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ||
| 1983 (56th) | Yentl | Michel Legrand (song and adaptation score) and Alan and Marilyn Bergman (song score) |
| 1983 (56th) | The Sting II | Lalo Schifrin (adaptation score) |
| 1983 (56th) | Trading Places | Elmer Bernstein (adaptation score) |
| 1984 (57th) |
| Original Score ||
| 1984 (57th) | A Passage to India | Maurice Jarre |
| 1984 (57th) | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | John Williams |
| 1984 (57th) | The Natural | Randy Newman |
| 1984 (57th) | The River | John Williams |
| 1984 (57th) | Under the Volcano | Alex North |
| Original Song Score ||
| 1984 (57th) | Purple Rain | Prince |
| 1984 (57th) | The Muppets Take Manhattan | Jeff Moss |
| 1984 (57th) | Songwriter | Kris Kristofferson |
| 1985 (58th) |
| 1985 (58th) | Out of Africa | John Barry |
| 1985 (58th) | Agnes of God | Georges Delerue |
| 1985 (58th) | The Color Purple | Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Andraé Crouch, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Quincy Jones, Randy Kerber, Jeremy Lubbock, Joel Rosenbaum, Caiphus Semenya, Fred Steiner and Rod Temperton |
| 1985 (58th) | Silverado | Bruce Broughton |
| 1985 (58th) | Witness | Maurice Jarre |
| 1986 (59th) |
| 1986 (59th) | Round Midnight | Herbie Hancock |
| 1986 (59th) | Aliens | James Horner |
| 1986 (59th) | Hoosiers | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1986 (59th) | The Mission | Ennio Morricone |
| 1986 (59th) | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Leonard Rosenman |
| 1987 (60th) |
| 1987 (60th) | The Last Emperor | Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su |
| 1987 (60th) | Cry Freedom | George Fenton and Jonas Gwangwa |
| 1987 (60th) | Empire of the Sun | John Williams |
| 1987 (60th) | The Untouchables | Ennio Morricone |
| 1987 (60th) | The Witches of Eastwick | John Williams |
| 1988 (61st) |
| 1988 (61st) | The Milagro Beanfield War | Dave Grusin |
| 1988 (61st) | The Accidental Tourist | John Williams |
| 1988 (61st) | Dangerous Liaisons | George Fenton |
| 1988 (61st) | Gorillas in the Mist | Maurice Jarre |
| 1988 (61st) | Rain Man | Hans Zimmer |
| 1989 (62nd) |
| 1989 (62nd) | The Little Mermaid | Alan Menken |
| 1989 (62nd) | Born on the Fourth of July | John Williams |
| 1989 (62nd) | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Dave Grusin |
| 1989 (62nd) | Field of Dreams | James Horner |
| 1989 (62nd) | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | John Williams |

