Editing Academy Award for Best Original Score

{{short description|Motion picture award for music}}
{{Infobox award
| name          = Academy Award for Best Original Score
| image         = Daniel blumberg 2024 (cropped).jpg
| image_upright =
| caption       = 2024 recipient: [[Daniel Blumberg]]
| presenter     = [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]
| country       = [[United States]]
| year          = {{start date and age|1935|2|27}} (for films released in [[1934 in film|1934]])
| holder_label  = Most recent winner
| holder        = [[Daniel Blumberg]]<br>''[[The Brutalist]]'' ([[97th Academy Awards|2024]])
| website       = {{url|oscars.org}}
| most_wins     = [[Alfred Newman]] (9)|most_nominations=[[John Williams]] (48)}}

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 [[Film score|dramatic underscoring]] written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/rule16.html |title=Rule Sixteen: Special Rules for the Best Picture of the Year Award &#124; Rules for the 85th Academy Awards &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences |publisher=Oscars.org |date=2012-08-24 |access-date=2014-05-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211172058/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/rule16.html |archive-date=2013-12-11}}</ref> Some pre-existing music is allowed, though, but a contending film must include a minimum of original music. This minimum since [[94th Academy Awards|2021]] is established as 35% of the music, which is raised to 80% for sequels and [[film series|franchise films]].<ref>{{cite web |title=94th Oscars Rules. Complete Rules. Rule Fifteen, Special Rules for the Music Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/94aa_rules.pdf |website=Oscars.org |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |pages=22 |date=2021-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630195319/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/94aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=2021-06-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> Fifteen scores are shortlisted before nominations are announced.

==History==
The Academy began awarding movies for their scores in [[7th Academy Awards|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 [[10th Academy Awards|1938]], a film without a credited composer that featured pre-existing classical music, the Academy added a '''Best Original Score''' category in [[11th Academy Awards|1939]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://filmscoreclicktrack.com/1934-the-year-oscar-scored/|title=1934: The Year Oscar Scored|first=Jim|last=Lochner|date=18 May 2010|publisher=filmscoreclicktrack.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124053135/https://filmscoreclicktrack.com/1934-the-year-oscar-scored/|archive-date=2017-11-24}}</ref> In [[14th Academy Awards|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'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944|title=1944|date=5 October 2014 |publisher=Oscars.org|access-date=2020-01-28}}</ref> This marked the first time the category was split into separate genres. From [[14th Academy Awards|1942]] to [[57th Academy Awards|1985]], musical scores had their own category, with the exception of [[30th Academy Awards|1958]], [[53rd Academy Awards|1981]], and [[54th Academy Awards|1982]]. During that time, both categories had many name changes:

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

;1. Non-musical scores
* Best Music Score of a Dramatic Picture ([[14th Academy Awards|1942]])
* Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ([[15th Academy Awards|1943]]–[[34th Academy Awards|1962]])
* Best Music Score—substantially original ([[35th Academy Awards|1963]]–[[38th Academy Awards|1966]])
* Best Original Music Score ([[39th Academy Awards|1967]]–[[40th Academy Awards|1968]])
* Best Original Score—for a motion picture [not a musical] ([[41st Academy Awards|1969]]–[[42nd Academy Awards|1970]])
* Best Original Score ([[43rd Academy Awards|1971]], [[48th Academy Awards|1976]]–[[67th Academy Awards|1995]], [[72nd Academy Awards|2000]]–present)
* Best Original Dramatic Score ([[44th Academy Awards|1972]]–[[47th Academy Awards|1975]], [[68th Academy Awards|1996]]–[[71st Academy Awards|1999]])

{{col-break}}

;2. Musical scores
* Best Scoring of a Musical Picture ([[14th Academy Awards|1942]]–[[34th Academy Awards|1962]])
* Best Scoring of Music—adaptation or treatment ([[35th Academy Awards|1963]]–[[40th Academy Awards|1968]])
* Best Score of a Musical Picture—original or adaptation ([[41st Academy Awards|1969]]–[[42nd Academy Awards|1970]])
* Best Original Song Score ([[43rd Academy Awards|1971]])
* Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score ([[44th Academy Awards|1972]]–[[45th Academy Awards|1973]])
* Best Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation -or- Scoring: Adaptation ([[46th Academy Awards|1974]]–[[48th Academy Awards|1976]])
* Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score ([[49th Academy Awards|1977]]–[[50th Academy Awards|1978]])
* Best Adaptation Score ([[51st Academy Awards|1979]])
* Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation -or- Adaptation Score ([[52nd Academy Awards|1980]], [[55th Academy Awards|1983]])
* Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score ([[56th Academy Awards|1984]])
* Best Original Song Score ([[57th Academy Awards|1985]])
* Best Original Musical or Comedy Score ([[68th Academy Awards|1996]]–[[71st Academy Awards|1999]])

{{col-end}}

Following the wins of four [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation]] films in six years from [[62nd Academy Awards|1990]] to [[67th Academy Awards|1995]] (''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'', ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|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 and Marilyn Bergman|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."<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/12/movies/oscar-films-oscar-films-the-rules-squeezing-music-into-pigeonholes.html|title=Oscar Films/The Rules – Squeezing Music Into Pigeonholes|first=Justine|last=Elias|date=12 March 2000|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The category was therefore split into '''Best Original Dramatic Score''' and '''Best Original Musical or Comedy Score''' in [[68th Academy Awards|1996]]. This change proved unpopular in the other branches of the Academy as [[Charles Bernstein (composer)|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."<ref name="auto"/> This split was reverted in [[72nd Academy Awards|2000]].

In [[93rd Academy Awards|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.<ref name=Hammond>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2020/04/oscars-major-changes-academy-awards-coronavirus-1202919950/ |title=Oscars Keeping Show Date But Make Big News As Academy Lightens Eligibility Rules, Combines Sound Categories, Ends DVD Screeners and More |last=Hammond |first=Pete |date=April 28, 2020 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> In [[94th Academy Awards|2021]], the rules were changed again, lowering the minimum percentage of original music from 60% to 35% of the total music in the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=Award rules and campaign regulations approved for 94th Oscars |url=https://www.oscars.org/news/awards-rules-and-campaign-regulations-approved-94th-oscarsr |publisher=oscars.org |date=30 June 2021}}</ref>

==Academy Award for Best Original Musical==
The '''Academy Award for Best Original Musical''' is a category that was re-established in [[72nd Academy Awards|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.<ref name="oscars.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility|title=Rules & Eligibility|date=28 July 2014|website=Oscars.org - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

According to the rules, the Best Original Musical is defined as follows: {{quote|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.<ref name="oscars.org"/>}}

==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 [[Academy Awards|Oscars]] presented in 1968 for films released in 1967.

===1930s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="3" |[[1934 in film|1934]]<br /><small>[[7th Academy Awards|(7th)]]</small> <br />{{efn|From 1934 until 1937, nominated films were represented by the head of the film studio's music department rather than the composer. Each film's actual composer(s) are listed in parentheses.}}
| '''''[[One Night of Love]]'''''
| '''[[Columbia Pictures|Columbia Studio Music Department]], [[Louis Silvers]], head of department <small>(Thematic music by [[Victor Schertzinger]] and [[Gus Kahn]])</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]''
| [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Studio Music Department]], [[Max Steiner]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Kenneth Webb (director)|Kenneth Webb]] and [[Samuel Hoffenstein|Sam Hoffenstein]])</small>
|-
| ''[[The Lost Patrol (1934 film)|The Lost Patrol]]''
| RKO Radio Studio Music Department, Steiner, head of department <small>(Score by Steiner)</small>
|-
! rowspan="5" style="text-align:center" | [[1935 in film|1935]]<br /><small>[[8th Academy Awards|(8th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Informer (1935 film)|The Informer]]'''''
| '''[[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Studio Music Department]], [[Max Steiner]], head of department <small>(Score by Steiner)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood]]'' (write-in){{efn|''[[Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood]]'' was not officially nominated for this award, but appears in Academy records because it placed third in voting as a write-in candidate in 1935.}}<ref name=Database>{{cite web |url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ |title=The Official Academy Awards Database |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=January 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227145302/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ |archive-date=February 27, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[Warner Bros.]]-[[First National Pictures|First National Studio Music Department]], [[Leo F. Forbstein]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]''
| [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department]], Nat W. Finston, head of department <small>(Score by [[Herbert Stothart]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Peter Ibbetson]]''
| [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount Studio Music Department]], Irvin Talbot, head of department <small>(Score by [[Ernst Toch]])</small>
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1936 in film|1936]]<br /><small>[[9th Academy Awards|(9th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Anthony Adverse]]'''''
| '''[[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Studio Music Department]], [[Leo F. Forbstein]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]])</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]''
| Warner Bros. Studio Music Department, Forbstein, head of department <small>(Score by [[Max Steiner]])</small>
|-
| ''[[The Garden of Allah (1936 film)|The Garden of Allah]]''
| [[Selznick International Pictures|Selznick International Pictures Music Department]], Steiner, head of department <small>(Score by Steiner)</small>
|-
| ''[[The General Died at Dawn]]''
| [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount Studio Music Department]], [[Boris Morros]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Werner Janssen]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Winterset (film)|Winterset]]''
| [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Studio Music Department]], [[Nathaniel Shilkret]], head of department <small>(Score by Shilkret)</small>
|-
! rowspan="15" style="text-align:center" | [[1937 in film|1937]]<br /><small>[[10th Academy Awards|(10th)]]</small> <br />{{efn|From 1937 until 1945, film studios could submit one eligible film of their choosing, guaranteeing it a nomination.}}
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[One Hundred Men and a Girl]]'''''
| '''[[Universal Pictures|Universal Studio Music Department]], [[Charles Previn]], head of department <small>(no composer credit)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]''
| [[Samuel Goldwyn Productions|Samuel Goldwyn Studio Music Department]], [[Alfred Newman]], head of department <small>(Score by Newman)</small>
|-
| ''[[In Old Chicago]]''
| [[20th Century Fox|20th Century-Fox Studio Music Department]], [[Louis Silvers]], head of department <small>(no composer credit)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Life of Emile Zola]]''
| [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Studio Music Department]], [[Leo F. Forbstein]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Max Steiner]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Lost Horizon (1937 film)|Lost Horizon]]''
| [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia Studio Music Department]], [[Morris Stoloff]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Dimitri Tiomkin]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Make a Wish (1937 film)|Make a Wish]]''
| Principal Productions, [[Hugo Riesenfeld]], head of department <small>(Score by Riesenfeld)</small>
|-
| ''[[Maytime (1937 film)|Maytime]]''
| [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Music Department]], Nat W. Finston, head of department <small>(Score by [[Herbert Stothart]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Portia on Trial]]''
| [[Republic Pictures|Republic Studio Music Department]], [[Alberto Colombo (composer)|Alberto Colombo]], head of department <small>(Score by Colombo)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 film)|The Prisoner of Zenda]]''
| [[Selznick International Pictures|Selznick International Pictures Music Department]], [[Alfred Newman]], head of department <small>(Score by Newman)</small>
|-
| ''[[Quality Street (1937 film)|Quality Street]]''
| [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Studio Music Department]], [[Roy Webb]], head of department <small>(Score by Webb)</small>
|-
| ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]''
| [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studio Music Department]], [[Leigh Harline]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Frank Churchill]], Harline and [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Something to Sing About (1937 film)|Something to Sing About]]''
| [[Grand National Pictures|Grand National Studio Music Department]], [[Constantin Bakaleinikoff]], head of department <small>(Score by [[Victor Schertzinger]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Souls at Sea]]''
| [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount Studio Music Department]], [[Boris Morros]], head of department <small>(Score by [[W. Franke Harling]] and Milan Roder)</small>
|-
| ''[[Way Out West (1937 film)|Way Out West]]''
| [[Hal Roach|Hal Roach Studio Music Department]], [[Marvin Hatley]], head of department <small>(Score by Hatley)</small>
|-
! rowspan="25" style="text-align:center" | [[1938 in film|1938]]<br /><small>[[11th Academy Awards|(11th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'''''
| '''[[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]'''
|-
| ''[[Army Girl]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[Block-Heads]]''
| [[Marvin Hatley]]
|-
| ''[[Blockade (1938 film)|Blockade]]''
| [[Werner Janssen]]
|-
| ''[[Breaking the Ice (1938 film)|Breaking the Ice]]''
| Victor Young
|-
| ''[[The Cowboy and the Lady (1938 film)|The Cowboy and the Lady]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[If I Were King]]''
| [[Richard Hageman]]
|-
| ''[[Marie Antoinette (1938 film)|Marie Antoinette]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| ''[[Pacific Liner]]''
| [[Robert Russell Bennett|Russell Bennett]]
|-
| ''[[Suez (film)|Suez]]''
| [[Louis Silvers]]
|-
| ''[[The Young in Heart]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)|Alexander's Ragtime Band]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Carefree (film)|Carefree]]''
| [[Victor Baravalle]]
|-
| ''[[Girls' School (1938 film)|Girls' School]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]] and Gregory Stone
|-
| ''[[The Goldwyn Follies]]''
| Alfred Newman
|-
| ''[[Jezebel (1938 film)|Jezebel]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Mad About Music]]''
| [[Charles Previn]] and [[Frank Skinner (composer)|Frank Skinner]]
|-
| ''[[Storm Over Bengal]]''
| [[Cy Feuer]]
|-
| ''[[Sweethearts (1938 film)|Sweethearts]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| ''[[There Goes My Heart (film)|There Goes My Heart]]''
| [[Marvin Hatley]]
|-
| ''[[Tropic Holiday]]''
| [[Boris Morros]]
|-
| ''[[The Young in Heart]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
! rowspan="28" style="text-align:center" | [[1939 in film|1939]]<br /><small>[[12th Academy Awards|(12th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'''''
| '''[[Herbert Stothart]]'''
|-
| ''[[Dark Victory]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Eternally Yours (film)|Eternally Yours]]''
| [[Werner Janssen]]
|-
| ''[[Golden Boy (1939 film)|Golden Boy]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)|The Man in the Iron Mask]]''
| [[Lud Gluskin]] and [[Lucien Moraweck]]
|-
| ''[[Man of Conquest]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[Nurse Edith Cavell]]''
| [[Anthony Collins (composer)|Anthony Collins]]
|-
| ''[[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men]]''
| [[Aaron Copland]]
|-
| ''[[The Rains Came]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Wuthering Heights (1939 film)|Wuthering Heights]]''
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Stagecoach (1939 film)|Stagecoach]]'''''
| '''[[Richard Hageman]], [[W. Franke Harling]], [[John Leipold]] and [[Leo Shuken]]'''
|-
| ''[[Babes in Arms (film)|Babes in Arms]]''
| [[Roger Edens]] and [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
| ''[[First Love (1939 film)|First Love]]''
| [[Charles Previn]]
|-
| ''[[The Great Victor Herbert]]''
| [[Phil Boutelje]] and [[Arthur Lange]]
|-
| ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''
| Alfred Newman
|-
| ''[[Intermezzo (1939 film)|Intermezzo]]''
| [[Louis Forbes]]
|-
| ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men]]''
| [[Aaron Copland]]
|-
| ''[[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex]]''
| [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]
|-
| ''[[She Married a Cop]]''
| [[Cy Feuer]]
|-
| ''[[Swanee River (1939 film)|Swanee River]]''
| [[Louis Silvers]]
|-
| ''[[They Shall Have Music]]''
| Alfred Newman
|-
| ''[[Way Down South (film)|Way Down South]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|}

