Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began honoring film scores in 1935. Louis Silvers, head of the Columbia Studio Music Department, won the inaugural award for One Night of Love that same year. The category was originally called Best Scoring. Winners and nominees during those early years included a mix of original compositions and adaptations of pre-existing material. A controversial decision occurred in 1938 when Charles Previn won for One Hundred Men and a Girl. That film featured no credited composer and relied entirely on pre-existing classical music. Following this win, the Academy added a separate Best Original Score category in 1939 to distinguish between new work and adapted arrangements. In 1942, the distinction changed slightly as they were renamed to Best Music Score of a Dramatic Picture and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. This marked the first time the category was split into separate genres.
From 1942 to 1985, musical scores had their own category with exceptions in 1958, 1981, and 1982. During that time, both categories underwent many name changes reflecting shifting industry standards. The drama track evolved from Best Music Score of a Dramatic Picture to Best Original Score by 1971. The musical track shifted from Best Scoring of a Musical Picture to Best Original Song Score before merging back together. Four Walt Disney Feature Animation films won in six years from 1990 to 1995 during a period called the Disney Renaissance. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King all took home awards. Alan Bergman, chairman of the Academy's music branch, explained the decision to split again. He stated that people were voting for songs rather than underscores. He noted that members outside the music branch did not distinguish between the two types of work. When a score like The Lion King competed against a drama like Forrest Gump, it became apples and oranges. The job of composing an underscore for a romantic comedy is not substantially different from working on a heavy drama. This split was reverted in 2000 after proving unpopular among other branches.
In 2020, rules were changed to require that a film's score include a minimum of 60% original music. Franchise films and sequels must include a minimum of 80% new music. In 2021, the rules were changed again, lowering the minimum percentage of original music from 60% to 35%. This adjustment applied to all films regardless of franchise status. Fifteen scores are shortlisted before nominations are announced by the Music Branch. Members shall vote in order of their preference for not more than 15 pictures to be considered for the award. The Music Branch Executive Committee decides whether there are enough quality submissions to justify activating the Best Original Musical category. That category has never been awarded in its present form due to a prolonged drought of films meeting sufficient eligibility requirements.
Alfred Newman won the most awards in this category with nine wins among forty-five nominations. He won for Alexander's Ragtime Band, Tin Pan Alley, The Song of Bernadette, Mother Wore Tights, With a Song in My Heart, Call Me Madam, The King and I, and Camelot. John Williams holds the record for most nominations at forty-nine. His five wins came for Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler's List. Ennio Morricone became the oldest winner at eighty-seven years and one hundred ten days for The Hateful Eight. John Williams remains the oldest nominee at ninety-one years and three hundred forty-nine days for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Prince was the youngest winner at twenty-six years and two hundred ninety-one days for Purple Rain. 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. He also won Best Song that year for The Way We Were, making him the only composer to win three music Oscars in the same year.
As of 2025, only eleven women have been nominated in music score categories. Ann Ronell, Tylwyth Kymry, Angela Morley, Marilyn Bergman, Rachel Portman, Anne Dudley, Lynn Ahrens, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Germaine Franco, Laura Karpman, and Camille received nominations. Kymry, Bergman, and Ahrens were nominated for their contribution as lyricists. Four women have won in the scoring categories. Three are composers: Rachel Portman, who won for Emma; Anne Dudley, who won for The Full Monty; and Hildur Guðnadóottir, who won for Joker. The fourth is lyricist Marilyn Bergman, who won for Yentl sharing the award with co-lyricist Alan Bergman 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. Rachel Portman was nominated multiple times including for The Cider House Rules and Chocolat. Angela Morley was nominated twice in the Original Song Score or Adaptation Score category.
The scores of Midnight Express by Giorgio Moroder in 1979, Slumdog Millionaire by A.R. Rahman in 2009, and The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross in 2011 are the only scores with electronic-based music ever to win the award. In addition, the electronic-based scores of Witness by Maurice Jarre in 1986, Rain Man by Hans Zimmer in 1989, and Her by William Butler and Owen Pallett in 2014 have also been nominated. Notable nominees known for their music mostly outside the film world include Aaron Copland, Kurt Weill, 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 including The Beatles, Prince, Pete Townshend, Rod McKuen, Isaac Hayes, Kris Kristofferson, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Anthony Newley, Paul Williams, Tom Waits, David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Trent Reznor, and Matthew Wilder.
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Common questions
When did the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences begin honoring film scores?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began honoring film scores in 1935. Louis Silvers won the inaugural award for One Night of Love that same year.
Who holds the record for most nominations in the Best Original Score category?
John Williams holds the record for most nominations at forty-nine. His five wins came for Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler's List.
What percentage of original music is required to win the Academy Award for Best Original Score as of 2025?
As of 2025, rules 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.
Which composer was the youngest winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Score?
Prince was the youngest winner at twenty-six years and two hundred ninety-one days for Purple Rain. He remains the only artist to hold this specific age record for the award.
How many women have been nominated in music score categories as of 2025?
As of 2025, only eleven women have been nominated in music score categories. Four women have won in the scoring categories including Rachel Portman, Anne Dudley, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Marilyn Bergman.