### 1990s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 1990 (63rd) | Dances with Wolves | John Barry |
| 1990 (63rd) | Avalon | Randy Newman |
| 1990 (63rd) | Ghost | Maurice Jarre |
| 1990 (63rd) | Havana | Dave Grusin |
| 1990 (63rd) | Home Alone | John Williams |
| 1991 (64th) |
| 1991 (64th) | Beauty and the Beast | Alan Menken |
| 1991 (64th) | Bugsy | Ennio Morricone |
| 1991 (64th) | The Fisher King | George Fenton |
| 1991 (64th) | JFK | John Williams |
| 1991 (64th) | The Prince of Tides | James Newton Howard |
| 1992 (65th) |
| 1992 (65th) | Aladdin | Alan Menken |
| 1992 (65th) | Basic Instinct | Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1992 (65th) | Chaplin | John Barry |
| 1992 (65th) | Howards End | Richard Robbins |
| 1992 (65th) | A River Runs Through It | Mark Isham |
| 1993 (66th) |
| 1993 (66th) | Schindler's List | John Williams |
| 1993 (66th) | The Age of Innocence | Elmer Bernstein |
| 1993 (66th) | The Firm | Dave Grusin |
| 1993 (66th) | The Fugitive | James Newton Howard |
| 1993 (66th) | The Remains of the Day | Richard Robbins |
| 1994 (67th) |
| 1994 (67th) | The Lion King | Hans Zimmer |
| 1994 (67th) | Forrest Gump | Alan Silvestri |
| 1994 (67th) | Interview with the Vampire | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 1994 (67th) | Little Women | Thomas Newman |
| 1994 (67th) | The Shawshank Redemption | Thomas Newman |
| 1995 (68th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1995 (68th) | The Postman | Luis Bacalov |
| 1995 (68th) | Apollo 13 | James Horner |
| 1995 (68th) | Braveheart | James Horner |
| 1995 (68th) | Nixon | John Williams |
| 1995 (68th) | Sense and Sensibility | Patrick Doyle |
| Original Musical or Comedy Score ||
| 1995 (68th) | Pocahontas | Alan Menken (music and orchestral score) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics) |
| 1995 (68th) | The American President | Marc Shaiman |
| 1995 (68th) | Sabrina | John Williams |
| 1995 (68th) | Toy Story | Randy Newman |
| 1995 (68th) | Unstrung Heroes | Thomas Newman |
| 1996 (69th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1996 (69th) | The English Patient | Gabriel Yared |
| 1996 (69th) | Hamlet | Patrick Doyle |
| 1996 (69th) | Michael Collins | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 1996 (69th) | Shine | David Hirschfelder |
| 1996 (69th) | Sleepers | John Williams |
| Original Musical or Comedy Score ||
| 1996 (69th) | Emma | Rachel Portman |
| 1996 (69th) | The First Wives Club | Marc Shaiman |
| 1996 (69th) | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Alan Menken (music and orchestral score) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics) |
| 1996 (69th) | James and the Giant Peach | Randy Newman |
| 1996 (69th) | The Preacher's Wife | Hans Zimmer |
| 1997 (70th) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1997 (70th) | Titanic | James Horner |
| 1997 (70th) | Amistad | John Williams |
| 1997 (70th) | Good Will Hunting | Danny Elfman |
| 1997 (70th) | Kundun | Philip Glass |
| 1997 (70th) | L.A. Confidential | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Original Musical or Comedy Score ||
| 1997 (70th) | The Full Monty | Anne Dudley |
| 1997 (70th) | Anastasia | Stephen Flaherty (music), Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and David Newman (orchestral score) |
| 1997 (70th) | As Good as It Gets | Hans Zimmer |
| 1997 (70th) | Men in Black | Danny Elfman |
| 1997 (70th) | My Best Friend's Wedding | James Newton Howard |
| 1998 (71st) |
| Original Dramatic Score ||
| 1998 (71st) | Life Is Beautiful | Nicola Piovani |
| 1998 (71st) | Elizabeth | David Hirschfelder |
| 1998 (71st) | Pleasantville | Randy Newman |
| 1998 (71st) | Saving Private Ryan | John Williams |
| 1998 (71st) | The Thin Red Line | Hans Zimmer |
| Original Musical or Comedy Score ||
| 1998 (71st) | Shakespeare in Love | Stephen Warbeck |
| 1998 (71st) | A Bug's Life | Randy Newman |
| 1998 (71st) | Mulan | Matthew Wilder (music), David Zippel (lyrics) and Jerry Goldsmith (orchestral score) |
| 1998 (71st) | Patch Adams | Marc Shaiman |
| 1998 (71st) | The Prince of Egypt | Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) and Hans Zimmer (orchestral score) |
| 1999 (72nd) |
| 1999 (72nd) | The Red Violin | John Corigliano |
| 1999 (72nd) | American Beauty | Thomas Newman |
| 1999 (72nd) | Angela's Ashes | John Williams |
| 1999 (72nd) | The Cider House Rules | Rachel Portman |
| 1999 (72nd) | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Gabriel Yared |