===1940s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
! rowspan="28" |[[1940 in film|1940]]<br /><small>[[13th Academy Awards|(13th)]]</small>
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'''''
| '''[[Leigh Harline]], [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]] and [[Ned Washington]]'''
|-
| ''[[Arizona (1940 film)|Arizona]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[Dark Command]]''
|-
| ''[[The Fight for Life]]''
| [[Louis Gruenberg]]
|-
| ''[[The Great Dictator]]''
| [[Meredith Willson]]
|-
| ''[[The House of the Seven Gables (film)|The House of the Seven Gables]]''
| [[Frank Skinner (composer)|Frank Skinner]]
|-
| ''[[The Howards of Virginia]]''
| [[Richard Hageman]]
|-
| ''[[The Letter (1940 film)|The Letter]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[The Long Voyage Home]]''
| Richard Hageman
|-
| ''[[The Mark of Zorro (1940 film)|The Mark of Zorro]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[My Favorite Wife]]''
| [[Roy Webb]]
|-
| ''[[North West Mounted Police (film)|North West Mounted Police]]''
| Victor Young
|-
| ''[[One Million B.C.]]''
| [[Werner Heymann]]
|-
| ''[[Our Town (1940 film)|Our Town]]''
| [[Aaron Copland]]
|-
| ''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[Waterloo Bridge (1940 film)|Waterloo Bridge]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Tin Pan Alley (film)|Tin Pan Alley]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Arise, My Love]]''
| Victor Young
|-
| ''[[Hit Parade of 1941]]''
| [[Cy Feuer]]
|-
| ''[[Irene (1940 film)|Irene]]''
| [[Anthony Collins (composer)|Anthony Collins]]
|-
| ''[[Our Town (1940 film)|Our Town]]''
| Aaron Copland
|-
| ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]''
| [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]
|-
| ''[[Second Chorus]]''
| [[Artie Shaw]]
|-
| ''[[Spring Parade]]''
| [[Charles Previn]]
|-
| ''[[Strike Up the Band (film)|Strike Up the Band]]''
| [[Roger Edens]] and [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
! rowspan="33" style="text-align:center" | [[1941 in film|1941]]<br /><small>[[14th Academy Awards|(14th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Devil and Daniel Webster (film)|The Devil and Daniel Webster]]'''''
| '''[[Bernard Herrmann]]'''
|-
| ''[[Back Street (1941 film)|Back Street]]''
| [[Frank Skinner (composer)|Frank Skinner]]
|-
| ''[[Ball of Fire]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Cheers for Miss Bishop]]''
| [[Edward Ward (composer)|Edward Ward]]
|-
| ''[[Citizen Kane]]''
| [[Bernard Herrmann]]
|-
| ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[Hold Back the Dawn]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[How Green Was My Valley (film)|How Green Was My Valley]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[King of the Zombies]]''
| [[Edward J. Kay|Edward Kay]]
|-
| ''[[Ladies in Retirement]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]] and [[Ernst Toch]]
|-
| ''[[The Little Foxes (film)|The Little Foxes]]''
| [[Meredith Willson]]
|-
| ''[[Lydia (film)|Lydia]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[Mercy Island]]''
| [[Cy Feuer]] and [[Walter Scharf]]
|-
| ''[[Sergeant York (film)|Sergeant York]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[So Ends Our Night]]''
| [[Louis Gruenberg]]
|-
| ''[[Sundown (1941 film)|Sundown]]''
| Miklós Rózsa
|-
| ''[[Suspicion (1941 film)|Suspicion]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[Tanks a Million]]''
| Edward Ward
|-
| ''[[That Uncertain Feeling (film)|That Uncertain Feeling]]''
| [[Werner Heymann]]
|-
| ''[[This Woman is Mine|This Woman Is Mine]]''
| [[Richard Hageman]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Dumbo]]'''''
| '''[[Frank Churchill]] and [[Oliver Wallace]]'''
|-
| ''[[All-American Co-Ed]]''
| Edward Ward
|-
| ''[[Birth of the Blues]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Buck Privates]]''
| [[Charles Previn]]
|-
| ''[[The Chocolate Soldier (film)|The Chocolate Soldier]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]] and [[Bronisław Kaper]]
|-
| ''[[Ice-Capades]]''
| [[Cy Feuer]]
|-
| ''[[The Strawberry Blonde]]''
| [[Heinz Roemheld]]
|-
| ''[[Sun Valley Serenade]]''
| [[Emil Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Sunny (1941 film)|Sunny]]''
| [[Anthony Collins (composer)|Anthony Collins]]
|-
| ''[[You'll Never Get Rich]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
! rowspan="29" style="text-align:center" | [[1942 in film|1942]]<br /><small>[[15th Academy Awards|(15th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Now, Voyager]]'''''
| '''[[Max Steiner]]'''
|-
| ''[[Arabian Nights (1942 film)|Arabian Nights]]''
| [[Frank Skinner (composer)|Frank Skinner]]
|-
| ''[[Bambi]]''
| [[Frank Churchill]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.n.]])</small> and [[Edward H. Plumb|Edward Plumb]]
|-
| ''[[The Black Swan (film)|The Black Swan]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Corsican Brothers (1941 film)|The Corsican Brothers]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Flying Tigers (film)|Flying Tigers]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[The Gold Rush]]''
| [[Max Terr]]
|-
| ''[[I Married a Witch]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Roy Webb]]
|-
| ''[[Joan of Paris]]''
|-
| ''[[Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book|Jungle Book]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[Klondike Fury]]''
| [[Edward J. Kay|Edward Kay]]
|-
| ''[[The Pride of the Yankees]]''
| [[Leigh Harline]]
|-
| ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| ''[[The Shanghai Gesture]]''
| [[Richard Hageman]]
|-
| ''[[Silver Queen]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[Take a Letter, Darling]]''
|-
| ''[[The Talk of the Town (1942 film)|The Talk of the Town]]''
| [[Friedrich Hollaender]] and [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
| ''[[To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)|To Be or Not to Be]]''
| [[Werner R. Heymann|Werner Heymann]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]'''''
| '''[[Ray Heindorf]] and [[Heinz Roemheld]]'''
|-
| ''[[Flying with Music]]''
| [[Edward Ward (composer)|Edward Ward]]
|-
| ''[[For Me and My Gal (film)|For Me and My Gal]]''
| [[Roger Edens]] and [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
| ''[[Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[It Started with Eve]]''
| [[Hans J. Salter]] and [[Charles Previn]]
|-
| ''[[Johnny Doughboy]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]]
|-
| ''[[My Gal Sal]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[You Were Never Lovelier]]''
| [[Leigh Harline]]
|-
! rowspan="29" style="text-align:center" | [[1943 in film|1943]]<br /><small>[[16th Academy Awards|(16th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Amazing Mrs. Holliday]]''
| [[Frank Skinner (composer)|Frank Skinner]] and [[Hans J. Salter]]
|-
| ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Commandos Strike at Dawn]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]] and [[Louis Gruenberg]]
|-
| ''[[The Fallen Sparrow]]''
| [[Roy Webb]] and [[Constantin Bakaleinikoff]]
|-
| ''[[For Whom the Bell Tolls (film)|For Whom the Bell Tolls]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[Hangmen Also Die!]]''
| [[Hanns Eisler]]
|-
| ''[[Hi Diddle Diddle]]''
| [[Phil Boutelje]]
|-
| ''[[In Old Oklahoma]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]]
|-
| ''[[Johnny Come Lately]]''
| [[Leigh Harline]]
|-
| ''[[The Kansan (film)|The Kansan]]''
| [[Gerard Carbonara]]
|-
| ''[[Lady of Burlesque]]''
| [[Arthur Lange]]
|-
| ''[[Madame Curie (film)|Madame Curie]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| ''[[The Moon and Sixpence (film)|The Moon and Sixpence]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[The North Star (1943 film)|The North Star]]''
| [[Aaron Copland]]
|-
| ''[[Victory Through Air Power (film)|Victory Through Air Power]]''
| [[Edward H. Plumb|Edward Plumb]], [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]] and [[Oliver Wallace]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[This Is the Army]]'''''
| '''[[Ray Heindorf]]'''
|-
| ''[[Coney Island (1943 film)|Coney Island]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Hit Parade of 1943]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]]
|-
| ''[[Phantom of the Opera (1943 film)|Phantom of the Opera]]''
| [[Edward Ward (composer)|Edward Ward]]
|-
| ''[[Saludos Amigos]]''
| Edward Plumb, Paul Smith and [[Charles Wolcott]]
|-
| ''[[The Sky's the Limit (1943 film)|The Sky's the Limit]]''
| [[Leigh Harline]]
|-
| ''[[Something to Shout About (film)|Something to Shout About]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
| ''[[Stage Door Canteen (film)|Stage Door Canteen]]''
| [[Fred Rich]]
|-
| ''[[Star Spangled Rhythm]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Thousands Cheer]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart|Herbert P. Stothart]]
|-
! rowspan="37" style="text-align:center" | [[1944 in film|1944]]<br /><small>[[17th Academy Awards|(17th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Since You Went Away]]'''''
| '''[[Max Steiner]]'''
|-
| ''[[Address Unknown (1944 film)|Address Unknown]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]] and [[Ernst Toch]]
|-
| ''[[The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944 film)|The Adventures of Mark Twain]]''
| Max Steiner
|-
| ''[[The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944 film)|The Bridge of San Luis Rey]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Casanova Brown]]''
| [[Arthur Lange]]
|-
| ''[[Christmas Holiday]]''
| [[Hans J. Salter]]
|-
| ''[[Double Indemnity]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[The Fighting Seabees]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]] and [[Roy Webb]]
|-
| ''[[The Hairy Ape (film)|The Hairy Ape]]''
| [[Michel Michelet]] and Edward Paul
|-
| ''[[It Happened Tomorrow]]''
| [[Robert Stolz]]
|-
| ''[[Jack London (1943 film)|Jack London]]''
| [[Fred Rich]]
|-
| ''[[Kismet (1944 film)|Kismet]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| ''[[None but the Lonely Heart (film)|None but the Lonely Heart]]''
| [[Constantin Bakaleinikoff]] and [[Hanns Eisler]]
|-
| ''[[The Princess and the Pirate]]''
| [[David Rose (songwriter)|David Rose]]
|-
| ''[[Summer Storm (1944 film)|Summer Storm]]''
| [[Karl Hajos]]
|-
| ''[[Three Russian Girls]]''
| [[W. Franke Harling|Franke Harling]]
|-
| ''[[Up in Mabel's Room (1944 film)|Up in Mabel's Room]]''
| Edward Paul
|-
| ''[[Voice in the Wind]]''
| [[Michel Michelet]]
|-
| ''[[Wilson (1944 film)|Wilson]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Woman of the Town]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Cover Girl (film)|Cover Girl]]'''''
| '''[[Morris Stoloff]] and [[Carmen Dragon]]'''
|-
| ''[[Brazil (1944 film)|Brazil]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]]
|-
| ''[[Higher and Higher (film)|Higher and Higher]]''
| [[Constantin Bakaleinikoff]]
|-
| ''[[Hollywood Canteen (film)|Hollywood Canteen]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
| ''[[Irish Eyes Are Smiling]]''
| Alfred Newman
|-
| ''[[Knickerbocker Holiday (film)|Knickerbocker Holiday]]''
| [[Werner R. Heymann|Werner Heymann]] and [[Kurt Weill]]
|-
| ''[[Lady in the Dark (film)|Lady in the Dark]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan|Robert Emmett Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Lady, Let's Dance]]''
| [[Edward J. Kay|Edward Kay]]
|-
| ''[[Meet Me in St. Louis]]''
| [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
| ''[[The Merry Monahans]]''
| [[Hans J. Salter]]
|-
| ''[[Minstrel Man (film)|Minstrel Man]]''
| [[Ferde Grofé]] and [[Leo Erdody]]
|-
| ''[[Sensations of 1945]]''
| Mahlon Merrick
|-
| ''[[Song of the Open Road]]''
| [[Charles Previn]]
|-
| ''[[Up in Arms]]''
| [[Louis Forbes]] and [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
! rowspan="36" style="text-align:center" | [[1945 in film|1945]]<br /><small>[[18th Academy Awards|(18th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Spellbound (1945 film)|Spellbound]]'''''
| '''[[Miklós Rózsa]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Bells of St. Mary's]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Brewster's Millions (1945 film)|Brewster's Millions]]''
| [[Louis Forbes]]
|-
| ''[[Captain Kidd (film)|Captain Kidd]]''
| [[Werner Janssen]]
|-
| ''[[The Enchanted Cottage (1945 film)|The Enchanted Cottage]]''
| [[Roy Webb]]
|-
| ''[[Flame of Barbary Coast]]''
| Morton Scott and Dale Butts
|-
| ''[[G. I. Honeymoon]]''
| [[Edward J. Kay]]
|-
| ''[[The Story of G.I. Joe|G. I. Joe]]''
| [[Louis Applebaum]] and [[Ann Ronell]]
|-
| ''[[Guest in the House]]''
| Werner Janssen
|-
| ''[[Guest Wife]]''
| [[Daniele Amfitheatrof]]
|-
| ''[[The Keys of the Kingdom (film)|The Keys of the Kingdom]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Lost Weekend (film)|The Lost Weekend]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[Love Letters (1945 film)|Love Letters]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[The Man Who Walked Alone]]''
| [[Karl Hajos]]
|-
| ''[[Objective, Burma!]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[Paris Underground (film)|Paris Underground]]''
| [[Alexandre Tansman]]
|-
| ''[[A Song to Remember]]''
| Miklós Rózsa and [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
| ''[[The Southerner (film)|The Southerner]]''
| [[Werner Janssen]]
|-
| ''[[This Love of Ours]]''
| [[Hans J. Salter]]
|-
| ''[[The Valley of Decision]]''
| [[Herbert Stothart]]
|-
| ''[[The Woman in the Window (1944 film)|The Woman in the Window]]''
| [[Arthur Lange]] and [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]'''''
| '''[[Georgie Stoll]]'''
|-
| ''[[Belle of the Yukon]]''
| Arthur Lange
|-
| ''[[Can't Help Singing]]''
| [[Jerome Kern]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.n.]])</small> and Hans J. Salter
|-
| ''[[Hitchhike to Happiness]]''
| Morton Scott
|-
| ''[[Incendiary Blonde]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Rhapsody in Blue (film)|Rhapsody in Blue]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]] and [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[State Fair (1945 film)|State Fair]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]] and [[Charles E. Henderson|Charles Henderson]]
|-
| ''[[Sunbonnet Sue]]''
| [[Edward J. Kay]]
|-
| ''[[The Three Caballeros]]''
| [[Edward H. Plumb|Edward Plumb]], [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]] and [[Charles Wolcott]]
|-
| ''[[Tonight and Every Night]]''
| [[Marlin Skiles]] and [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
| ''[[Why Girls Leave Home (1945 film)|Why Girls Leave Home]]''
| [[Walter Greene]]
|-
| ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]''
| [[Louis Forbes]] and [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1946 in film|1946]]<br /><small>[[19th Academy Awards|(19th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'''''
| '''[[Hugo Friedhofer]]'''
|-
| ''[[Anna and the King of Siam (film)|Anna and the King of Siam]]''
| [[Bernard Herrmann]]
|-
| ''[[Henry V (1944 film)|Henry V]]''
| [[William Walton]]
|-
| ''[[Humoresque (1946 film)|Humoresque]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[The Killers (1946 film)|The Killers]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Jolson Story]]'''''
| '''[[Morris Stoloff]]'''
|-
| ''[[Blue Skies (1946 film)|Blue Skies]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan|Robert Emmett Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Centennial Summer]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Harvey Girls]]''
| [[Lennie Hayton]]
|-
| ''[[Night and Day (1946 film)|Night and Day]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]] and [[Max Steiner]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1947 in film|1947]]<br /><small>[[20th Academy Awards|(20th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[A Double Life (1947 film)|A Double Life]]'''''
| '''[[Miklós Rózsa]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Bishop's Wife]]''
| [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| ''[[Captain from Castile]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Forever Amber (film)|Forever Amber]]''
| [[David Raksin]]
|-
| ''[[Life with Father (film)|Life with Father]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Mother Wore Tights]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Fiesta (1947 film)|Fiesta]]''
| [[Johnny Green]]
|-
| ''[[My Wild Irish Rose]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]] and [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Road to Rio]]''
| [[Robert E. Dolan|Robert Emmett Dolan]]
|-
| ''[[Song of the South]]''
| [[Daniele Amfitheatrof]], [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]] and [[Charles Wolcott]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1948 in film|1948]]<br /><small>[[21st Academy Awards|(21st)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Red Shoes (1948 film)|The Red Shoes]]'''''
| '''[[Brian Easdale]]'''
|-
| ''[[Hamlet (1948 film)|Hamlet]]''
| [[William Walton]]
|-
| ''[[Joan of Arc (1948 film)|Joan of Arc]]''
| [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| ''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[The Snake Pit]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Easter Parade (film)|Easter Parade]]'''''
| '''[[Johnny Green]] and [[Roger Edens]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Emperor Waltz]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| ''[[The Pirate (1948 film)|The Pirate]]''
| [[Lennie Hayton]]
|-
| ''[[Romance on the High Seas]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
| ''[[When My Baby Smiles at Me (film)|When My Baby Smiles at Me]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="9" style="text-align:center" | [[1949 in film|1949]]<br /><small>[[22nd Academy Awards|(22nd)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Heiress]]'''''
| '''[[Aaron Copland]]'''
|-
| ''[[Beyond the Forest]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Champion (1949 film)|Champion]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]'''''
| '''[[Roger Edens]] and [[Lennie Hayton]]'''
|-
| ''[[Jolson Sings Again]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]] and [[George Duning]]
|-
| ''[[Look for the Silver Lining (film)|Look for the Silver Lining]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|}

