Best Adapted Screenplay
The following is the average ranking of Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nominees by the Twitter followers of And the Runner-Up Is.
Results are tallied using a positional voting system, where the nominees receive points based on their rank position on each submission and the nominee with the most points overall wins.
Bold = the actual Academy Award winner
1920s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1927–28 | 1. 7th Heaven | Benjamin Glazer |
| 2. The Jazz Singer | Alfred Cohn | |
| 3. Glorious Betsy | Anthony Coldeway | |
| 1928–29 | 1. Our Dancing Daughters | Josephine Lovett |
| 2. The Valiant | Tom Barry | |
| 3. The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | Hans Kraly | |
| 4. A Woman of Affairs | Bess Meredyth | |
| 5. In Old Arizona | Tom Barry | |
| 6. The Leatherneck | Elliott Clawson | |
| 7. Skyscraper | Elliott Clawson | |
| -The Cop | Elliott Clawson | |
| -The Patriot | Hans Kraly | |
| -Sal of Singapore | Elliott Clawson | |
| -Wonder of Women | Bess Meredyth |
1930s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1929–30 | 1. All Quiet on the Western Front | George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews |
| 2. The Divorcee | John Meehan | |
| 3. The Big House | Frances Marion | |
| 4. Street of Chance | Howard Estabrook | |
| 5. Disraeli | Julian Josephson | |
| 1930–31 | 1. Little Caesar | Francis Faragoh, Robert N. Lee |
| 2. Holiday | Horace Jackson | |
| 3. Skippy | Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Sam Mintz | |
| 4. Cimarron | Howard Estabrook | |
| 5. The Criminal Code | Seton I. Miller, Fred Niblo, Jr. | |
| 1931–32 | 1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Percy Heath, Samuel Hoffenstein |
| 2. Bad Girl | Edwin Burke | |
| 3. Arrowsmith | Sidney Howard | |
| 1932–33 | 1. Lady for a Day | Robert Riskin |
| 2. The More the Merrier | Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason | |
| 3. Watch on the Rhine | Paul Green, Sonya Levien | |
| 1934 | 1. It Happened One Night | Robert Riskin |
| 2. The Thin Man | Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett | |
| 3. Viva Villa! | Ben Hecht | |
| 1935 | 1. The Informer | Dudley Nichols |
| 2. Mutiny on the Bounty | Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, Carey Wilson | |
| 3. Captain Blood | Casey Robinson | |
| 4. The Lives of a Bengal Lancer | Waldemar Young, John L. Balderston, Achmed Abdullah, Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt | |
| 1936 | 1. My Man Godfrey | Eric Hatch, Morris Ryskind |
| 2. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | Robert Riskin | |
| 3. Dodsworth | Sidney Howard | |
| 4. After the Thin Man | Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett | |
| 5. The Story of Louis Pasteur | Pierre Collings, Sheridan Gibney | |
| 1937 | 1. The Awful Truth | Viña Delmar |
| 2. Stage Door | Morris Ryskind, Anthony Veiller | |
| 3. A Star Is Born | Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson | |
| 4. The Life of Emile Zola | Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg | |
| 5. Captains Courageous | John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every | |
| 1938 | 1. Pygmalion | George Bernard Shaw, W. P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple |
| 2. You Can't Take It with You | Robert Riskin | |
| 3. The Citadel | Ian Dalrymple, Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill | |
| 4. Boys Town | John Meehan, Dore Schary | |
| 5. Four Daughters | Julius J. Epstein, Lenore Coffee | |
| 1939 | 1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Sidney Buchman |
| 2. Gone with the Wind | Sidney Howard | |
| 3. Ninotchka | Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Walter Reisch | |
| 4. Goodbye, Mr. Chips | R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz | |
| 5. Wuthering Heights | Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht |
1940s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 1. The Grapes of Wrath | Nunnally Johnson |
| 2. Rebecca | Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison | |
| 3. The Philadelphia Story | Donald Ogden Stewart | |
| 4. The Long Voyage Home | Dudley Nichols | |
| 5. Kitty Foyle | Dalton Trumbo | |
| 1941 | 1. The Maltese Falcon | John Huston |
| 2. The Little Foxes | Lillian Hellman | |
| 3. How Green Was My Valley | Philip Dunne | |
| 4. Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller | |
| 5. Hold Back the Dawn | Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder | |
| 1942 | 1. Mrs. Miniver | Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West |
| 2. The Talk of the Town | Irwin Shaw, Sidney Buchman | |
| 3. Random Harvest | Claudine West, George Froeschel, Arthur Wimperis | |
| 4. 49th Parallel | Rodney Ackland, Emeric Pressburger | |
| 5. The Pride of the Yankees | Jo Swerling, Herman J. Mankiewicz | |
| 1943 | 1. Casablanca | Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch |
| 2. The More the Merrier | Robert Russell, Frank Ross, Richard Flournoy, Lewis R. Foster | |
| 3. Watch on the Rhine | Dashiell Hammett | |
| 4. The Song of Bernadette | George Seaton | |
| 5. Holy Matrimony | Nunnally Johnson | |
| 1944 | 1. Double Indemnity | Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler |
| 2. Gaslight | John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston | |
| 3. Laura | Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Betty Reinhardt | |
| 4. Meet Me in St. Louis | Irving Brecher, Fred F. Finklehoffe | |
| 5. Going My Way | Frank Butler, Frank Cavett | |
| 1945 | 1. Mildred Pierce | Ranald MacDougall |
| 2. The Lost Weekend | Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder | |
| 3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Tess Slesinger, Frank Davis | |
| 4. The Story of G.I. Joe | Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore, Philip Stevenson | |
| 5. Pride of the Marines | Albert Maltz | |
| 1946 | 1. The Best Years of Our Lives | Robert E. Sherwood |
| 2. Brief Encounter | David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame | |
| 3. Rome, Open City | Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini | |
| 4. The Killers | Anthony Veiller | |
| 5. Anna and the King of Siam | Talbot Jennings, Sally Benson | |
| 1947 | 1. Crossfire | John Paxton |
| 2. Miracle on 34th Street | George Seaton | |
| 3. Great Expectations | David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame | |
| 4. Gentleman's Agreement | Moss Hart | |
| 5. Boomerang! | Richard Murphy | |
| 1948 | 1. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | John Huston |
| 2. A Foreign Affair | Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Richard L. Breen | |
| 3. The Search | Richard Schweizer, David Wechsler | |
| 4. The Snake Pit | Frank Partos, Millen Brand | |
| 5. Johnny Belinda | Irmgard Von Cube, Allen Vincent | |
| 1949 | 1. The Bicycle Thief | Cesare Zavattini |
| 2. A Letter to Three Wives | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | |
| 3. All the King's Men | Robert Rossen | |
| 4. The Fallen Idol | Graham Greene | |
| 5. Champion | Carl Foreman |
1950s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1. All About Eve | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| 2. Born Yesterday | Albert Mannheimer | |
| 3. The Asphalt Jungle | Ben Maddow, John Huston | |
| 4. Father of the Bride | Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett | |
| 5. Broken Arrow | Albert Maltz | |
| 1951 | 1. A Streetcar Named Desire | Tennessee Williams |
| 2. A Place in the Sun | Michael Wilson, Harry Brown | |
| 3. La Ronde | Max Ophuls, Jacques Natanson | |