### 2000s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 2000 (73rd) | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Tan Dun |
| 2000 (73rd) | Chocolat | Rachel Portman |
| 2000 (73rd) | Gladiator | Hans Zimmer |
| 2000 (73rd) | Malèna | Ennio Morricone |
| 2000 (73rd) | The Patriot | John Williams |
| 2001 (74th) |
| 2001 (74th) | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Howard Shore |
| 2001 (74th) | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | John Williams |
| 2001 (74th) | A Beautiful Mind | James Horner |
| 2001 (74th) | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | John Williams |
| 2001 (74th) | Monsters, Inc. | Randy Newman |
| 2002 (75th) |
| 2002 (75th) | Frida | Elliot Goldenthal |
| 2002 (75th) | Catch Me If You Can | John Williams |
| 2002 (75th) | Far from Heaven | Elmer Bernstein |
| 2002 (75th) | The Hours | Philip Glass |
| 2002 (75th) | Road to Perdition | Thomas Newman |
| 2003 (76th) |
| 2003 (76th) | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Howard Shore |
| 2003 (76th) | Big Fish | Danny Elfman |
| 2003 (76th) | Cold Mountain | Gabriel Yared |
| 2003 (76th) | Finding Nemo | Thomas Newman |
| 2003 (76th) | House of Sand and Fog | James Horner |
| 2004 (77th) |
| 2004 (77th) | Finding Neverland | Jan A. P. Kaczmarek |
| 2004 (77th) | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | John Williams |
| 2004 (77th) | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Thomas Newman |
| 2004 (77th) | The Passion of the Christ | John Debney |
| 2004 (77th) | The Village | James Newton Howard |
| 2005 (78th) |
| 2005 (78th) | Brokeback Mountain | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2005 (78th) | The Constant Gardener | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2005 (78th) | Memoirs of a Geisha | John Williams |
| 2005 (78th) | Munich | John Williams |
| 2005 (78th) | Pride & Prejudice | Dario Marianelli |
| 2006 (79th) |
| 2006 (79th) | Babel | Gustavo Santaolalla |
| 2006 (79th) | The Good German | Thomas Newman |
| 2006 (79th) | Notes on a Scandal | Philip Glass |
| 2006 (79th) | Pan's Labyrinth | Javier Navarrete |
| 2006 (79th) | The Queen | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2007 (80th) |
| 2007 (80th) | Atonement | Dario Marianelli |
| 2007 (80th) | 3:10 to Yuma | Marco Beltrami |
| 2007 (80th) | The Kite Runner | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2007 (80th) | Michael Clayton | James Newton Howard |
| 2007 (80th) | Ratatouille | Michael Giacchino |
| 2008 (81st) |
| 2008 (81st) | Slumdog Millionaire | A. R. Rahman |
| 2008 (81st) | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2008 (81st) | Defiance | James Newton Howard |
| 2008 (81st) | Milk | Danny Elfman |
| 2008 (81st) | WALL-E | Thomas Newman |
| 2009 (82nd) |
| 2009 (82nd) | Up | Michael Giacchino |
| 2009 (82nd) | Avatar | James Horner |
| 2009 (82nd) | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2009 (82nd) | The Hurt Locker | Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders |
| 2009 (82nd) | Sherlock Holmes | Hans Zimmer |

### 2010s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 2010 (83rd) | The Social Network | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross |
| 2010 (83rd) | 127 Hours | A. R. Rahman |
| 2010 (83rd) | How to Train Your Dragon | John Powell |
| 2010 (83rd) | Inception | Hans Zimmer |
| 2010 (83rd) | The King's Speech | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2011 (84th) |
| 2011 (84th) | The Artist | Ludovic Bource |
| 2011 (84th) | The Adventures of Tintin | John Williams |
| 2011 (84th) | Hugo | Howard Shore |
| 2011 (84th) | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2011 (84th) | War Horse | John Williams |
| 2012 (85th) |
| 2012 (85th) | Life of Pi | Mychael Danna |
| 2012 (85th) | Anna Karenina | Dario Marianelli |
| 2012 (85th) | Argo | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2012 (85th) | Lincoln | John Williams |
| 2012 (85th) | Skyfall | Thomas Newman |
| 2013 (86th) |
| 2013 (86th) | Gravity | Steven Price |
| 2013 (86th) | The Book Thief | John Williams |
| 2013 (86th) | Her | Will Butler and Owen Pallett |
| 2013 (86th) | Philomena | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2013 (86th) | Saving Mr. Banks | Thomas Newman |
| 2014 (87th) |
| 2014 (87th) | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2014 (87th) | The Imitation Game | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2014 (87th) | Interstellar | Hans Zimmer |
| 2014 (87th) | Mr. Turner | Gary Yershon |
| 2014 (87th) | The Theory of Everything | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2015 (88th) |
| 2015 (88th) | The Hateful Eight | Ennio Morricone |
| 2015 (88th) | Bridge of Spies | Thomas Newman |
| 2015 (88th) | Carol | Carter Burwell |
| 2015 (88th) | Sicario | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| 2015 (88th) | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | John Williams |
| 2016 (89th) |
| 2016 (89th) | La La Land | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2016 (89th) | Jackie | Mica Levi |
| 2016 (89th) | Lion | Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka |
| 2016 (89th) | Moonlight | Nicholas Britell |
| 2016 (89th) | Passengers | Thomas Newman |
| 2017 (90th) |
| 2017 (90th) | The Shape of Water | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2017 (90th) | Dunkirk | Hans Zimmer |
| 2017 (90th) | Phantom Thread | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2017 (90th) | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | John Williams |
| 2017 (90th) | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Carter Burwell |
| 2018 (91st) |
| 2018 (91st) | Black Panther | Ludwig Göransson |
| 2018 (91st) | BlacKkKlansman | Terence Blanchard |
| 2018 (91st) | If Beale Street Could Talk | Nicholas Britell |
| 2018 (91st) | Isle of Dogs | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2018 (91st) | Mary Poppins Returns | Marc Shaiman |
| 2019 (92nd) |
| 2019 (92nd) | Joker | Hildur Guðnadóttir |
| 2019 (92nd) | Little Women | Alexandre Desplat |
| 2019 (92nd) | Marriage Story | Randy Newman |
| 2019 (92nd) | 1917 | Thomas Newman |
| 2019 (92nd) | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | John Williams |