===1950s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
! rowspan="12" |[[1950 in film|1950]]<br /><small>[[23rd Academy Awards|(23rd)]]</small>
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'''''
| '''[[Franz Waxman]]'''
|-
| ''[[All About Eve]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Flame and the Arrow]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[No Sad Songs for Me]]''
| [[George Duning]]
|-
| ''[[Samson and Delilah (1949 film)|Samson and Delilah]]''
| [[Victor Young]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Annie Get Your Gun (film)|Annie Get Your Gun]]'''''
| '''[[Adolph Deutsch]] and [[Roger Edens]]'''
|-
| ''[[Cinderella (1950 film)|Cinderella]]''
| [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]] and [[Oliver Wallace]]
|-
| ''[[I'll Get By (film)|I'll Get By]]''
| [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Three Little Words (film)|Three Little Words]]''
| [[André Previn]]
|-
| ''[[The West Point Story (film)|The West Point Story]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1951 in film|1951]]<br /><small>[[24th Academy Awards|(24th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'''''
| '''[[Franz Waxman]]'''
|-
| ''[[David and Bathsheba (film)|David and Bathsheba]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Death of a Salesman (1951 film)|Death of a Salesman]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|Quo Vadis]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]''
| Alex North
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'''''
| '''[[Saul Chaplin]] and [[Johnny Green]]'''
|-
| ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]''
| [[Oliver Wallace]]
|-
| ''[[The Great Caruso]]''
| [[Peter Herman Adler]] and Johnny Green
|-
| ''[[On the Riviera]]''
| Alfred Newman
|-
| ''[[Show Boat (1951 film)|Show Boat]]''
| [[Adolph Deutsch]] and [[Conrad Salinger]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1952 in film|1952]]<br /><small>[[25th Academy Awards|(25th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[High Noon]]'''''
| '''[[Dimitri Tiomkin]]'''
|-
| ''[[Ivanhoe (1952 film)|Ivanhoe]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[The Thief (1952 film)|The Thief]]''
| [[Herschel Burke Gilbert]]
|-
| ''[[Viva Zapata!]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[With a Song in My Heart (film)|With a Song in My Heart]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]]
|-
| ''[[The Jazz Singer (1952 film)|The Jazz Singer]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]] and Max Steiner
|-
| ''[[The Medium (1951 film)|The Medium]]''
| [[Gian Carlo Menotti]]
|-
| ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]''
| [[Lennie Hayton]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1953 in film|1953]]<br /><small>[[26th Academy Awards|(26th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Lili (1953 film)|Lili]]'''''
| '''[[Bronisław Kaper]]'''
|-
| ''[[Above and Beyond (1952 film)|Above and Beyond]]''
| [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| ''[[From Here to Eternity]]''
| [[George Duning]] and [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
| ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[This Is Cinerama]]''
| [[Louis Forbes]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Call Me Madam (film)|Call Me Madam]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.]]''
| [[Friedrich Hollaender]] and Morris Stoloff
|-
| ''[[The Band Wagon]]''
| [[Adolph Deutsch]]
|-
| ''[[Calamity Jane (film)|Calamity Jane]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
| ''[[Kiss Me Kate (film)|Kiss Me Kate]]''
| [[Saul Chaplin]] and [[André Previn]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1954 in film|1954]]<br /><small>[[27th Academy Awards|(27th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The High and the Mighty (film)|The High and the Mighty]]'''''
| '''[[Dimitri Tiomkin]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Caine Mutiny (1954 film)|The Caine Mutiny]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[Genevieve (film)|Genevieve]]''
| [[Larry Adler]]{{efn|Blacklisted composer [[Larry Adler]]'s name was removed from American prints of the British-made ''[[Genevieve (film)|Genevieve]]''. The film's arranger and orchestrator [[Muir Mathieson]] was credited instead and received an Oscar nomination. In 1986, the Academy's Board of Governors removed Mathieson's name from the nomination and gave it to Adler.}}
|-
| ''[[On the Waterfront]]''
| [[Leonard Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[The Silver Chalice (film)|The Silver Chalice]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers]]'''''
| '''[[Saul Chaplin]] and [[Adolph Deutsch]]'''
|-
| ''[[Carmen Jones (film)|Carmen Jones]]''
| [[Herschel Burke Gilbert]]
|-
| ''[[The Glenn Miller Story]]''
| Joseph Gershenson and [[Henry Mancini]]
|-
| ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
| ''[[There's No Business Like Show Business (film)|There's No Business Like Show Business]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]] and [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1955 in film|1955]]<br /><small>[[28th Academy Awards|(28th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'''''
| '''[[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Battle Cry (film)|Battle Cry]]''
| [[Max Steiner]]
|-
| ''[[The Man with the Golden Arm]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[Picnic (1955 film)|Picnic]]''
| [[George Duning]]
|-
| ''[[The Rose Tattoo (film)|The Rose Tattoo]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Oklahoma! (film)|Oklahoma!]]'''''
| '''[[Robert Russell Bennett]], [[Jay Blackton]] and [[Adolph Deutsch]]'''
|-
| ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]''
| Alfred Newman
|-
| ''[[Guys and Dolls (film)|Guys and Dolls]]''
| Jay Blackton and [[Cyril J. Mockridge]]
|-
| ''[[It's Always Fair Weather]]''
| [[André Previn]]
|-
| ''[[Love Me or Leave Me (film)|Love Me or Leave Me]]''
| [[Percy Faith]] and [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1956 in film|1956]]<br /><small>[[29th Academy Awards|(29th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'''''
| '''[[Victor Young]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.r.]])</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Anastasia (1956 film)|Anastasia]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Between Heaven and Hell (film)|Between Heaven and Hell]]''
| [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[The Rainmaker (1956 film)|The Rainmaker]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]'''''
| '''[[Ken Darby]] and Newman'''
|-
| ''[[The Best Things in Life Are Free (film)|The Best Things in Life Are Free]]''
| [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Eddy Duchin Story]]''
| [[George Duning]] and [[Morris Stoloff]]
|-
| ''[[High Society (1956 film)|High Society]]''
| [[Saul Chaplin]] and [[Johnny Green]]
|-
| ''[[Meet Me in Las Vegas]]''
| Johnny Green and [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1957 in film|1957]]<br /><small>[[30th Academy Awards|(30th)]]</small> <br />{{efn|In 1957, dramatic and comedy films competed with musicals in a combined category called '''Music – Scoring'''. Fifteen scores were shortlisted with ten from dramatic and comedy films and five from musicals. Voting resulted in no musical nominees.}} <br /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://atogt.com/askoscar/display-voting-rules-text.php?yr=30 |title=1957 Academy Award Voting Rules |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1957 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=January 10, 2018}}</ref>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'''''
| '''[[Malcolm Arnold]]'''
|-
| ''[[An Affair to Remember]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| ''[[Boy on a Dolphin]]''
|-
| ''[[Perri (film)|Perri]]''
| [[Paul Smith (composer)|Paul Smith]]
|-
| ''[[Raintree County (film)|Raintree County]]''
| [[Johnny Green]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1958 in film|1958]]<br /><small>[[31st Academy Awards|(31st)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Old Man and the Sea (1958 film)|The Old Man and the Sea]]'''''
| '''[[Dimitri Tiomkin]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Big Country]]''
| [[Jerome Moross]]
|-
| ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]''
| [[David Raksin]]
|-
| ''[[White Wilderness (film)|White Wilderness]]''
| [[Oliver Wallace]]
|-
| ''[[The Young Lions (film)|The Young Lions]]''
| [[Hugo Friedhofer]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'''''
| '''[[André Previn]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Bolshoi Ballet (film)|The Bolshoi Ballet]]''
| [[Yuri Fayer]] and [[Gennady Rozhdestvensky]]
|-
| ''[[Damn Yankees (film)|Damn Yankees]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]]
|-
| ''[[Mardi Gras (1958 film)|Mardi Gras]]''
| [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[South Pacific (1958 film)|South Pacific]]''
| [[Ken Darby]] and [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1959 in film|1959]]<br /><small>[[32nd Academy Awards|(32nd)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'''''
| '''[[Miklós Rózsa]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film)|The Diary of Anne Frank]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Nun's Story (film)|The Nun's Story]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[On the Beach (1959 film)|On the Beach]]''
| [[Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold]]
|-
| ''[[Pillow Talk (film)|Pillow Talk]]''
| [[Frank De Vol]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Porgy and Bess (film)|Porgy and Bess]]'''''
| '''[[Ken Darby]] and [[André Previn]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Five Pennies]]''
| [[Leith Stevens]]
|-
| ''[[Li'l Abner (1959 film)|Li'l Abner]]''
| [[Joseph J. Lilley]] and [[Nelson Riddle]]
|-
| ''[[Say One for Me]]''
| [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]''
| [[George Bruns]]
|}

