Academy Award for Best Original Score facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Original Score
2018, 2023, and 2025 recipient: Ludwig Göransson
Presented by	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Country	United States
First awarded	February 27, 1935; 91 years ago (1935-02-27) (for films released in 1934)
Currently held by	Ludwig Göransson Sinners (2025)

The Academy Award for Best Original Score is a special prize given out every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It celebrates the best original music written for a movie. This music, called a film score, helps tell the story and set the mood. To be considered for this award, most of the music in a film must be new and created just for that movie. Since 2021, at least 35% of the music in a new film needs to be original. For movie sequels or films in a series, 80% of the music must be new. Before the final nominees are chosen, a group of 15 top scores are selected.

How the Award Started and Changed Over Time
Memorable Winners and Their Music
Records and Fun Facts
Images for kids
See also

How the Award Started and Changed Over Time

The Academy started giving awards for movie music in 1935. This first award was called Best Scoring. Back then, the winners could be for new music or for music that was already famous and adapted for the movie.

A few years later, in 1939, the Academy added a new award called Best Original Score. This was specifically for music created just for a film. This change happened after a movie won that mostly used older classical music, which caused some debate.

Over the years, the award categories for music changed many times. Sometimes, there were separate awards for dramatic movies and musical movies. For example, from 1942 to 1985, musical films often had their own special category.

In the 1990s, after several popular animated musicals won, the Academy decided to split the "Best Original Score" award again. They created categories for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score in 1996. The idea was to make sure that dramatic scores weren't always competing against big, catchy musical scores. However, this change didn't last long because many people felt that composing music for any movie genre was similar. So, in 2000, the awards went back to a single "Best Original Score" category.

More recently, the rules for how much original music a film needs have changed. In 2020, movies needed at least 60% original music. For sequels, it was 80%. Then, in 2021, the rule was updated again, lowering the requirement to 35% original music for new films.

Memorable Winners and Their Music

Many talented composers have won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Their music has helped make movies unforgettable. Here are some famous examples:

In 1938, Erich Korngold won for The Adventures of Robin Hood. This score is known for its exciting and heroic themes.
Max Steiner won in 1942 for Now, Voyager. He was a pioneer in film scoring, often called "the father of film music."
Miklós Rózsa won for Spellbound in 1945. His music often added a thrilling and dramatic feel to films.
Dimitri Tiomkin received an award in 1952 for his iconic score in High Noon, a classic Western film.
Henry Mancini won in 1961 for Breakfast at Tiffany's, which included the famous song "Moon River."
Maurice Jarre created the grand and sweeping score for Lawrence of Arabia, winning in 1962.
John Barry won in 1966 for Born Free, known for its beautiful and emotional main theme.
Burt Bacharach won in 1969 for the catchy and memorable music in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The Beatles won in 1970 for their original song score in the film Let It Be.
Charlie Chaplin won in 1972 for his score in Limelight, a film he also directed and starred in.
John Williams has won five times, including for the thrilling music in Jaws (1975) and the epic themes of Star Wars (1977). He also won for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993).
Jerry Goldsmith won in 1976 for his chilling score in The Omen.
Vangelis won in 1981 for the inspiring electronic music in Chariots of Fire.
Prince won in 1984 for the original song score of his film Purple Rain.
Alan Menken won for several Disney animated classics, including The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991).
Hans Zimmer won in 1994 for the powerful score of The Lion King and again in 2021 for Dune.
James Horner won in 1997 for the romantic and dramatic music in Titanic.
Howard Shore won twice for his magical scores in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Gustavo Santaolalla won two years in a row for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006).
A.R. Rahman won in 2008 for the vibrant music of Slumdog Millionaire.
Michael Giacchino won in 2009 for the heartwarming score of Up.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won in 2010 for their unique electronic score in The Social Network. They also won with Jon Batiste for Soul (2020).
Ennio Morricone won in 2015 for The Hateful Eight, after receiving an honorary award earlier in his career.
Justin Hurwitz won in 2016 for the jazzy and romantic score of La La Land.
Alexandre Desplat won twice, for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017).
Hildur Guðnadóttir made history in 2019 by winning for Joker.
Ludwig Göransson has won three times, for Black Panther (2018), Oppenheimer (2023), and Sinners (2025).