### 2020s

| Year | Film | Nominees |
| 2020/21 (93rd) | Soul | Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste |
| 2020/21 (93rd) | Da 5 Bloods | Terence Blanchard |
| 2020/21 (93rd) | Mank | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross |
| 2020/21 (93rd) | Minari | Emile Mosseri |
| 2020/21 (93rd) | News of the World | James Newton Howard |
| 2021 (94th) | Dune | Hans Zimmer |
| 2021 (94th) | Don't Look Up | Nicholas Britell |
| 2021 (94th) | Encanto | Germaine Franco |
| 2021 (94th) | Parallel Mothers | Alberto Iglesias |
| 2021 (94th) | The Power of the Dog | Jonny Greenwood |
| 2022 (95th) | All Quiet on the Western Front | Volker Bertelmann |
| 2022 (95th) | Babylon | Justin Hurwitz |
| 2022 (95th) | The Banshees of Inisherin | Carter Burwell |
| 2022 (95th) | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Son Lux |
| 2022 (95th) | The Fabelmans | John Williams |
| 2023 (96th) | Oppenheimer | Ludwig Göransson |
| 2023 (96th) | American Fiction | Laura Karpman |
| 2023 (96th) | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | John Williams |
| 2023 (96th) | Killers of the Flower Moon | Robbie Robertson (p.n.) |
| 2023 (96th) | Poor Things | Jerskin Fendrix |
| 2024 (97th) | The Brutalist | Daniel Blumberg |
| 2024 (97th) | Conclave | Volker Bertelmann |
| 2024 (97th) | Emilia Pérez | Clément Ducol and Camille |
| 2024 (97th) | Wicked | John Powell and Stephen Schwartz |
| 2024 (97th) | The Wild Robot | Kris Bowers |

