Join with a codeGuideBallotsDataToolsBlog

A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Score Soundtrack.

65 ceremonies, 1960–2025. 47 different winners. The longest run belongs to John Williams, with 6 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Hans Zimmer in 2025 for Dune: Part Two.
Who has won the most?
John Williams, 10 wins (1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1999, 2017).
  1. Dune: Part TwoHans Zimmer
  2. OppenheimerLudwig Göransson
  3. EncantoGermaine Franco
  4. The Queen's GambitCarlos Rafael Rivera
  5. JokerHildur Guðnadóttir
  6. ChernobylHildur Guðnadóttir
Years explored
1960–2025
Different winners
47
Category leader
John Williams · 10
About this record

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media was first awarded in 1960, so it does not run the full 1959–2025 window.

It was previously known as Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

It carried that name from 2001 to 2011 and the present one from 2012. In 2000 it was still Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The 2022 award was a tie, and both winners are listed.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19602025

01 / The reigns

Hildur Guðnadóttir set the longest run.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Alexandre Desplat2 wins
  2. 02
    Hildur Guðnadóttir2 wins
  3. 03
    Howard Shore, artist/composer/producer and John Kurlander, engineer/mixer2 wins
  4. 04
    Ludwig Göransson2 wins
  5. 05
    Michael Giacchino2 wins
Each band is one winner’s reign. Wider means a longer run. Colored by label; hover for details.
Randy Newman'00
American Beauty'01
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'02
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'03
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'04
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'05
Ray'06
Memoirs of a Geisha'07
Michael Giacchino'08
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard'09
Michael Giacchino'10
Randy Newman'11
Alexandre Desplat'12
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross'13
Thomas Newman'14
Alexandre Desplat'15
Antonio Sánchez'16
John Williams'17
Justin Hurwitz'18
Ludwig Göransson'19
Hildur Guðnadóttir'20–'21×2
Carlos Rafael Rivera'22
Germaine Franco'23
Ludwig Göransson'24
Hans Zimmer'25

