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A visual history · Oscars

The winners who defined Cinematography.

67 ceremonies, 1929–2025. 54 different winners. The longest run belongs to Emmanuel Lubezki, with 3 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Lol Crawley in 2025 for The Brutalist.
Who has won the most?
Conrad L. Hall, Emmanuel Lubezki, Robert Richardson and Vittorio Storaro, tied on 3 wins each.
  1. The BrutalistLol Crawley
  2. OppenheimerHoyte van Hoytema
  3. All Quiet on the Western FrontJames Friend
  4. DuneGreig Fraser
  5. MankErik Messerschmidt
  6. 1917Roger Deakins
Years explored
1929–2025
Different winners
54
Category leader
Conrad L. Hall · 3
About this record

One undivided award ran through the 8th ceremony and again at the 30th, and continuously from the 40th. In between the Academy gave two: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Cinematography, Color, each with its own page here.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19292025

01 / The reigns

Emmanuel Lubezki 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 distributor.

  1. 01
    Emmanuel Lubezki3 wins
  2. 02
    Conrad L. Hall2 wins
  3. 03
    Robert Richardson2 wins
  4. 04
    Roger Deakins2 wins
Each band is one winner’s reign. Wider means a longer run. Colored by distributor; hover for details.
Conrad L. Hall'00
Peter Pau'01
Andrew Lesnie'02
Conrad L. Hall'03
Russell Boyd'04
Robert Richardson'05
Dion Beebe'06
Guillermo Navarro'07
Robert Elswit'08
Anthony Dod Mantle'09
Mauro Fiore'10
Wally Pfister'11
Robert Richardson'12
Claudio Miranda'13
Emmanuel Lubezki'14–'16×3
Linus Sandgren'17
Roger Deakins'18
Alfonso Cuarón'19
Roger Deakins'20
Erik Messerschmidt'21
Greig Fraser'22
James Friend'23
Hoyte van Hoytema'24
Lol Crawley'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Warner Bros. leads the recorded distributor credits with 5 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Warner Bros.5 wins
20th Century4 wins
Universal4 wins
Netflix3 wins
Paramount2 wins
Searchlight2 wins
Wins by distributor
  1. Warner Bros.519%
  2. 20th Century415%
  3. Universal415%
  4. Netflix312%
  5. Paramount28%
  6. Searchlight28%
  7. Other623%

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
    Bruno Delbonnel
    6 noms
  2. 02
    Edward Lachman
    4 noms
  3. 03
    Janusz Kamiński
    4 noms
  4. 04
    Rodrigo Prieto
    4 noms
  5. 05
    Caleb Deschanel
    3 noms
  6. 06
    Matthew Libatique
    3 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Roger Deakins
    10L · 2W
  2. 02
    Bruno Delbonnel
    6L · 0W
  3. 03
    Robert Richardson
    5L · 2W
  4. 04
    Edward Lachman
    4L · 0W
  5. 05
    Emmanuel Lubezki
    4L · 3W
  6. 06
    Janusz Kamiński
    4L · 0W

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.