## Shortlisted finalists

Finalists for Best Score are selected by the Music Branch. Music Branch members shall vote in order of their preference for not more than 15 pictures to be considered for the Score award. The 15 motion pictures receiving the highest number of votes shall advance to the next round of voting.
| Year | Finalists |
| 1967 | Original Score: Bonnie and Clyde, The Flim-Flam Man, Live for Life, Two for the Road, Wait Until Dark Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment: A Countess from Hong Kong, The Family Way, The Happiest Millionaire, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Jungle Book |
| 1968 | Original Score: For Love of Ivy, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Rachel, Rachel, Romeo and Juliet, War and Peace Scoring of a Musical Picture: C'mon, Let's Live a Little, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band |
| 1969 | Original Score: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Gaily, Gaily, The Happy Ending, The Madwoman of Chaillot, True Grit Scoring of a Musical Picture: Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, Marry Me! Marry Me!, Oh! What a Lovely War |
| 1970 | Original Score: The Aristocats, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Dirty Dingus Magee, Pieces of Dreams, Ryan's Daughter Original Song Score: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Norwood, R. P. M., Where's Poppa? |
| 1971 | Original Score: Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The French Connection, The Hellstrom Chronicle, Kotch, Sometimes a Great Notion Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: Honky, Jud, Zachariah |
| 1972 | Original Score: Ben, Fellini's Roma, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Other Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1776, Snoopy Come Home, Young Winston |
| 1973 | Original Score: Enter the Dragon, The Last American Hero, Oklahoma Crude, The Paper Chase, Robin Hood Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: Bang the Drum Slowly, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Lost Horizon, O Lucky Man! |
| 1974 | Original Score: The Castaway Cowboy, The Conversation, Earthquake, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The White Dawn Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: Claudine, Huckleberry Finn, Lenny, Mame |
| 1975 | Original Score: The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, The Eiger Sanction, The Hindenburg, The Other Side of the Mountain, The Yakuza Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: The Day of the Locust, Lucky Lady, The Return of the Pink Panther, W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings |
| 1976 | Original Score: King Kong, Logan's Run, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Rocky, Silent Movie Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: The Bad News Bears, Car Wash, The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, Leadbelly |
| 1977 | Original Score: Airport '77, Audrey Rose, Black Sunday, Bobby Deerfield, A Bridge Too Far, Equus, Gasp, The Gauntlet, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Islands in the Stream, Joseph Andrews, MacArthur, 1900, Providence, The Rescuers, Rollercoaster, The Sentinel, Walking Tall: Final Chapter Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: New York, New York |
| 1978 | Original Score: Capricorn One, Coma, Magic, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Watership Down Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: The Cheap Detective, Damien - Omen II, The Deer Hunter, The Magic of Lassie |
| 1979 | Original Score: Escape from Alcatraz, The Frisco Kid, The Great Train Robbery, Meteor, Time After Time Original Song Score or Adaptation Score: The Europeans, Hair, Meeting with Remarkable Men, Wise Blood |
| 2018 | Annihilation, Avengers: Infinity War, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Crazy Rich Asians, The Death of Stalin, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, First Man, A Quiet Place, Ready Player One, Vice |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame, Bombshell, The Farewell, Ford v Ferrari, Frozen II, Jojo Rabbit, The King, Motherless Brooklyn, Pain and Glory, Us |
| 2020/21 | Ammonite, Blizzard of Souls, The Invisible Man, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Life Ahead, The Little Things, The Midnight Sky, Mulan, Tenet, The Trial of the Chicago 7 |
| 2021 | Being the Ricardos, Candyman, The French Dispatch, The Green Knight, The Harder They Fall, King Richard, The Last Duel, No Time to Die, Spencer, The Tragedy of Macbeth |
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Devotion, Don't Worry Darling, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Nope, She Said, The Woman King, Women Talking |
| 2023 | American Symphony, Barbie, The Boy and the Heron, The Color Purple, Elemental, The Holdovers, Saltburn, Society of the Snow, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Zone of Interest |
| 2024 | Alien: Romulus, Babygirl, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Blink Twice, Blitz, Challengers, The Fire Inside, Gladiator II, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, Inside Out 2, Nosferatu, The Room Next Door, Sing Sing, The Six Triple Eight, Young Woman and the Sea |

## Records
### Superlatives

These are only for nominations in the Scoring categories. Nominations in other categories, such as the Original Song category, are not included.
| Category | Name | Superlative | Notes |
| Most Awards | Alfred Newman | 9 awards | Awards resulted from 41 nominations |
| Most Nominations | John Williams | 49 nominations | Nominations resulted in 5 awards |
| Most Nominations without an Award | Thomas Newman / Alex North | 14 nominations | |