===1960s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
! rowspan="12" |[[1960 in film|1960]]<br /><small>[[33rd Academy Awards|(33rd)]]</small>
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Exodus (1960 film)|Exodus]]'''''
| '''[[Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Alamo (1960 film)|The Alamo]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Elmer Gantry (film)|Elmer Gantry]]''
| [[André Previn]]
|-
| ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Song Without End]]'''''
| '''[[Morris Stoloff]] and [[Harry Sukman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Bells Are Ringing (film)|Bells Are Ringing]]''
| [[André Previn]]
|-
| ''[[Can-Can (film)|Can-Can]]''
| [[Nelson Riddle]]
|-
| ''[[Let's Make Love]]''
| [[Earle Hagen]] and [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Pepe (1960 film)|Pepe]]''
| [[Johnny Green]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1961 in film|1961]]<br /><small>[[34th Academy Awards|(34th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]]'''''
| '''[[Henry Mancini]]'''
|-
| ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]''
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
|-
| ''[[Fanny (1961 film)|Fanny]]''
| [[Morris Stoloff]] and [[Harry Sukman]]
|-
| ''[[The Guns of Navarone (film)|The Guns of Navarone]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Summer and Smoke (film)|Summer and Smoke]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'''''
| '''[[Saul Chaplin]], [[Johnny Green]], [[Irwin Kostal]] and [[Sid Ramin]]'''
|-
| ''[[Babes in Toyland (1961 film)|Babes in Toyland]]''
| [[George Bruns]]
|-
| ''[[Flower Drum Song (film)|Flower Drum Song]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]] and [[Ken Darby]]
|-
| ''[[Khovanshchina (film)|Khovanshchina]]''
| [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]
|-
| ''[[Paris Blues]]''
| [[Duke Ellington]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1962 in film|1962]]<br /><small>[[35th Academy Awards|(35th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score — Substantially Original'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'''''
| '''[[Maurice Jarre]]'''
|-
| ''[[Freud: The Secret Passion|Freud]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]''
| [[Bronisław Kaper]]
|-
| ''[[Taras Bulba (1962 film)|Taras Bulba]]''
| [[Franz Waxman]]
|-
| ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man]]'''''
| '''[[Ray Heindorf]]'''
|-
| ''[[Billy Rose's Jumbo]]''
| [[Georgie Stoll]]
|-
| ''[[Gigot (film)|Gigot]]''
| [[Michel Magne]]
|-
| ''[[Gypsy (1962 film)|Gypsy]]''
| [[Frank Perkins (composer)|Frank Perkins]]
|-
| ''[[The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm]]''
| [[Leigh Harline]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1963 in film|1963]]<br /><small>[[36th Academy Awards|(36th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score — Substantially Original'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Tom Jones (1963 film)|Tom Jones]]'''''
| '''[[John Addison]]'''
|-
| ''[[55 Days at Peking]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]] and [[Ken Darby]]
|-
| ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]''
| [[Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Irma la Douce]]'''''
| '''[[André Previn]]'''
|-
| ''[[Bye Bye Birdie (1963 film)|Bye Bye Birdie]]''
| [[Johnny Green]]
|-
| ''[[A New Kind of Love]]''
| [[Leith Stevens]]
|-
| ''[[Sundays and Cybele]]''
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
|-
| ''[[The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)|The Sword in the Stone]]''
| [[George Bruns]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1964 in film|1964]]<br /><small>[[37th Academy Awards|(37th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score — Substantially Original'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Mary Poppins (film)|Mary Poppins]]'''''
| '''[[Sherman Brothers]]'''
|-
| ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]''
| [[Laurence Rosenthal]]
|-
| ''[[The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)|The Fall of the Roman Empire]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]]
|-
| ''[[Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte]]''
| [[Frank De Vol]]
|-
| ''[[The Pink Panther (1963 film)|The Pink Panther]]''
| [[Henry Mancini]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'''''
| '''[[André Previn]]'''
|-
| ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]]''
| [[George Martin]]
|-
| ''[[Mary Poppins (film)|Mary Poppins]]''
| [[Irwin Kostal]]
|-
| ''[[Robin and the 7 Hoods]]''
| [[Nelson Riddle]]
|-
| ''[[The Unsinkable Molly Brown (film)|The Unsinkable Molly Brown]]''
| [[Robert Armbruster]], [[Leo Arnaud]], [[Jack Elliott (composer)|Jack Elliott]], [[Jack Hayes (composer)|Jack Hayes]], [[Calvin Jackson (pianist)|Calvin Jackson]] and [[Leo Shuken]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1965 in film|1965]]<br /><small>[[38th Academy Awards|(38th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Music Score — Substantially Original'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'''''
| '''[[Maurice Jarre]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Agony and the Ecstasy (film)|The Agony and the Ecstasy]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]]
|-
| ''[[A Patch of Blue]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[The Umbrellas of Cherbourg]]''
| [[Jacques Demy]] and [[Michel Legrand]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]'''''
| '''[[Irwin Kostal]]'''
|-
| ''[[Cat Ballou]]''
| [[Frank De Vol]]
|-
| ''[[The Pleasure Seekers (1964 film)|The Pleasure Seekers]]''
| [[Alexander Courage|Sandy Courage]] and [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[A Thousand Clowns]]''
| [[Don Walker (orchestrator)|Don Walker]]
|-
| ''[[The Umbrellas of Cherbourg]]''
| [[Michel Legrand]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1966 in film|1966]]<br /><small>[[39th Academy Awards|(39th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Music Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Born Free]]'''''
| '''[[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Bible: In the Beginning...]]''
| [[Toshiro Mayuzumi]]
|-
| ''[[Hawaii (1966 film)|Hawaii]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)|Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'''''
| '''[[Ken Thorne]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Gospel According to St. Matthew (film)|The Gospel According to St. Matthew]]''
| [[Luis Bacalov]]
|-
| ''[[Return of the Seven]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[The Singing Nun (film)|The Singing Nun]]''
| [[Harry Sukman]]
|-
| ''[[Stop the World – I Want to Get Off]]''
| [[Al Ham]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1967 in film|1967]]<br /><small>[[40th Academy Awards|(40th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Music Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Thoroughly Modern Millie]]'''''
| '''[[Elmer Bernstein]]'''
|-
| ''[[Cool Hand Luke]]''
| [[Lalo Schifrin]]
|-
| ''[[Doctor Dolittle (1967 film)|Doctor Dolittle]]''
| [[Leslie Bricusse]]
|-
| ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]''
| [[Richard Rodney Bennett]]
|-
| ''[[In Cold Blood (film)|In Cold Blood]]''
| [[Quincy Jones]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Camelot (film)|Camelot]]'''''
| '''[[Ken Darby]] and [[Alfred Newman]]'''
|-
| ''[[Doctor Dolittle (1967 film)|Doctor Dolittle]]''
| [[Alexander Courage|Sandy Courage]] and [[Lionel Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Guess Who's Coming to Dinner]]''
| [[Frank De Vol]]
|-
| ''[[Thoroughly Modern Millie]]''
| Joseph Gershenson and [[André Previn]]
|-
| ''[[Valley of the Dolls (film)|Valley of the Dolls]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1968 in film|1968]]<br /><small>[[41st Academy Awards|(41st)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score — For a Motion Picture (Not a Musical)'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]'''''
| '''[[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Fox (1967 film)|The Fox]]''
| [[Lalo Schifrin]]
|-
| ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (film)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]''
| [[Michel Legrand]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]'''''
| '''[[Johnny Green]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Finian's Rainbow (1968 film)|Finian's Rainbow]]''
| [[Ray Heindorf]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Funny Girl (film)|Funny Girl]]''
| [[Walter Scharf]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Star! (film)|Star!]]''
| [[Lennie Hayton]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Young Girls of Rochefort]]''
| Michel Legrand <small>(music and adaptation score)</small> and [[Jacques Demy]] <small>(lyrics)</small>
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1969 in film|1969]]<br /><small>[[42nd Academy Awards|(42nd)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score — For a Motion Picture (Not a Musical)'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'''''
| '''[[Burt Bacharach]]'''
|-
| ''[[Anne of the Thousand Days]]''
| [[Georges Delerue]]
|-
| ''[[The Reivers (film)|The Reivers]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Secret of Santa Vittoria]]''
| [[Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold]]
|-
| ''[[The Wild Bunch]]''
| [[Jerry Fielding]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'''''
| '''[[Lennie Hayton]] and [[Lionel Newman]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]''
| [[Leslie Bricusse]] <small>(music and lyrics)</small> and [[John Williams]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]''
| [[Nelson Riddle]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Sweet Charity (film)|Sweet Charity]]''
| [[Cy Coleman]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)|They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]]''
| [[Johnny Green]] and [[Albert Woodbury]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|}