| 4. The African Queen | James Agee, John Huston | |
| 5. Detective Story | Philip Yordan, Robert Wyler | |
| 1962 | 1. High Noon | Carl Foreman |
| 2. The Quiet Man | Frank S. Nugent | |
| 3. The Bad and the Beautiful | Charles Schnee | |
| 4. The Man in the White Suit | Roger MacDougall, John Dighton, Alexander Mackendrick | |
| 5. Five Fingers | Michael Wilson | |
| 1953 | 1. From Here to Eternity | Daniel Taradash |
| 2. Shane | A. B. Guthrie, Jr. | |
| 3. Roman Holiday | Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton | |
| 4. Lili | Helen Deutsch | |
| 5. The Cruel Sea | Eric Ambler | |
| 1954 | 1. Rear Window | John Michael Hayes |
| 2. The Country Girl | George Seaton | |
| 3. Sabrina | Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor, Ernest Lehman | |
| 4. The Caine Mutiny | Stanley Roberts | |
| 5. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Dorothy Kingsley | |
| 1955 | 1. Marty | Paddy Chayefsky |
| 2. East of Eden | Paul Osborn | |
| 3. Bad Day at Black Rock | Millard Kaufman | |
| 4. Blackboard Jungle | Richard Brooks | |
| 5. Love Me or Leave Me | Daniel Fuchs, Isobel Lennart | |
| 1956 | 1. Giant | Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat |
| 2. Baby Doll | Tennessee Williams | |
| 3. Lust for Life | Norman Corwin | |
| 4. Friendly Persuasion | Michael Wilson | |
| 5. Around the World in 80 Days | James Poe, John Farrow, S.J. Perelman | |
| 1957 | 1. 12 Angry Men | Reginald Rose |
| 2. The Bridge on the River Kwai | Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman, Pierre Boulle | |
| 3. Peyton Place | John Michael Hayes | |
| 4. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison | John Lee Mahin, John Huston | |
| 5. Sayonara | Paul Osborn | |
| 1958 | 1. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Richard Brooks, James Poe |
| 2. I Want to Live! | Nelson Gidding, Don Mankiewicz | |
| 3. Separate Tables | Terence Rattigan, John Gay | |
| 4. The Horse's Mouth | Alec Guinness | |
| 5. Gigi | Alan Jay Lerner | |
| 1959 | 1. Some Like It Hot | Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond |
| 2. Anatomy of a Murder | Wendell Mayes | |
| 3. Room at the Top | Neil Paterson | |
| 4. The Nun's Story | Robert Anderson | |
| 5. Ben-Hur | Karl Tunberg |
1960s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1. Inherit the Wind | Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith |
| 2. Elmer Gantry | Richard Brooks | |
| 3. Sons and Lovers | Gavin Lambert, T. E. B. Clarke | |
| 4. The Sundowners | Isobel Lennart | |
| 5. Tunes of Glory | James Kennaway | |
| 1961 | 1. The Hustler | Sidney Carroll, Robert Rossen |
| 2. Judgment at Nuremberg | Abby Mann | |
| 3. West Side Story | Ernest Lehman | |
| 4. Breakfast at Tiffany's | George Axelrod | |
| 5.The Guns of Navarone | Carl Foreman | |
| 1962 | 1. To Kill a Mockingbird | Horton Foote |
| 2. Lawrence of Arabia | Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson | |
| 3. The Miracle Worker | William Gibson | |
| 4. Lolita | Vladimir Nabokov | |
| 5. David and Lisa | Eleanor Perry | |
| 1963 | 1. Hud | Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr. |
| 2. Lilies of the Field | James Poe | |
| 3. Tom Jones | John Osborne | |
| 4. Captain Newman, M.D. | Richard L. Breen, Phoebe Ephron, Henry Ephron | |
| 5. Sundays and Cybele | Serge Bourguignon, Antoine Tudal | |
| 1964 | 1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, Terry Southern |
| 2. Mary Poppins | Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi | |
| 3. Becket | Edward Anhalt | |
| 4. My Fair Lady | Alan Jay Lerner | |
| 5. Zorba the Greek | Michael Cacoyannis | |
| 1965 | 1. Doctor Zhivago | Robert Bolt |
| 2. The Collector | Stanley Mann, John Kohn | |
| 3. A Thousand Clowns | Herb Gardner | |
| 4. Cat Ballou | Walter Newman, Frank R. Pierson | |