### Age superlatives

| Record | Composer | Film | Age |
| Oldest winner | Ennio Morricone | The Hateful Eight | 87 years, 110 days |
| Oldest nominee | John Williams | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | 91 years, 349 days |
| Youngest winner | Prince | Purple Rain | 26 years, 291 days |
| Youngest nominee | Prince | Purple Rain | 26 years, 244 days |
Only one composer has won two Scoring Oscars the same year: in 1973, Marvin Hamlisch won Original Dramatic Score for The Way We Were and Best Adaptation Score, for The Sting. Hamlisch also won Best Song that year for The Way We Were, making him the only composer to win three music Oscars in the same year.
Only one composer has won Oscars three years in a row: Roger Edens won for Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Annie Get Your Gun (1950).
Eight composers have won Oscars two years in a row:
* Ray Heindorf won for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and This Is the Army (1943).
* Franz Waxman won for Sunset Boulevard (1950) and A Place in the Sun (1951).
* Alfred Newman won for With a Song in My Heart (1952) and Call Me Madam (1953). He won again two years in a row for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) and The King and I (1956).
* Adolph Deutsch won for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Oklahoma! (1955).
* André Previn won for Gigi (1958) and Porgy and Bess (1959). He won again two years in a row for Irma la Douce (1963) and My Fair Lady (1964).
* Leonard Rosenman won for Barry Lyndon (1975) and Bound for Glory (1976).
* Alan Menken won for Beauty and The Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992).
* Gustavo Santaolalla won for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006).

### Female nominees

As of 2025, only 11 women have been nominated in music score categories: Ann Ronell, Tylwyth Kymry, Angela Morley, Marilyn Bergman, Rachel Portman, Anne Dudley, Lynn Ahrens, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Germaine Franco, Laura Karpman, and Camille. Kymry, Bergman, and Ahrens were nominated for their contribution as lyricists.
Four women have won in the scoring categories. Three are composers: Rachel Portman, who won for Emma (1996); Anne Dudley, who won for The Full Monty (1997); and Hildur Guðnadóttir, who won for Joker (2019). The fourth is lyricist Marilyn Bergman, who won for Yentl (1983) in the Original Song Score category, sharing the award with co-lyricist Alan Bergman (her husband) and composer Michel Legrand. Hildur is the only woman to win the award under no qualifications; Bergman won for Best Song Score while Portman and Dudley won for Best Musical or Comedy Score.
The female composers nominated for multiple Scoring Oscars are Rachel Portman, who was nominated for Emma (1996) (for which she won for Best Musical or Comedy Score), The Cider House Rules (1999), and Chocolat (2000); and Angela Morley, who was nominated twice in the Original Song Score or Adaptation Score category for The Little Prince (1974) and The Slipper and the Rose (1976).

### Notable nominees

Dmitri Shostakovich and Duke Ellington were both nominated the same year but lost to the arrangers of West Side Story.
The scores of Midnight Express by Giorgio Moroder in 1979, Slumdog Millionaire by A. R. Rahman in 2009, and The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross in 2011 are the only scores with electronic-based music ever to win the award. In addition, the electronic-based scores of Witness by Maurice Jarre in 1986, Rain Man by Hans Zimmer in 1989, and Her by William Butler, and Owen Pallett in 2014 have also been nominated.
Noted nominated composers known for their music mostly outside the film world include: Aaron Copland, Kurt Weill, Gian Carlo Menotti, Philip Glass, John Corigliano, Peter Maxwell Davies, Randy Newman, Richard Rodney Bennett, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Artie Shaw, Trent Reznor, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, and Jonny Greenwood.
Rock musicians and pop stars are most often nominated in the songwriting category. These popular performers were nominated in the Scoring categories: The Beatles, Prince, Pete Townshend, Rod McKuen, Isaac Hayes, Kris Kristofferson, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Anthony Newley, Paul Williams, Tom Waits, David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Trent Reznor, and Matthew Wilder.
Record producers George Martin (The Beatles) and Jerry Wexler (Atlantic Records) also received nominations in the Scoring categories.

