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A visual history · Oscars

The winners who defined Sound.

5 ceremonies, 2021–2025. 5 different winners.

Who won most recently?
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett & Doug Hemphill in 2025 for Dune: Part Two.
  1. Dune: Part TwoGareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett & Doug Hemphill
  2. The Zone of InterestTarn Willers & Johnnie Burn
  3. Top Gun: MaverickMark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon & Mark Taylor
  4. DuneMac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill & Ron Bartlett
  5. Sound of MetalNicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés Navarrete & Phillip Bladh
Years explored
2021–2025
Different winners
5
Category leader
No leader
About this record

Best Sound was first awarded in 2021, so it does not run the full 1929–2025 window.

Read that as the year the two sound categories became one award again. The Academy had split sound into separate mixing and editing awards from the 1982 ceremony through the 2020 one.

It took over from Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing.

2021–2025

5 ceremonies

20212025

01 / The reigns

5 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2021–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited distributor.

One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by distributor; scroll sideways for the full run.
Sound of Metal'21
Dune'22
Top Gun: Maverick'23
Tarn Willers & Johnnie Burn'24
Dune: Part Two'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Warner Bros. leads the recorded distributor credits with 2 wins, 2021–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Warner Bros.2 wins
A241 win
Amazon1 win
Paramount1 win
Wins by distributor
  1. Warner Bros.240%
  2. A24120%
  3. Amazon120%
  4. Paramount120%

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2021–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerDistributor
2025Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett & Doug Hemphill (Dune: Part Two)
beat 4 others
  • Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey & David Giammarco (A Complete Unknown)
  • Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz & Niels Barletta (Emilia Pérez)
  • Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson & John Marquis (Wicked)
  • Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo & Leff Lefferts (The Wild Robot)
Warner Bros.
2024Tarn Willers & Johnnie Burn (The Zone of Interest)
beat 4 others
  • Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich & Dean Zupancic (The Creator)
  • Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich & Dean Zupancic (Maestro)
  • Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon & Mark Taylor (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One)
  • Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo & Kevin O'Connell (Oppenheimer)
A24
2023Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon & Mark Taylor (Top Gun: Maverick)
beat 4 others
  • Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel & Stefan Korte (All Quiet on the Western Front)
  • Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers & Michael Hedges (Avatar: The Way of Water)
  • Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray & Andy Nelson (The Batman)
  • David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson & Michael Keller (Elvis)
Paramount Pictures
2022Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill & Ron Bartlett (Dune)
beat 4 others
  • Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather & Niv Adiri (Belfast)
  • Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey & Mark Taylor (No Time to Die)
  • Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie & Tara Webb (The Power of the Dog)
  • Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson & Shawn Murphy (West Side Story)
Warner Bros.
2021Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés Navarrete & Phillip Bladh (Sound of Metal)
beat 4 others
  • Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders & David Wyman (Greyhound)
  • Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance & Drew Kunin (Mank)
  • Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller & John Pritchett (News of the World)
  • Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott & David Parker (Soul)
Amazon Studios