===1970s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|-
! rowspan="12" |[[1970 in film|1970]]<br /><small>[[43rd Academy Awards|(43rd)]]</small>
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Love Story (1970 film)|Love Story]]'''''
| '''[[Francis Lai]]'''
|-
| ''[[Airport (1970 film)|Airport]]''
| [[Alfred Newman]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.n.]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Cromwell (film)|Cromwell]]''
| [[Frank Cordell]]
|-
| ''[[Patton (film)|Patton]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Sunflower (1970 film)|Sunflower]]''
| [[Henry Mancini]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Let It Be (1970 film)|Let It Be]]'''''
| '''[[The Beatles]] <small>(music and lyrics)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The Baby Maker]]''
| [[Fred Karlin]] <small>(music)</small> and Tylwyth Kymry <small>(lyrics)</small>
|-
| ''[[A Boy Named Charlie Brown]]''
| [[Rod McKuen]] <small>(music and lyrics)</small>, [[John Scott Trotter]] <small>(music)</small>, [[Bill Melendez]], Al Shean <small>(lyrics)</small>, [[Vince Guaraldi]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Darling Lili]]''
| [[Henry Mancini]] <small>(music)</small> and [[Johnny Mercer]] <small>(lyrics)</small>
|-
| ''[[Scrooge (1970 film)|Scrooge]]''
| [[Leslie Bricusse]] <small>(music and lyrics)</small>, [[Ian Fraser (composer)|Ian Fraser]] and [[Herbert W. Spencer]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1971 in film|1971]]<br /><small>[[44th Academy Awards|(44th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Summer of '42]]'''''
| '''[[Michel Legrand]]'''
|-
| ''[[Mary, Queen of Scots (1971 film)|Mary, Queen of Scots]]''
| [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]
|-
| ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]''
| [[Richard Rodney Bennett]]
|-
| ''[[Shaft (1971 film)|Shaft]]''
| [[Isaac Hayes]]
|-
| ''[[Straw Dogs (1971 film)|Straw Dogs]]''
| [[Jerry Fielding]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Fiddler on the Roof (film)|Fiddler on the Roof]]'''''
| '''[[John Williams]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]''
| [[Sherman Brothers]] <small>(song score)</small> and [[Irwin Kostal]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Boy Friend (1971 film)|The Boy Friend]]''
| [[Peter Maxwell Davies]] and [[Peter Greenwell]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Tchaikovsky (film)|Tchaikovsky]]''
| [[Dimitri Tiomkin]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory]]''
| [[Leslie Bricusse]] and [[Anthony Newley]] <small>(song score)</small> and [[Walter Scharf]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="12" style="text-align:center" | [[1972 in film|1972]]<br /><small>[[45th Academy Awards|(45th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Limelight (1952 film)|Limelight]]'''''{{efn|''Limelight'' was originally released in 1952, but had never screened theatrically in Los Angeles until 1972, at which point it became eligible for Oscar consideration.}}
| '''[[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Raymond Rasch]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.r.]])</small> and [[Larry Russell]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.r.]])</small>'''
|-
| <s>''[[The Godfather]]''</s> (nomination revoked){{efn|[[Nino Rota]] was nominated for ''[[The Godfather]]'' in 1972, but the nomination was revoked after it was discovered Rota had reused music from the 1958 Italian film ''[[Fortunella (film)|Fortunella]]''. The Academy's entire music branch revoted for a fifth nominee. They could either renominate Rota for ''The Godfather'' or select one of the five other shortlisted scores: ''[[Ben (1972 film)|Ben]]'' by [[Walter Scharf]], ''[[Roma (1972 film)|Fellini's Roma]]'' by Rota, ''[[The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean]]'' by [[Maurice Jarre]], ''[[The Other (1972 film)|The Other]]'' by [[Jerry Goldsmith]], or ''[[Sleuth (1972 film)|Sleuth]]'' by [[John Addison]]. ''Sleuth'' received the most votes and became the fifth nominee.}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQkEAAAAMBAJ&q=sleuth%20addison%20become%20oscar%20nominee&pg=PA7-IA3 |title=Vote Settles Oscar Tunes |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=March 17, 1973 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 31, 2017}}</ref>
| [[Nino Rota]]
|-
| ''[[Images (film)|Images]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Napoleon and Samantha]]''
| [[Buddy Baker (composer)|Buddy Baker]]
|-
| ''[[The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)|The Poseidon Adventure]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Sleuth (1972 film)|Sleuth]]''
| [[John Addison]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Cabaret (1972 film)|Cabaret]]'''''
| '''[[Ralph Burns]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Lady Sings the Blues (film)|Lady Sings the Blues]]''
| [[Gil Askey]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Man of La Mancha (film)|Man of La Mancha]]''
| [[Laurence Rosenthal]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1973 in film|1973]]<br /><small>[[46th Academy Awards|(46th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Way We Were]]'''''
| '''[[Marvin Hamlisch]]'''
|-
| ''[[Cinderella Liberty]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Day of the Dolphin]]''
| [[Georges Delerue]]
|-
| ''[[Papillon (1973 film)|Papillon]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[A Touch of Class (film)|A Touch of Class]]''
| [[John Cameron (musician)|John Cameron]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Sting]]'''''
| '''[[Marvin Hamlisch]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar (film)|Jesus Christ Superstar]]''
| [[André Previn]], [[Herbert W. Spencer]] and [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Tom Sawyer (1973 film)|Tom Sawyer]]''
| [[Sherman Brothers]] <small>(song score)</small> and [[John Williams]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1974 in film|1974]]<br /><small>[[47th Academy Awards|(47th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Godfather Part II]]'''''
| '''[[Nino Rota]] and [[Carmine Coppola]]'''
|-
| ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]''
| [[Richard Rodney Bennett]]
|-
| ''[[Shanks (film)|Shanks]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Great Gatsby (1974 film)|The Great Gatsby]]'''''
| '''[[Nelson Riddle]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The Little Prince (1974 film)|The Little Prince]]''
| [[Alan Jay Lerner]] and [[Frederick Loewe]] <small>(song score)</small>, [[Douglas Gamley]] and [[Angela Morley]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Phantom of the Paradise]]''
| [[Paul Williams (songwriter)|Paul Williams]] <small>(song and adaptation score)</small> and [[George Tipton]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1975 in film|1975]]<br /><small>[[48th Academy Awards|(48th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'''''
| '''[[John Williams]]'''
|-
| ''[[Birds Do It, Bees Do It]]''
| [[Gerald Fried]]
|-
| ''[[Bite the Bullet (film)|Bite the Bullet]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]''
| [[Jack Nitzsche]]
|-
| ''[[The Wind and the Lion]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Barry Lyndon]]'''''
| '''[[Leonard Rosenman]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Funny Lady]]''
| [[Peter Matz]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Tommy (1975 film)|Tommy]]''
| [[Pete Townshend]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1976 in film|1976]]<br /><small>[[49th Academy Awards|(49th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Omen]]'''''
| '''[[Jerry Goldsmith]]'''
|-
| ''[[Obsession (1976 film)|Obsession]]''
| [[Bernard Herrmann]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.n.]])</small>
|-
| ''[[The Outlaw Josey Wales]]''
| [[Jerry Fielding]]
|-
| ''[[Taxi Driver]]''
| [[Bernard Herrmann]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.n.]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''
| [[Lalo Schifrin]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Bound for Glory (1976 film)|Bound for Glory]]'''''
| '''[[Leonard Rosenman]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Bugsy Malone]]''
| [[Paul Williams (songwriter)|Paul Williams]] <small>(song and adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[A Star Is Born (1976 film)|A Star Is Born]]''
| [[Roger Kellaway]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1977 in film|1977]]<br /><small>[[50th Academy Awards|(50th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'''''
| '''[[John Williams]]'''
|-
| ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Julia (1977 film)|Julia]]''
| [[Georges Delerue]]
|-
| ''[[The Message (1976 film)|Mohammad, Messenger of God]]''
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
|-
| ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]''
| [[Marvin Hamlisch]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[A Little Night Music (film)|A Little Night Music]]'''''
| '''[[Jonathan Tunick]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Pete's Dragon (1977 film)|Pete's Dragon]]''
| [[Joel Hirschhorn]] and [[Al Kasha]] <small>(song score)</small> and [[Irwin Kostal]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Slipper and the Rose]]''
| [[Sherman Brothers]] <small>(song score)</small> and [[Angela Morley]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1978 in film|1978]]<br /><small>[[51st Academy Awards|(51st)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Midnight Express (film)|Midnight Express]]'''''
| '''[[Giorgio Moroder]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Boys from Brazil (film)|The Boys from Brazil]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Days of Heaven]]''
| [[Ennio Morricone]]
|-
| ''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]''
| [[Dave Grusin]]
|-
| ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Adaptation Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Buddy Holly Story]]'''''
| '''[[Joe Renzetti]]'''
|-
| ''[[Pretty Baby (1978 film)|Pretty Baby]]''
| [[Jerry Wexler]]
|-
| ''[[The Wiz (film)|The Wiz]]''
| [[Quincy Jones]]
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1979 in film|1979]]<br /><small>[[52nd Academy Awards|(52nd)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[A Little Romance]]'''''
| '''[[Georges Delerue]]'''
|-
| ''[[10 (1979 film)|10]]''
| [[Henry Mancini]]
|-
| ''[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]''
| [[Lalo Schifrin]]
|-
| ''[[The Champ (1979 film)|The Champ]]''
| [[Dave Grusin]]
|-
| ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[All That Jazz (film)|All That Jazz]]'''''
| '''[[Ralph Burns]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Breaking Away]]''
| [[Patrick Williams (composer)|Patrick Williams]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Muppet Movie]]''
| [[Paul Williams (songwriter)|Paul Williams]] <small>(song and adaptation score)</small> and [[Kenneth Ascher|Kenny Ascher]] <small>(song score)</small>
|}

===1980s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[1980 in film|1980]]<br /><small>[[53rd Academy Awards|(53rd)]]</small>
| '''''[[Fame (1980 film)|Fame]]'''''
| '''[[Michael Gore]]'''
|-
| ''[[Altered States]]''
| [[John Corigliano]]
|-
| ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]''
| [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]]
|-
| ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Tess (1979 film)|Tess]]''
| [[Philippe Sarde]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1981 in film|1981]]<br /><small>[[54th Academy Awards|(54th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Chariots of Fire]]'''''
| '''[[Vangelis]]'''
|-
| ''[[Dragonslayer (1981 film)|Dragonslayer]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| ''[[On Golden Pond (1981 film)|On Golden Pond]]''
| [[Dave Grusin]]
|-
| ''[[Ragtime (film)|Ragtime]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1982 in film|1982]]<br /><small>[[55th Academy Awards|(55th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'''''
| '''[[John Williams]]'''
|-
| ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]''
| [[George Fenton]] and [[Ravi Shankar]]
|-
| ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]''
| [[Jack Nitzsche]]
|-
| ''[[Poltergeist (1982 film)|Poltergeist]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Sophie's Choice (film)|Sophie's Choice]]''
| [[Marvin Hamlisch]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Victor/Victoria]]'''''
| '''[[Henry Mancini]] <small>(song and adaptation score)</small> and [[Leslie Bricusse]] <small>(song score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[Annie (1982 film)|Annie]]''
| [[Ralph Burns]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[One from the Heart]]''
| [[Tom Waits]] <small>(song score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1983 in film|1983]]<br /><small>[[56th Academy Awards|(56th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Right Stuff (film)|The Right Stuff]]'''''
| '''[[Bill Conti]]'''
|-
| ''[[Cross Creek (film)|Cross Creek]]''
| [[Leonard Rosenman]]
|-
| ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Terms of Endearment]]''
| [[Michael Gore]]
|-
| ''[[Under Fire (1983 film)|Under Fire]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Yentl (film)|Yentl]]'''''
| '''[[Michel Legrand]] <small>(song and adaptation score)</small> and [[Alan and Marilyn Bergman]] <small>(song score)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The Sting II]]''
| [[Lalo Schifrin]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Trading Places]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]] <small>(adaptation score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="11" style="text-align:center" | [[1984 in film|1984]]<br /><small>[[57th Academy Awards|(57th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'''''
| '''[[Maurice Jarre]]'''
|-
| ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Natural (film)|The Natural]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The River (1984 film)|The River]]''
| John Williams
|-
| ''[[Under the Volcano (1984 film)|Under the Volcano]]''
| [[Alex North]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Song Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Purple Rain (film)|Purple Rain]]'''''
| '''[[Prince (musician)|Prince]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]''
| [[Jeff Moss]]
|-
| ''[[Songwriter (1984 film)|Songwriter]]''
| [[Kris Kristofferson]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1985 in film|1985]]<br /><small>[[58th Academy Awards|(58th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'''''
| '''[[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]'''
|-
| ''[[Agnes of God (film)|Agnes of God]]''
| [[Georges Delerue]]
|-
| ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]''
| Chris Boardman, [[Jorge Calandrelli]], [[Andraé Crouch]], [[Jack Hayes (composer)|Jack Hayes]], [[Jerry Hey]], [[Quincy Jones]], [[Randy Kerber]], [[Jeremy Lubbock]], Joel Rosenbaum, [[Caiphus Semenya]], [[Fred Steiner]] and [[Rod Temperton]]
|-
| ''[[Silverado (film)|Silverado]]''
| [[Bruce Broughton]]
|-
| ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]''
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1986 in film|1986]]<br /><small>[[59th Academy Awards|(59th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Round Midnight (film)|Round Midnight]]'''''
| '''[[Herbie Hancock]]'''
|-
| ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''
| [[James Horner]]
|-
| ''[[Hoosiers (film)|Hoosiers]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]''
| [[Ennio Morricone]]
|-
| ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''
| [[Leonard Rosenman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1987 in film|1987]]<br /><small>[[60th Academy Awards|(60th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Last Emperor]]'''''
| '''[[Ryuichi Sakamoto]], [[David Byrne]] and [[Cong Su]]'''
|-
| ''[[Cry Freedom]]''
| [[George Fenton]] and [[Jonas Gwangwa]]
|-
| ''[[Empire of the Sun (film)|Empire of the Sun]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Untouchables (film)|The Untouchables]]''
| [[Ennio Morricone]]
|-
| ''[[The Witches of Eastwick (film)|The Witches of Eastwick]]''
| John Williams
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1988 in film|1988]]<br /><small>[[61st Academy Awards|(61st)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Milagro Beanfield War]]'''''
| '''[[Dave Grusin]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Accidental Tourist (film)|The Accidental Tourist]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Dangerous Liaisons]]''
| [[George Fenton]]
|-
| ''[[Gorillas in the Mist]]''
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
|-
| ''[[Rain Man]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1989 in film|1989]]<br /><small>[[62nd Academy Awards|(62nd)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'''''
| '''[[Alan Menken]]'''
|-
| ''[[Born on the Fourth of July (film)|Born on the Fourth of July]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Fabulous Baker Boys]]''
| [[Dave Grusin]]
|-
| ''[[Field of Dreams]]''
| [[James Horner]]
|-
| ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]''
| John Williams
|}