Records and Fun Facts

Top Award Winners

Most Awards: Alfred Newman holds the record with 9 Academy Awards for Best Original Score. He was nominated 43 times!
Most Nominations: John Williams has been nominated an amazing 49 times in this category, winning 5 awards.

Age Milestones

Oldest Winner: Ennio Morricone was 87 years old when he won for The Hateful Eight.
Oldest Nominee: John Williams was 91 years old when he was nominated for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Youngest Winner and Nominee: Prince was 26 years old when he won for Purple Rain.

Winning Streaks

Only one composer, Marvin Hamlisch, won two scoring Oscars in the same year (1973) for The Way We Were and The Sting. He also won for Best Original Song that year, making him the only composer to win three music Oscars in one year!
Roger Edens won Oscars three years in a row from 1948 to 1950.
Eight other composers have won Oscars two years in a row, including Alfred Newman and Gustavo Santaolalla.

Female Composers and Nominees

As of 2026, only 11 women have been nominated in the music score categories. Four women have won:

Rachel Portman won for Emma (1996).
Anne Dudley won for The Full Monty (1997).
Hildur Guðnadóttir won for Joker (2019).
Marilyn Bergman won for her lyrics in Yentl (1983).

Hildur Guðnadóttir is the only woman to win the main Best Original Score award without any special category qualifications.

Unique Scores

Some scores have stood out for their electronic music. Midnight Express (1979) by Giorgio Moroder, Slumdog Millionaire (2009) by A.R. Rahman, and The Social Network (2011) by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are the only electronic-based scores to win the award.
Many famous musicians from outside the film world, like Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Quincy Jones, and Trent Reznor, have also been nominated for their film scores.

Images for kids

Louis Silvers was the first winner for One Night of Love (1934).
Charles Previn won for One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937).
Erich Korngold won for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
Alfred Newman won 9 awards, the most in this category.
Richard Hageman won for Stagecoach (1939).
Bernard Herrmann won for The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941).
Oliver Wallace won for Dumbo (1941).
Morris Stoloff won this award twice.
Carmen Dragon won for Cover Girl (1944).
Miklós Rózsa won three times, including for Spellbound (1945).
Aaron Copland won for The Heiress (1949).
Johnny Green won four times, including for An American in Paris (1951).
Dimitri Tiomkin won three times, including for High Noon (1952).
André Previn won four times, including for Gigi (1958).
Henry Mancini won twice, including for Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).
Elmer Bernstein won for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).
Burt Bacharach won for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).
The Beatles won for Let It Be (1970).
Charlie Chaplin won for Limelight (1971).
Ralph Burns won for Cabaret (1972).
Marvin Hamlisch won twice in the same year (1973).
Nelson Riddle won for The Great Gatsby (1974).
Nino Rota won for The Godfather Part II (1974).
John Williams has been nominated a record 49 times, winning five awards.
Jerry Goldsmith won for The Omen (1976).
Vangelis won for Chariots of Fire (1981).
Prince won for Purple Rain (1985).
Herbie Hancock won for Round Midnight (1986).
David Byrne won for The Last Emperor (1987).
Ryuichi Sakamoto won for The Last Emperor (1987).
Dave Grusin won for The Milagro Beanfield War (1988).
Alan Menken won four times for Disney films.
Hans Zimmer won twice, for The Lion King (1994) and Dune (2021).
Stephen Schwartz won for Pocahontas (1995).
James Horner won for Titanic (1997).
Anne Dudley won for The Full Monty (1997).
Nicola Piovani won for Life is Beautiful (1998).
Tan Dun won for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
Howard Shore won twice for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Elliot Goldenthal won for Frida (2002).
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek won for Finding Neverland (2004).
Gustavo Santaolalla won twice consecutively.
A.R. Rahman won for Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
Michael Giacchino won for Up (2009).
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won twice.
Ludovic Bource won for The Artist (2011).
Mychael Danna won for Life of Pi (2012).
Steven Price won for Gravity (2013).
Ennio Morricone won for The Hateful Eight (2015).
Justin Hurwitz won for La La Land (2016).
Alexandre Desplat won twice.
Hildur Guðnadóttir won for Joker (2019).
Jon Batiste won for Soul (2020).
Volker Bertelmann won for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022).
Ludwig Göransson won three times.
Daniel Blumberg won for The Brutalist (2024).