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Danny Elfman
    5 noms
  2. 02
    Howard Shore
    3 noms
  3. 03
    Ramin Djawadi
    3 noms
  4. 04
    James Horner
    2 noms
  5. 05
    Jóhann Jóhannsson
    2 noms
  6. 06
    Jon Brion
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    John Williams
    15L · 1W
  2. 02
    Hans Zimmer
    10L · 1W
  3. 03
    Alexandre Desplat
    6L · 2W
  4. 04
    Danny Elfman
    5L · 0W
  5. 05
    Thomas Newman
    5L · 1W
  6. 06
    Michael Giacchino
    4L · 2W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2025Hans Zimmer (Dune: Part Two)
beat 4 others
  • Laura Karpman (American Fiction)
  • Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Challengers)
  • Kris Bowers (The Color Purple)
  • Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross and Leopold Ross (Shógun)
Not listed
2024Ludwig Göransson (Oppenheimer)
beat 4 others
  • Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (Barbie)
  • Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
  • John Williams (The Fabelmans)
  • John Williams (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny)
Not listed
2023Germaine Franco (Encanto)
beat 4 others
  • Michael Giacchino (The Batman)
  • Hans Zimmer (No Time to Die)
  • Jonny Greenwood (The Power of the Dog)
  • Nicholas Britell (Succession: Season 3)
Not listed
2022Carlos Rafael Rivera (The Queen's Gambit)tieJon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Soul)
beat 3 others
  • Kris Bowers (Bridgerton: Season 1)
  • Hans Zimmer (Dune)
  • Ludwig Göransson (The Mandalorian Season 2 – Vol. 2 (Chapters 13-16))
Not listed
2021Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker)repeat
beat 4 others
  • Thomas Newman (1917)
  • Max Richter (Ad Astra)
  • Kamasi Washington (Becoming)
  • John Williams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Not listed
2020Hildur Guðnadóttir (Chernobyl)
beat 4 others
  • Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame)
  • Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones: Season 8)
  • Hans Zimmer (The Lion King)
  • Marc Shaiman (Mary Poppins Returns)
Not listed
2019Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther)
beat 4 others
  • Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer (Blade Runner 2049)
  • Michael Giacchino (Coco)
  • Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water)
  • John Williams (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)
Not listed
2018Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)
beat 4 others
  • Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival)
  • Hans Zimmer (Dunkirk)
  • Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones: Season 7)
  • Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer (Hidden Figures)
Not listed
2017John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
beat 5 others
  • Thomas Newman (Bridge of Spies)
  • Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
  • Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Revenant)
  • Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein (Stranger Things, Vol. 1)
  • Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein (Stranger Things, Vol. 2)
Not listed
2016Antonio Sánchez (Birdman)
beat 4 others
  • Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)
  • Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)
  • Jóhann Jóhannsson (The Theory of Everything)
  • Justin Hurwitz (Whiplash)
Not listed
2015Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
beat 4 others
  • Christophe Beck (Frozen)
  • Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Gone Girl)
  • Steven Price (Gravity)
  • Thomas Newman (Saving Mr. Banks)
Not listed
2014Thomas Newman (Skyfall)
beat 5 others
  • Alexandre Desplat (Argo)
  • Craig Armstrong (The Great Gatsby)
  • Mychael Danna (Life of Pi)
  • John Williams (Lincoln)
  • Alexandre Desplat (Zero Dark Thirty)
Not listed
2013Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
beat 5 others
  • John Williams (The Adventures of Tintin)
  • Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
  • Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight Rises)
  • Howard Shore (Hugo)
  • Austin Wintory (Journey)
Not listed
2012Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech)
beat 4 others
  • Clint Mansell (Black Swan)
  • Alexandre Desplat (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2)
  • Ryan Shore (The Shrine)
  • Daft Punk (Tron: Legacy)
Not listed
2011Randy Newman (Toy Story 3)
beat 4 others
  • Danny Elfman (Alice in Wonderland)
  • James Horner (Avatar)
  • Hans Zimmer (Inception)
  • Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)
Not listed
2010Michael Giacchino (Up)
beat 4 others
  • Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
  • Nicholas Hooper (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
  • Danny Elfman (Milk)
  • Michael Giacchino (Star Trek)
Not listed
2009Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)
beat 4 others
  • John Williams (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
  • Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man)
  • Jonny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood)
  • Thomas Newman (WALL-E)
Not listed
2008Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille)
beat 5 others
  • Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel)
  • James Newton Howard (Blood Diamond)
  • Howard Shore (The Departed)
  • John Powell (Happy Feet)
  • Javier Navarrete (Pan's Labyrinth)
Not listed
2007John Williams, artist/composer and Shawn Murphy, engineer/mixer (Memoirs of a Geisha)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Harry Gregson-Williams (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
  • Hans Zimmer (The Da Vinci Code)
  • John Williams (Munich)
  • Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
Not listed
2006Craig Armstrong, composer/producer, David Donaldson, producer, Taylor Hackford, producer and Geoff Foster, engineer/mixer (Ray)
beat 4 others
  • Howard Shore (The Aviator)
  • Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles)
  • Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
  • John Williams (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith)
Not listed
2005Howard Shore, artist/composer/producer and John Kurlander, engineer/mixer (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
beat 4 others
  • Thomas Newman (Angels in America)
  • Danny Elfman (Big Fish)
  • Jon Brion (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
  • John Williams (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
Not listed
2004Howard Shore, artist/composer/producer, John Kurlander, engineer and Peter Cobbin, engineer/mixer (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
beat 4 others
  • John Williams (Catch Me If You Can)
  • John Williams (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
  • Philip Glass (The Hours)
  • Randy Newman (Seabiscuit)
Not listed
2003Howard Shore, artist/composer/producer and John Kurlander, engineer/mixer (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
beat 4 others
  • James Horner (A Beautiful Mind)
  • John Williams (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
  • Randy Newman (Monsters, Inc.)
  • Danny Elfman (Spider-Man)
Not listed
2002Tan Dun, artist/composer/producer, Steven Epstein, producer and Richard King, engineer/mixer (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
beat 5 others
  • John Williams (A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
  • Rachel Portman (Chocolat)
  • Mark Isham (Men of Honor)
  • Danny Elfman (Planet of the Apes)
  • Cliff Martinez (Traffic)
Not listed
2001Thomas Newman, artist/composer/producer and Bill Bernstein, producer (American Beauty)
beat 4 others
  • Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules)
  • Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer (Gladiator)
  • Jon Brion (Magnolia)
  • Randy Newman (Toy Story 2)
Not listed
2000Randy Newman (A Bug's Life)
beat 4 others
  • Nicola Piovani (Life Is Beautiful)
  • John Corigliano (The Red Violin)
  • Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love)
  • John Williams (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace)
Not listed