===1990s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[1990 in film|1990]]<br /><small>[[63rd Academy Awards|(63rd)]]</small>
| '''''[[Dances With Wolves]]'''''
| '''[[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]'''
|-
| ''[[Avalon (1990 film)|Avalon]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]''
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
|-
| ''[[Havana (film)|Havana]]''
| [[Dave Grusin]]
|-
| ''[[Home Alone]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1991 in film|1991]]<br /><small>[[64th Academy Awards|(64th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'''''
| '''[[Alan Menken]]'''
|-
| ''[[Bugsy]]''
| [[Ennio Morricone]]
|-
| ''[[The Fisher King]]''
| [[George Fenton]]
|-
| ''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Prince of Tides]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1992 in film|1992]]<br /><small>[[65th Academy Awards|(65th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'''''
| '''[[Alan Menken]]'''
|-
| ''[[Basic Instinct]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| ''[[Chaplin (film)|Chaplin]]''
| [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]
|-
| ''[[Howards End (film)|Howards End]]''
| [[Richard Robbins (composer)|Richard Robbins]]
|-
| ''[[A River Runs Through It (film)|A River Runs Through It]]''
| [[Mark Isham]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1993 in film|1993]]<br /><small>[[66th Academy Awards|(66th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Schindler's List]]'''''
| '''[[John Williams]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Age of Innocence (1993 film)|The Age of Innocence]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[The Firm (1993 film)|The Firm]]''
| [[Dave Grusin]]
|-
| ''[[The Fugitive (1993 film)|The Fugitive]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|-
| ''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]''
| [[Richard Robbins (composer)|Richard Robbins]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1994 in film|1994]]<br /><small>[[67th Academy Awards|(67th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Lion King]]'''''
| '''[[Hans Zimmer]]'''
|-
| ''[[Forrest Gump]]''
| [[Alan Silvestri]]
|-
| ''[[Interview with the Vampire (film)|Interview with the Vampire]]''
| [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
|-
| ''[[Little Women (1994 film)|Little Women]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]''
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1995 in film|1995]]<br /><small>[[68th Academy Awards|(68th)]]</small> <br />{{efn|From 1995 until 1998, '''Best Original Score''' was split into '''Original Dramatic Score''' and '''Original Musical or Comedy Score'''. For musicals and comedies, songwriters and lyricists along with orchestral underscore composers were eligible for nomination.}}
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Il Postino: The Postman|The Postman]]'''''
| '''[[Luis Bacalov]]'''
|-
| ''[[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[James Horner]]
|-
| ''[[Braveheart]]''
|-
| ''[[Nixon (film)|Nixon]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Sense and Sensibility (film)|Sense and Sensibility]]''
| [[Patrick Doyle]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Musical or Comedy Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'''''
| '''[[Alan Menken]] <small>(music and orchestral score)</small> and [[Stephen Schwartz]] <small>(lyrics)</small>'''
|-
| ''[[The American President]]''
| [[Marc Shaiman]]
|-
| ''[[Sabrina (1995 film)|Sabrina]]''
| John Williams
|-
| ''[[Toy Story]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Unstrung Heroes]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1996 in film|1996]]<br /><small>[[69th Academy Awards|(69th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The English Patient (film)|The English Patient]]'''''
| '''[[Gabriel Yared]]'''
|-
| ''[[Hamlet (1996 film)|Hamlet]]''
| [[Patrick Doyle]]
|-
| ''[[Michael Collins (film)|Michael Collins]]''
| [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
|-
| ''[[Shine (film)|Shine]]''
| [[David Hirschfelder]]
|-
| ''[[Sleepers (film)|Sleepers]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Musical or Comedy Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Emma (1996 theatrical film)|Emma]]'''''
| '''[[Rachel Portman]]'''
|-
| ''[[The First Wives Club]]''
| [[Marc Shaiman]]
|-
| ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''
| [[Alan Menken]] <small>(music and orchestral score)</small> and [[Stephen Schwartz]] <small>(lyrics)</small>
|-
| ''[[James and the Giant Peach (film)|James and the Giant Peach]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Preacher's Wife]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1997 in film|1997]]<br /><small>[[70th Academy Awards|(70th)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'''''
| '''[[James Horner]]'''
|-
| ''[[Amistad (film)|Amistad]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Good Will Hunting]]''
| [[Danny Elfman]]
|-
| ''[[Kundun]]''
| [[Philip Glass]]
|-
| ''[[L.A. Confidential (film)|L.A. Confidential]]''
| [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Musical or Comedy Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Full Monty]]'''''
| '''[[Anne Dudley]]'''
|-
| ''[[Anastasia (1997 film)|Anastasia]]''
| [[Stephen Flaherty]] <small>(music)</small>, [[Lynn Ahrens]] <small>(lyrics)</small> and [[David Newman (composer)|David Newman]] <small>(orchestral score)</small>
|-
| ''[[As Good as It Gets]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
| ''[[Men in Black (1997 film)|Men in Black]]''
| Danny Elfman
|-
| ''[[My Best Friend's Wedding]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|-
! rowspan="13" style="text-align:center" | [[1998 in film|1998]]<br /><small>[[71st Academy Awards|(71st)]]</small>
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Dramatic Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Life Is Beautiful]]'''''
| '''[[Nicola Piovani]]'''
|-
| ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]''
| [[David Hirschfelder]]
|-
| ''[[Pleasantville (film)|Pleasantville]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#EBECF0" | '''Original Musical or Comedy Score'''
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'''''
| '''[[Stephen Warbeck]]'''
|-
| ''[[A Bug's Life]]''
| Randy Newman
|-
| ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]''
| [[Matthew Wilder]] <small>(music)</small>, [[David Zippel]] <small>(lyrics)</small> and [[Jerry Goldsmith]] <small>(orchestral score)</small>
|-
| ''[[Patch Adams (film)|Patch Adams]]''
| [[Marc Shaiman]]
|-
| ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]''
| [[Stephen Schwartz]] <small>(music and lyrics)</small> and Hans Zimmer <small>(orchestral score)</small>
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[1999 in film|1999]]<br /><small>[[72nd Academy Awards|(72nd)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Red Violin]]'''''
| '''[[John Corigliano]]'''
|-
| ''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Angela's Ashes (film)|Angela's Ashes]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[The Cider House Rules (film)|The Cider House Rules]]''
| [[Rachel Portman]]
|-
| ''[[The Talented Mr. Ripley (film)|The Talented Mr. Ripley]]''
| [[Gabriel Yared]]
|}

===2000s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2000 in film|2000]]<br /><small>[[73rd Academy Awards|(73rd)]]</small>
| '''''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'''''
| '''[[Tan Dun]]'''
|-
| ''[[Chocolat (2000 film)|Chocolat]]''
| [[Rachel Portman]]
|-
| ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]{{efn|[[Lisa Gerrard]] and [[Klaus Badelt]] also received screen credit for the ''[[Gladiator (2000 soundtrack)|Gladiator]]'' score, but only Zimmer was deemed eligible for the nomination.}}
|-
| ''[[Malèna (film)|Malèna]]''
| [[Ennio Morricone]]
|-
| ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2001 in film|2001]]<br /><small>[[74th Academy Awards|(74th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'''''
| '''[[Howard Shore]]'''
|-
| ''[[A.I. Artificial Intelligence]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[A Beautiful Mind (film)|A Beautiful Mind]]''
| [[James Horner]]
|-
| ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]]''
| John Williams
|-
| ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2002 in film|2002]]<br /><small>[[75th Academy Awards|(75th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Frida (2002 film)|Frida]]'''''
| '''[[Elliot Goldenthal]]'''
|-
| ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Far from Heaven]]''
| [[Elmer Bernstein]]
|-
| ''[[The Hours (film)|The Hours]]''
| [[Philip Glass]]
|-
| ''[[Road to Perdition]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2003 in film|2003]]<br /><small>[[76th Academy Awards|(76th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'''''
| '''[[Howard Shore]]'''
|-
| ''[[Big Fish]]''
| [[Danny Elfman]]
|-
| ''[[Cold Mountain (film)|Cold Mountain]]''
| [[Gabriel Yared]]
|-
| ''[[Finding Nemo]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[House of Sand and Fog (film)|House of Sand and Fog]]''
| [[James Horner]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2004 in film|2004]]<br /><small>[[77th Academy Awards|(77th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Finding Neverland (film)|Finding Neverland]]'''''
| '''[[Jan A. P. Kaczmarek]]'''
|-
| ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]''
| [[John Debney]]
|-
| ''[[The Village (2004 film)|The Village]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2005 in film|2005]]<br /><small>[[78th Academy Awards|(78th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'''''
| '''[[Gustavo Santaolalla]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Constant Gardener (film)|The Constant Gardener]]''
| [[Alberto Iglesias]]
|-
| ''[[Memoirs of a Geisha (film)|Memoirs of a Geisha]]''
| rowspan="2"| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Munich (2005 film)|Munich]]''
|-
| ''[[Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)|Pride & Prejudice]]''
| [[Dario Marianelli]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2006 in film|2006]]<br /><small>[[79th Academy Awards|(79th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]'''''
| '''[[Gustavo Santaolalla]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Good German]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Notes on a Scandal (film)|Notes on a Scandal]]''
| [[Philip Glass]]
|-
| ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]''
| [[Javier Navarrete]]
|-
| ''[[The Queen (2006 film)|The Queen]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2007 in film|2007]]<br /><small>[[80th Academy Awards|(80th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Atonement (2007 film)|Atonement]]'''''
| '''[[Dario Marianelli]]'''
|-
| ''[[3:10 to Yuma (2007 film)|3:10 to Yuma]]''
| [[Marco Beltrami]]
|-
| ''[[The Kite Runner (film)|The Kite Runner]]''
| [[Alberto Iglesias]]
|-
| ''[[Michael Clayton]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|-
| ''[[Ratatouille (film)|Ratatouille]]''
| [[Michael Giacchino]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2008 in film|2008]]<br /><small>[[81st Academy Awards|(81st)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Slumdog Millionaire]]'''''
| '''[[A. R. Rahman]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[Defiance (2008 film)|Defiance]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|-
| ''[[Milk (2008 American film)|Milk]]''
| [[Danny Elfman]]
|-
| ''[[WALL-E]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2009 in film|2009]]<br /><small>[[82nd Academy Awards|(82nd)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Up (2009 film)|Up]]'''''
| '''[[Michael Giacchino]]'''
|-
| ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]''
| [[James Horner]]
|-
| ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)|Fantastic Mr. Fox]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[The Hurt Locker]]''
| [[Marco Beltrami]] and [[Buck Sanders]]
|-
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|}