### Multiple nominations

The following is a list of composers nominated more than once and winning at least one Academy Award (in this category). This list is sorted by number of awards, with the number of total nominations listed in parentheses. These do not include nominations (or awards) in the Best Original Song category.
* 9: Alfred Newman (43)
* 5: John Williams (49)
* 4: Johnny Green (12)
* 4: André Previn (11)
* 4: John Barry (6)
* 4: Alan Menken (5)
* 3: Max Steiner (24)
* 3: Ray Heindorf (17)
* 3: Morris Stoloff (17)
* 3: Miklós Rózsa (16)
* 3: Dimitri Tiomkin (14)
* 3: Maurice Jarre (8)
* 3: Ken Darby (6)
* 3: Roger Edens (6)
* 3: Saul Chaplin (5)
* 3: Adolph Deutsch (5)
* 2: Hans Zimmer (12)
* 2: Alexandre Desplat (11)
* 2: Franz Waxman (11)
* 2: Henry Mancini (7)
* 2: Lennie Hayton (6)
* 2: Michel Legrand (6)
* 2: Irwin Kostal (5)
* 2: Marvin Hamlisch (4)
* 2: Leonard Rosenman (4)
* 2: Ralph Burns (3)
* 2: Trent Reznor (3)
* 2: Atticus Ross (3)
* 2: Howard Shore (3)
* 2: Ludwig Göransson (2)
* 2: Gustavo Santaolalla (2)
* 1: Jerry Goldsmith (17)
* 1: Victor Young (17)
* 1: Herbert Stothart (11)
* 1: Elmer Bernstein (10)
* 1: Hugo Friedhofer (9)
* 1: Lionel Newman (9)
* 1: Georgie Stoll (9)
* 1: James Horner (8)
* 1: Leigh Harline (7)
* 1: Charles Previn (7)
* 1: Paul Smith (7)
* 1: Dave Grusin (6)
* 1: Ennio Morricone (6) Also received an Academy Honorary Award.
* 1: Leslie Bricusse (5)
* 1: Georges Delerue (5)
* 1: Richard Hageman (5)
* 1: Bernard Herrmann (5)
* 1: Nelson Riddle (5)
* 1: Oliver Wallace (5)
* 1: Aaron Copland (4)
* 1: Leo F. Forbstein (4)
* 1: Ernest Gold (4)
* 1: Stephen Schwartz (4)
* 1: Richard M. Sherman (4)
* 1: Robert B. Sherman (4)
* 1: Louis Silvers (4)
* 1: Volker Bertelmann (3)
* 1: Frank Churchill (3)
* 1: Elliot Goldenthal (3)
* 1: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (3)
* 1: Bronisław Kaper (3)
* 1: Dario Marianelli (3)
* 1: Rachel Portman (3)
* 1: Harry Sukman (3)
* 1: Gabriel Yared (3)
* 1: John Addison (2)
* 1: Luis Bacalov (2)
* 1: Robert Russell Bennett (2)
* 1: Jay Blackton (2)
* 1: John Corigliano (2)
* 1: Michael Giacchino (2)
* 1: Michael Gore (2)
* 1: W. Franke Harling (2)
* 1: Justin Hurwitz (2)
* 1: A. R. Rahman (2)
* 1: Heinz Roemheld (2)
* 1: Nino Rota (2)
* 1: Leo Shuken (2)
The following composers have been nominated for a Best Original Score Oscar more than once but have yet to garner one. The number of nominations is listed in parentheses. These do not include nominations (or awards) in the Best Original Song category.

#### Deceased

* Alex North (14) Received an Academy Honorary Award.
* Walter Scharf (9)
* Roy Webb (7)
* Werner Janssen (6)
* George Duning (5)
* Edward Ward (5)
* Constantin Bakaleinikoff (4)
* Edward H. Plumb (4)
* Frank Skinner (4)
* Frank De Vol (4)
* Richard Rodney Bennett (3)
* George Bruns (3)
* Louis Gruenberg (3)
* Marvin Hatley (3)
* Quincy Jones (3) Has won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a special Academy Award.
* Ernst Toch (3)
* Charles Wolcott (3)
* Daniele Amfitheatrof (2)
* Nat W. Finston (2)
* Frederick Hollander (2)
* Jóhann Jóhannsson (2)
* Jack Nitzsche (2) Has won 1 Oscar Award for Original Song.
* Richard Robbins (2)
* Victor Schertzinger (2)
* Meredith Willson (2)

#### Living

* Thomas Newman (14)
* Randy Newman (9) Has won 2 Oscar Awards for Original Song.
* James Newton Howard (7)
* Lalo Schifrin (5) Received an Academy Honorary Award.
* Danny Elfman (4)
* George Fenton (4)
* Alberto Iglesias (4)
* Marc Shaiman (4)
* Philip Glass (3)
* Nicholas Britell (3)
* Carter Burwell (3)
* Marco Beltrami (2)
* Terence Blanchard (2)
* Patrick Doyle (2)
* Jonny Greenwood (2)
* David Hirschfelder (2)
* John Powell (2)