YearWinnerDistributor
2025Lol Crawley (The Brutalist)
beat 4 others
  • Greig Fraser (Dune: Part Two)
  • Paul Guilhaume (Emilia Pérez)
  • Edward Lachman (Maria)
  • Jarin Blaschke (Nosferatu)
A24
2024Hoyte van Hoytema (Oppenheimer)
beat 4 others
  • Edward Lachman (El Conde)
  • Rodrigo Prieto (Killers of the Flower Moon)
  • Matthew Libatique (Maestro)
  • Robbie Ryan (Poor Things)
Universal Pictures
2023James Friend (All Quiet on the Western Front)
beat 4 others
  • Darius Khondji (Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)
  • Mandy Walker (Elvis)
  • Roger Deakins (Empire of Light)
  • Florian Hoffmeister (Tár)
Netflix
2022Greig Fraser (Dune)
beat 4 others
  • Dan Laustsen (Nightmare Alley)
  • Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog)
  • Bruno Delbonnel (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
  • Janusz Kamiński (West Side Story)
Warner Bros.
2021Erik Messerschmidt (Mank)
beat 4 others
  • Sean Bobbitt (Judas and the Black Messiah)
  • Dariusz Wolski (News of the World)
  • Joshua James Richards (Nomadland)
  • Phedon Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Netflix
2020Roger Deakins (1917)
beat 4 others
  • Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman)
  • Lawrence Sher (Joker)
  • Jarin Blaschke (The Lighthouse)
  • Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Universal Pictures
2019Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)
beat 4 others
  • Łukasz Żal (Cold War)
  • Robbie Ryan (The Favourite)
  • Caleb Deschanel (Never Look Away)
  • Matthew Libatique (A Star Is Born)
Netflix
2018Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049)
beat 4 others
  • Bruno Delbonnel (Darkest Hour)
  • Hoyte van Hoytema (Dunkirk)
  • Rachel Morrison (Mudbound)
  • Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water)
Warner Bros.
2017Linus Sandgren (La La Land)
beat 4 others
  • Bradford Young (Arrival)
  • Greig Fraser (Lion)
  • James Laxton (Moonlight)
  • Rodrigo Prieto (Silence)
Lionsgate
2016Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)repeat
beat 4 others
  • Edward Lachman (Carol)
  • Robert Richardson (The Hateful Eight)
  • John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)
  • Roger Deakins (Sicario)
20th Century Fox
2015Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)repeat
beat 4 others
  • Robert Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
  • Łukasz Żal & Ryszard Lenczewski (Ida)
  • Dick Pope (Mr. Turner)
  • Roger Deakins (Unbroken)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2014Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity)
beat 4 others
  • Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster)
  • Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis)
  • Phedon Papamichael (Nebraska)
  • Roger Deakins (Prisoners)
Warner Bros.
2013Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)
beat 4 others
  • Seamus McGarvey (Anna Karenina)
  • Robert Richardson (Django Unchained)
  • Janusz Kamiński (Lincoln)
  • Roger Deakins (Skyfall)
20th Century Fox
2012Robert Richardson (Hugo)
beat 4 others
  • Guillaume Schiffman (The Artist)
  • Jeff Cronenweth (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
  • Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life)
  • Janusz Kamiński (War Horse)
Paramount Pictures
2011Wally Pfister (Inception)
beat 4 others
  • Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)
  • Danny Cohen (The King's Speech)
  • Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network)
  • Roger Deakins (True Grit)
Warner Bros.
2010Mauro Fiore (Avatar)
beat 4 others
  • Bruno Delbonnel (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
  • Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker)
  • Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds)
  • Christian Berger (The White Ribbon)
20th Century Fox
2009Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)
beat 4 others
  • Tom Stern (Changeling)
  • Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
  • Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight)
  • Roger Deakins & Chris Menges (The Reader)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2008Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood)
beat 4 others
  • Roger Deakins (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
  • Seamus McGarvey (Atonement)
  • Janusz Kamiński (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
  • Roger Deakins (No Country for Old Men)
Paramount Vantage
2007Guillermo Navarro (Pan's Labyrinth)
beat 4 others
  • Vilmos Zsigmond (The Black Dahlia)
  • Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men)
  • Dick Pope (The Illusionist)
  • Wally Pfister (The Prestige)
Picturehouse
2006Dion Beebe (Memoirs of a Geisha)
beat 4 others
  • Wally Pfister (Batman Begins)
  • Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain)
  • Robert Elswit (Good Night, and Good Luck)
  • Emmanuel Lubezki (The New World)
Columbia Pictures
2005Robert Richardson (The Aviator)
beat 4 others
  • Zhao Xiaoding (House of Flying Daggers)
  • Caleb Deschanel (The Passion of the Christ)
  • John Mathieson (The Phantom of the Opera)
  • Bruno Delbonnel (A Very Long Engagement)
Miramax
2004Russell Boyd (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World)
beat 4 others
  • César Charlone (City of God)
  • John Seale (Cold Mountain)
  • Eduardo Serra (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
  • John Schwartzman (Seabiscuit)
20th Century Fox
2003Conrad L. Hall (Road to Perdition)
beat 4 others
  • Dion Beebe (Chicago)
  • Edward Lachman (Far from Heaven)
  • Michael Ballhaus (Gangs of New York)
  • Paweł Edelman (The Pianist)
DreamWorks Pictures
2002Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
beat 4 others
  • Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie)
  • Sławomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down)
  • Roger Deakins (The Man Who Wasn't There)
  • Donald McAlpine (Moulin Rouge!)
New Line Cinema
2001Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
beat 4 others
  • John Mathieson (Gladiator)
  • Lajos Koltai (Malèna)
  • Roger Deakins (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
  • Caleb Deschanel (The Patriot)
Sony Pictures Classics
2000Conrad L. Hall (American Beauty)
beat 4 others
  • Roger Pratt (The End of the Affair)
  • Dante Spinotti (The Insider)
  • Emmanuel Lubezki (Sleepy Hollow)
  • Robert Richardson (Snow Falling on Cedars)
DreamWorks Pictures