===2010s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2010 in film|2010]]<br /><small>[[83rd Academy Awards|(83rd)]]</small>
| '''''[[The Social Network]]'''''
| '''[[Trent Reznor]] and [[Atticus Ross]]'''
|-
| ''[[127 Hours]]''
| [[A. R. Rahman]]
|-
| ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (2010 film)|How to Train Your Dragon]]''
| [[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]]
|-
| ''[[Inception]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
| ''[[The King's Speech]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2011 in film|2011]]<br /><small>[[84th Academy Awards|(84th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Artist (film)|The Artist]]'''''
| '''[[Ludovic Bource]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Adventures of Tintin (film)|The Adventures of Tintin]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Hugo (film)|Hugo]]''
| [[Howard Shore]]
|-
| ''[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film)|Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy]]''
| [[Alberto Iglesias]]
|-
| ''[[War Horse (film)|War Horse]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2012 in film|2012]]<br /><small>[[85th Academy Awards|(85th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Life of Pi (film)|Life of Pi]]'''''
| '''[[Mychael Danna]]'''
|-
| ''[[Anna Karenina (2012 film)|Anna Karenina]]''
| [[Dario Marianelli]]
|-
| ''[[Argo (2012 film)|Argo]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[Lincoln (film)|Lincoln]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Skyfall]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2013 in film|2013]]<br /><small>[[86th Academy Awards|(86th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity]]'''''
| '''[[Steven Price (composer)|Steven Price]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Book Thief (film)|The Book Thief]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Her (2013 film)|Her]]''
| [[William Butler (musician)|Will Butler]] and [[Owen Pallett]]
|-
| ''[[Philomena (film)|Philomena]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[Saving Mr. Banks]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2014 in film|2014]]<br /><small>[[87th Academy Awards|(87th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Grand Budapest Hotel]]'''''
| '''[[Alexandre Desplat]]'''
|-
| ''[[The Imitation Game]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[Interstellar (film)|Interstellar]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
| ''[[Mr. Turner]]''
| [[Gary Yershon]]
|-
| ''[[The Theory of Everything (2014 film)|The Theory of Everything]]''
| [[Jóhann Jóhannsson]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2015 in film|2015]]<br /><small>[[88th Academy Awards|(88th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Hateful Eight]]'''''
| '''[[Ennio Morricone]]'''
|-
| ''[[Bridge of Spies (film)|Bridge of Spies]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Carol (film)|Carol]]''
| [[Carter Burwell]]
|-
| ''[[Sicario (2015 film)|Sicario]]''
| [[Jóhann Jóhannsson]]
|-
| ''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2016 in film|2016]]<br /><small>[[89th Academy Awards|(89th)]]</small> <br /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-oscars-2017-nominees-winners-list-20170123-story.html |title=Academy Awards 2017: Complete list of Oscar winners and nominees |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=February 26, 2017 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[La La Land]]'''''
| '''[[Justin Hurwitz]]'''
|-
| ''[[Jackie (2016 film)|Jackie]]''
| [[Mica Levi]]
|-
| ''[[Lion (2016 film)|Lion]]''
| [[Dustin O'Halloran]] and [[Volker Bertelmann]]
|-
| ''[[Moonlight (2016 film)|Moonlight]]''
| [[Nicholas Britell]]
|-
| ''[[Passengers (2016 film)|Passengers]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2017 in film|2017]]<br /><small>[[90th Academy Awards|(90th)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[The Shape of Water]]'''''
| '''[[Alexandre Desplat]]'''
|-
| ''[[Dunkirk (2017 film)|Dunkirk]]''
| [[Hans Zimmer]]
|-
| ''[[Phantom Thread]]''
| [[Jonny Greenwood]]
|-
| ''[[Star Wars: The Last Jedi]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri]]''
| [[Carter Burwell]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2018 in film|2018]]<br /><small>[[91st Academy Awards|(91st)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Black Panther (film)|Black Panther]]'''''
| '''[[Ludwig Göransson]]'''
|-
| ''[[BlacKkKlansman]]''
| [[Terence Blanchard]]
|-
| ''[[If Beale Street Could Talk (film)|If Beale Street Could Talk]]''
| [[Nicholas Britell]]
|-
| ''[[Isle of Dogs (film)|Isle of Dogs]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[Mary Poppins Returns]]''
| [[Marc Shaiman]]
|-
! rowspan="6" style="text-align:center" | [[2019 in film|2019]]<br /><small>[[92nd Academy Awards|(92nd)]]</small>
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
| '''''[[Joker (2019 film)|Joker]]'''''
| '''[[Hildur Guðnadóttir]]'''
|-
| ''[[Little Women (2019 film)|Little Women]]''
| [[Alexandre Desplat]]
|-
| ''[[Marriage Story]]''
| [[Randy Newman]]
|-
| ''[[1917 (2019 film)|1917]]''
| [[Thomas Newman]]
|-
| ''[[Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|}

===2020s===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="35%" | Film
! width="60%" | Nominees
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2020 in film|2020/21]]
{{efn|The eligibility period for the 93rd ceremony was exceptionally extended through to February 28, 2021, due to the impact of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].}}<br /><small>[[93rd Academy Awards|(93rd)]]</small>
| '''''[[Soul (2020 film)|Soul]]'''''
| '''[[Trent Reznor]], [[Atticus Ross ]] and [[Jon Batiste]]'''
|-
| ''[[Da 5 Bloods]]''
| [[Terence Blanchard]]
|-
| ''[[Mank]]''
| [[Trent Reznor]] and [[Atticus Ross]]
|-
| ''[[Minari (film)|Minari]]''
| [[Emile Mosseri]]
|-
| ''[[News of the World (film)|News of the World]]''
| [[James Newton Howard]]
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2021 in film|2021]]<br /><small>[[94th Academy Awards|(94th)]]</small>
| '''''[[Dune (2021 film)|Dune]]'''''
| '''[[Hans Zimmer]]'''
|-
| ''[[Don't Look Up]]''
| [[Nicholas Britell]]
|-
| ''[[Encanto]]''
| [[Germaine Franco]]
|-
| ''[[Parallel Mothers]]''
| [[Alberto Iglesias]]
|-
| ''[[The Power of the Dog (film)|The Power of the Dog]]''
| [[Jonny Greenwood]]
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2022 in film|2022]]<br /><small>[[95th Academy Awards|(95th)]]</small>
| '''''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (2022 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'''''
| '''[[Volker Bertelmann]]'''
|-
| ''[[Babylon (2022 film)|Babylon]]''
| [[Justin Hurwitz]]
|-
| ''[[The Banshees of Inisherin]]''
| [[Carter Burwell]]
|-
| ''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]''
| [[Son Lux]]
|-
| ''[[The Fabelmans]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2023 in film|2023]]<br /><small>[[96th Academy Awards|(96th)]]</small>
| '''''[[Oppenheimer (film)|Oppenheimer]]'''''
| '''[[Ludwig Göransson]]'''
|- 
| ''[[American Fiction (film)|American Fiction]]''
| [[Laura Karpman]]
|-
| ''[[Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny]]''
| [[John Williams]]
|-
| ''[[Killers of the Flower Moon (film)|Killers of the Flower Moon]]''
| [[Robbie Robertson]] <small>([[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|p.n.]])</small>
|-
| ''[[Poor Things (film)|Poor Things]]''
| [[Jerskin Fendrix]]
|- style="background:#FAEB86"
! rowspan="5" |[[2024 in film|2024]]<br /><small>[[97th Academy Awards|(97th)]]</small>
|'''''[[The Brutalist]]'''''
|'''[[Daniel Blumberg]]'''
|-
|''[[Conclave (film)|Conclave]]''
|[[Volker Bertelmann]]
|-
|''[[Emilia Pérez]]''
|[[Clément Ducol]] and [[Camille (French singer)|Camille]] 
|-
|''[[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]''
|[[John Powell (film composer)|John Powell]] and [[Stephen Schwartz]]
|-
|''[[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.
<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=9 November 2024 |title=97th Academy Awards of Merit |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/2024-04/97th_oscars_complete_rules.pdf |access-date=June 22, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|- bgcolor="#bebebe"
! width="5%" | Year
! width="95%" | Finalists
!Ref
|-
! 1967
| '''Original Score''':  ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'', ''[[The Flim-Flam Man]]'', ''[[Live for Life]]'', ''[[Two for the Road (film)|Two for the Road]]'', ''[[Wait Until Dark (film)|Wait Until Dark]]''<br>'''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 (film)|How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]]'', ''[[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|The Jungle Book]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 22, 1969 |title= Sizing Up This Spring's Oscarcade |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/962941007 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 26, 2025|id= {{ProQuest|962941007}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1968
| '''Original Score''':  ''[[For Love of Ivy]]'', ''[[The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (film)|The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter]]'', ''[[Rachel, Rachel]]'', ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'', ''[[War and Peace (film series)|War and Peace]]''<br>'''Scoring of a Musical Picture''': ''[[C'mon, Let's Live a Little]]'', ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]'', ''[[The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 22, 1969 |title= Sizing Up This Spring's Oscarcade |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/962941007 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 26, 2025|id= {{ProQuest|962941007}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1969
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice]]'', ''[[Gaily, Gaily]]'', ''[[The Happy Ending]]'', ''[[The Madwoman of Chaillot (film)|The Madwoman of Chaillot]]'', ''[[True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit]]''<br>'''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]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 15, 1970 |title=Preliminary Selections in Eight Oscar Races |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/156340844 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 25, 2025|id={{ProQuest|156340844}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1970
| '''Original Score''': ''[[The Aristocats]]'', ''[[Beneath the Planet of the Apes]]'', ''[[Dirty Dingus Magee]]'', ''[[Pieces of Dreams (film)|Pieces of Dreams]]'', ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]''<br>'''Original Song Score''': ''[[Beyond the Valley of the Dolls]]'', ''[[Cotton Comes to Harlem]]'', ''[[Norwood (film)|Norwood]]'', ''[[R. P. M.]]'', ''[[Where's Poppa?]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 11, 1971 |title=First Screenings in Oscar Races |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/156692669 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 23, 2025|id={{ProQuest|156692669}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1971
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Escape from the Planet of the Apes]]'', ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'', ''[[The Hellstrom Chronicle]]'', ''[[Kotch]]'', ''[[Sometimes a Great Notion (film)|Sometimes a Great Notion]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[Honky (film)|Honky]]'', ''[[Jud (film)|Jud]]'', ''[[Zachariah (film)|Zachariah]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |first=Alice |last=Miller |date=January 16, 1972 |title=Preliminaries Start in Oscar Screenings |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/abilene-reporter-news-jan-16-1972-p-28/ |work=Abilene Reporter News |access-date=January 21, 2025}}</ref>
|-
! 1972
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Ben (1972 film)|Ben]]'', ''[[Roma (1972 film)|Fellini's Roma]]'', ''[[The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean]]'', ''[[The Other (1972 film)|The Other]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film)|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'', ''[[1776 (film)|1776]]'', ''[[Snoopy Come Home]]'', ''[[Young Winston]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 5, 1973 |title=Oscar Contenders Set for Screening |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2920199679 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=January 21, 2025|id={{ProQuest|2920199679}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1973
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Enter the Dragon]]'', ''[[The Last American Hero]]'', ''[[Oklahoma Crude (film)|Oklahoma Crude]]'', ''[[The Paper Chase (film)|The Paper Chase]]'', ''[[Robin Hood (1973 film)|Robin Hood]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[Bang the Drum Slowly (film)|Bang the Drum Slowly]]'', ''[[Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)|Jonathan Livingston Seagull]]'', ''[[Lost Horizon (1973 film)|Lost Horizon]]'', ''[[O Lucky Man!]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 14, 1974 |title=5 Branches List Choices for Oscar Nominations |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/2931982095 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 20, 2025|id={{ProQuest|2931982095}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1974
| '''Original Score''': ''[[The Castaway Cowboy]]'', ''[[The Conversation]]'', ''[[Earthquake (1974 film)|Earthquake]]'', ''[[The Golden Voyage of Sinbad]]'', ''[[The White Dawn]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[Claudine (film)|Claudine]]'', ''[[Huckleberry Finn (1974 film)|Huckleberry Finn]]'', ''[[Lenny (film)|Lenny]]'', ''[[Mame (film)|Mame]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 10, 1975 |title=Screenings Open Oscar Bids |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/2931982095 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=January 20, 2025|id={{ProQuest|2931982095}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1975
| '''Original Score''': ''[[The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother]]'', ''[[The Eiger Sanction (film)|The Eiger Sanction]]'', ''[[The Hindenburg (film)|The Hindenburg]]'', ''[[The Other Side of the Mountain]]'', ''[[The Yakuza]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[The Day of the Locust (film)|The Day of the Locust]]'', ''[[Lucky Lady]]'', ''[[The Return of the Pink Panther]]'', ''[[W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Bettencourt |date=July 17, 2002 |title=The Oscar Finalists, Part Two |url= https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/daily/article.cfm?articleID=3823 |work=Film Score Monthly |access-date=January 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Bettencourt |date=July 31, 2002 |title=The Oscar Finalists Part Three: Adaptation |url= https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/daily/article.cfm?articleID=3615 |work=Film Score Monthly |access-date=January 20, 2025}}</ref>
|-
! 1976
| '''Original Score''': ''[[King Kong (1976 film)|King Kong]]'', ''[[Logan's Run (film)|Logan's Run]]'', ''[[The Pink Panther Strikes Again]]'', ''[[Rocky]]'', ''[[Silent Movie]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[The Bad News Bears]]'', ''[[Car Wash (film)|Car Wash]]'', ''[[The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox]]'', ''[[Leadbelly (film)|Leadbelly]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 8, 1977 |title=Early Selections for Oscars Noted |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/158174773 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 20, 2025|id={{ProQuest|158174773}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1977
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Airport '77]]'', ''[[Audrey Rose (film)|Audrey Rose]]'', ''[[Black Sunday (1977 film)|Black Sunday]]'', ''[[Bobby Deerfield]]'', ''[[A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]'', ''[[Equus (film)|Equus]]'', ''[[Backbone (1975 film)|Gasp]]'', ''[[The Gauntlet (film)|The Gauntlet]]'', ''[[The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film)|The Island of Dr. Moreau]]'', ''[[Islands in the Stream (film)|Islands in the Stream]]'', ''[[Joseph Andrews (film)|Joseph Andrews]]'', ''[[MacArthur (1977 film)|MacArthur]]'', ''[[1900 (film)|1900]]'', ''[[Providence (1977 film)|Providence]]'', ''[[The Rescuers]]'', ''[[Rollercoaster (1977 film)|Rollercoaster]]'', ''[[The Sentinel (1977 film)|The Sentinel]]'', ''[[Walking Tall: Final Chapter]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[New York, New York (1977 film)|New York, New York]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |date=January 6, 1978 |title=Films Eligible for Technical Oscars |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/158545635 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 20, 2025|id={{ProQuest|158545635}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1978
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Capricorn One]]'', ''[[Coma (1978 film)|Coma]]'', ''[[Magic (1978 film)|Magic]]'', ''[[Revenge of the Pink Panther]]'', ''[[Watership Down (film)|Watership Down]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[The Cheap Detective]]'', ''[[Damien - Omen II]]'', ''[[The Deer Hunter]]'', ''[[The Magic of Lassie]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |last=Champlin |first=Charles |date=January 6, 1979 |title='Grease' Tops Oscar Hopefuls |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/158821566 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 19, 2025|id={{ProQuest|158821566}} }}</ref>
|-
! 1979
| '''Original Score''': ''[[Escape from Alcatraz (film)|Escape from Alcatraz]]'', ''[[The Frisco Kid]]'', ''[[The First Great Train Robbery|The Great Train Robbery]]'', ''[[Meteor (film)|Meteor]]'', ''[[Time After Time (1979 film)|Time After Time]]''<br>'''Original Song Score or Adaptation Score''': ''[[The Europeans (1979 film)|The Europeans]]'', ''[[Hair (film)|Hair]]'', ''[[Meetings with Remarkable Men (film)|Meeting with Remarkable Men]]'', ''[[Wise Blood (film)|Wise Blood]]''
|<ref>{{cite news |last=Champlin |first=Charles |date=January 5, 1980 |title=Oscar Prunes the Candidates |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/162681439 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 19, 2025|id={{ProQuest|162681439}} }}</ref>
|-
! 2018
| ''[[Annihilation (film)|Annihilation]]'', ''[[Avengers: Infinity War]]'', ''[[The Ballad of Buster Scruggs]]'', ''[[Crazy Rich Asians (film)|Crazy Rich Asians]]'', ''[[The Death of Stalin]]'', ''[[Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald]]'', ''[[First Man (film)|First Man]]'', ''[[A Quiet Place]]'', ''[[Ready Player One (film)|Ready Player One]]'', ''[[Vice (2018 film)|Vice]]''
|<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=22 January 2019 |title=91st Oscar Shortlists |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/91st-oscars-shortlists |access-date=Nov 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref>
|-
! 2019
| ''[[Avengers: Endgame]]'', ''[[Bombshell (2019 film)|Bombshell]]'', ''[[The Farewell (2019 film)|The Farewell]]'', ''[[Ford v Ferrari]]'', ''[[Frozen II]]'', ''[[Jojo Rabbit]]'', ''[[The King (2019 film)|The King]]'', ''[[Motherless Brooklyn]]'', ''[[Pain and Glory]]'', ''[[Us (2019 film)|Us]]''
|<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=7 January 2020 |title=92nd Oscar Shortlists |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/92nd-oscars-shortlists |access-date=Nov 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref>
|-
! 2020/21
| ''[[Ammonite (film)|Ammonite]]'', ''[[Blizzard of Souls (film)|Blizzard of Souls]]'', ''[[The Invisible Man (2020 film)|The Invisible Man]]'', ''[[Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey]]'', ''[[The Life Ahead]]'', ''[[The Little Things (2021 film)|The Little Things]]'', ''[[The Midnight Sky]]'', ''[[Mulan (2020 film)|Mulan]]'', ''[[Tenet (film)|Tenet]]'', ''[[The Trial of the Chicago 7]]''
|<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=9 February 2021 |title=93rd Oscar Shortlists |url=https://www.oscars.org/news/93rd-oscarsr-shortlists-nine-award-categories-announced |access-date=Nov 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref>
|-
! 2021
| ''[[Being the Ricardos]]'', ''[[Candyman (2021 film)|Candyman]]'', ''[[The French Dispatch]]'', ''[[The Green Knight (film)|The Green Knight]]'', ''[[The Harder They Fall (2021 film)|The Harder They Fall]]'', ''[[King Richard (film)|King Richard]]'', ''[[The Last Duel (2021 film)|The Last Duel]]'', ''[[No Time to Die]]'', ''[[Spencer (film)|Spencer]]'', ''[[The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021 film)|The Tragedy of Macbeth]]''
|<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=27 January 2022 |title=94th Oscar Shortlists |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/94th-oscars-shortlists |access-date=Nov 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref>
|-
! 2022
| ''[[Avatar: The Way of Water]]'', ''[[Black Panther: Wakanda Forever]]'', ''[[Devotion (2022 film)|Devotion]]'', ''[[Don't Worry Darling]]'', ''[[Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery]]'', ''[[Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio]]'', ''[[Nope (film)|Nope]]'', ''[[She Said (film)|She Said]]'', ''[[The Woman King]]'', ''[[Women Talking (film)|Women Talking]]''
|<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 December 2022 |title=95th Oscar Shortlists |url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/2023-oscars-shortlists |access-date=Nov 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref>
|-
! 2023
| ''[[American Symphony (film)|American Symphony]]'', ''[[Barbie (film)|Barbie]]'', ''[[The Boy and the Heron]]'', ''[[The Color Purple (2023 film)|The Color Purple]]'', ''[[Elemental (2023 film)|Elemental]]'', ''[[The Holdovers]]'', ''[[Saltburn (film)|Saltburn]]'', ''[[Society of the Snow]]'', ''[[Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse]]'', ''[[The Zone of Interest (film)|The Zone of Interest]]''
|<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 December 2023 |title=96th Oscar Shortlists |url=http://press.oscars.org/news/96th-oscarsr-shortlists-10-award-categories-announced |access-date=Nov 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] }}</ref>
|-
!2024
|''[[Alien: Romulus]]'', ''[[Babygirl]]'', ''[[Beetlejuice Beetlejuice]]'', ''[[Blink Twice]]'', [[Blitz (2024 film)|''Blitz'']], [[Challengers (film)|''Challengers'']], [[The Fire Inside (film)|''The Fire Inside'']], ''[[Gladiator II]]'', ''[[Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1]]'', ''[[Inside Out 2]]'', [[Nosferatu (2024 film)|''Nosferatu'']], ''[[The Room Next Door]]'', [[Sing Sing (2023 film)|''Sing Sing'']], ''[[The Six Triple Eight]]'', ''[[Young Woman and the Sea]]''
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Clayton |date=2024-12-17 |title=Oscars Shortlist Announced in 10 Categories: 'Emilia Pérez' and 'Wicked' Lead the Charge; Strong Showings for 'Dune 2' and 'Gladiator 2' |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/oscars-shortlist-2025-wicked-emilia-perez-1236251130/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|}

== Records ==

=== Superlatives ===
These are only for nominations in the Scoring categories. Nominations in other categories, such as the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Original Song]] category, are not included.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! 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 ===

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" |Record
! scope="col" |Composer
! scope="col" |Film
! scope="col" |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
| rowspan="2" |[[Prince (musician)|Prince]]
| rowspan="2" |''[[Purple Rain (film)|Purple Rain]]''
|26 years, 291 days
|-
|Youngest nominee
|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 (song)|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 (film)|Easter Parade]]'' (1948), ''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]'' (1949) and ''[[Annie Get Your Gun (film)|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 (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950) and ''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951).
# [[Alfred Newman]] won for ''[[With a Song in My Heart (film)|With a Song in My Heart]]'' (1952) and ''[[Call Me Madam (film)|Call Me Madam]]'' (1953). He won again two years in a row for ''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'' (1955) and ''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]'' (1956).
# [[Adolph Deutsch]] won for ''[[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers]]'' (1954) and ''[[Oklahoma! (film)|Oklahoma!]]'' (1955).
# [[André Previn]] won for ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958) and ''[[Porgy and Bess (film)|Porgy and Bess]]'' (1959). He won again two years in a row for ''[[Irma la Douce]]'' (1963) and ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964).
# [[Leonard Rosenman]] won for ''[[Barry Lyndon]]'' (1975) and ''[[Bound for Glory (1976 film)|Bound for Glory]]'' (1976).
# [[Alan Menken]] won for ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and The Beast]]'' (1991) and ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' (1992).
# [[Gustavo Santaolalla]] won for ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005) and ''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]'' (2006).

=== Female nominees ===
As of 2025, only 11 women have been nominated in music score categories: [[Ann Ronell]], Tylwyth Kymry, [[Angela Morley]], [[Alan and Marilyn Bergman|Marilyn Bergman]], [[Rachel Portman]], [[Anne Dudley]], [[Lynn Ahrens]], [[Hildur Guðnadóttir]], [[Germaine Franco]], [[Laura Karpman]], and [[Camille (French singer)|Camille]]. Kymry, Bergman, and Ahrens were nominated for their contribution as [[lyricist]]s.

Four women have won in the scoring categories. Three are composers: [[Rachel Portman]], who won for ''[[Emma (1996 theatrical film)|Emma]]'' (1996); [[Anne Dudley]], who won for ''[[The Full Monty]]'' (1997); and [[Hildur Guðnadóttir]], who won for ''[[Joker (2019 film)|Joker]]'' (2019). The fourth is lyricist [[Alan and Marilyn Bergman|Marilyn Bergman]], who won for ''[[Yentl (film)|Yentl]]'' (1983) in the Original Song Score category, sharing the award with co-lyricist [[Alan and Marilyn Bergman|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 theatrical film)|Emma]]'' (1996) (for which she won for Best Musical or Comedy Score), ''[[The Cider House Rules (film)|The Cider House Rules]]'' (1999), and ''[[Chocolat (2000 film)|Chocolat]]'' (2000); and [[Angela Morley]], who was nominated twice in the Original Song Score or Adaptation Score category for ''[[The Little Prince (1974 film)|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 (1961 film)|West Side Story]]''.

The scores of ''[[Midnight Express (film)|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 (1985 film)|Witness]]'' by [[Maurice Jarre]] in 1986, ''[[Rain Man]]'' by [[Hans Zimmer]] in 1989, and ''[[Her (2013 film)|Her]]'' by [[William Butler (musician)|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 (musician)|Prince]], [[Pete Townshend]], [[Rod McKuen]], [[Isaac Hayes]], [[Kris Kristofferson]], [[Quincy Jones]], [[Randy Newman]], [[Anthony Newley]], [[Paul Williams (songwriter)|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.

{{div col|colwidth=28em}}

* 9: [[Alfred Newman]] (43)
* 5: [[John Williams]] (49){{efn|Also received 5 nominations for Best Original Song, which brings his total to 54 – the most nominated person in all of the music categories combined, and the most nominated living individual in any Oscars category}}
* 4: [[Johnny Green]] (12)
* 4: [[André Previn]] (11)
* 4: [[John Barry (composer)|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 (composer)|Paul Smith]] (7)
* 1: [[Dave Grusin]] (6)
* 1: [[Ennio Morricone]] (6) <small>Also received an [[Academy Honorary Award]].</small>
* 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 (composer)|Ernest Gold]] (4)
* 1: [[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]] (4)
* 1: [[Richard M. Sherman]] (4)
* 1: [[Robert B. Sherman]] (4)
* 1: [[Louis Silvers]] (4)
* 1: [[Hauschka|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)

{{div col end}}

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 ====
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}

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

{{div col end}}

==== Living ====
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}

* [[Thomas Newman]] (14)
* [[Randy Newman]] (9) <small>Has won 2 Oscar Awards for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Original Song]].</small>
* [[James Newton Howard]] (7)
* [[Lalo Schifrin]] (5) <small>Received an [[Academy Honorary Award]].</small>
* [[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 (film composer)|John Powell]] (2)

{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]
* [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Music]]
* [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score]]
* [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score]]
* [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition]]
* [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance]]
* [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media]]
* [[Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media]]
* [[Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella]]
* [[Saturn Award for Best Music]]
* [[List of Academy Award–nominated films]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|40em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.oscars.org/ Oscars.org] (official Academy site)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080913120840/http://www.oscars.org/awardsdatabase/index.html The Academy Awards Database] (official site)
* [http://www.oscar.com/ Oscar.com] (official ceremony promotional site)

{{Academy Awards}}
{{Academy Award Best Original Score}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Award For Best Original Music Score}}
[[Category:1935 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1935]]
[[Category:Academy Awards|Original Music Score]]
[[Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners| ]]
[[Category:Film awards for best score]]