| 5. A Ship of Fools | Abby Mann | |
| 1966 | 1. A Man for All Seasons | Robert Bolt |
| 2. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Ernest Lehman | |
| 3. Alfie | Bill Naughton | |
| 4. The Professionals | Richard Brooks | |
| 5. The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | William Rose | |
| 1967 | 1. The Graduate | Calder Willingham, Buck Henry |
| 2. In the Heat of the Night | Stirling Silliphant | |
| 3. In Cold Blood | Richard Brooks | |
| 4. Cool Hand Luke | Donn Pearce, Frank R. Pierson | |
| 5. Ulysses | Joseph Strick, Fred Haines | |
| 1968 | 1. Rosemary's Baby | Roman Polanski |
| 2. The Lion in Winter | James Goldman | |
| 3. The Odd Couple | Neil Simon | |
| 4. Rachel, Rachel | Stewart Stern | |
| 5. Oliver! | Vernon Harris | |
| 1969 | 1. Midnight Cowboy | Waldo Salt |
| 2. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | James Poe, Robert E. Thompson | |
| 3. Z | Jorge Semprun, Costa-Gavras | |
| 4. Anne of the Thousand Days | John Hale, Bridget Boland, Richard Sokolove | |
| 5. Goodbye, Columbus | Arnold Schulman |
1970s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1. M*A*S*H | Ring Lardner, Jr. |
| 2. Women in Love | Larry Kramer | |
| 3. I Never Sang for My Father | Robert Anderson | |
| 4. Lovers and Other Strangers | Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna, David Zelag Goodman | |
| 5. Airport | George Seaton | |
| 1971 | 1. The Last Picture Show | Larry McMurtry & Peter Bogdanovich |
| 2. A Clockwork Orange | Stanley Kubrick | |
| 3. The French Connection | Ernest Tidyman | |
| 4. The Conformist | Bernardo Bertolucci | |
| 5. The Garden of the Finzi Continis | Ugo Pirro & Vittorio Bonicelli | |
| 1972 | 1. The Godfather | Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola |
| 2. Cabaret | Jay Allen | |
| 3. Sounder | Lonne Elder, III | |
| 4. The Emigrants | Jan Troell & Bengt Forslund | |
| 5. Pete 'n' Tillie | Julius J. Epstein | |
| 1973 | 1. The Exorcist | William Peter Blatty |
| 2. Paper Moon | Alvin Sargent | |
| 3. Serpico | Waldo Salt & Norman Wexler | |
| 4. The Last Detail | Robert Towne | |
| 5. The Paper Chase | James Bridges | |
| 1974 | 1. The Godfather Part II | Francis Ford Coppola & Mario Puzo |
| 2. Young Frankenstein | Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks | |
| 3. Lenny | Julian Barry | |
| 4. Murder on the Orient Express | Paul Dehn | |
| 5. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | Mordecai Richler & Lionel Chetwynd | |
| 1975 | 1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman |
| 2. Barry Lyndon | Stanley Kubrick | |
| 3. The Man Who Would Be King | John Huston & Gladys Hill | |
| 4. The Sunshine Boys | Neil Simon | |
| 5. Scent of a Woman | Ruggero Maccari & Dino Risi | |
| 1976 | 1. All the President's Men | William Goldman |
| 2. Bound for Glory | Robert Getchell | |
| 3. Fellini's Casanova | Federico Fellini & Bernardino Zapponi | |
| 4. The Seven-per-cent Solution | Nicholas Meyer | |
| 5. Voyage of the Damned | Steve Shagan & David Butler | |
| 1977 | 1. Julia | Alvin Sargent |
| 2. Equus | Peter Shaffer | |
| 3. That Obscure Object of Desire | Luis Buñuel & Jean-Claude Carrière | |
| 4. Oh, God! | Larry Gelbart | |
| 5. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | Gavin Lambert & Lewis John Carlino | |
| 1978 | 1. Midnight Express | Oliver Stone |
| 2. Heaven Can Wait | Elaine May & Warren Beatty | |
| 3. California Suite | Neil Simon | |
| 4. Same Time, Next Year | Bernard Slade | |
| 5. Bloodbrothers | Walter Newman | |
| 1979 | 1. Kramer vs. Kramer | Robert Benton |
| 2. Apocalypse Now | John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola | |
| 3. Norma Rae | Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr. | |
| 4. La Cage aux Folles | Francis Veber, Edouard Molinaro, Marcello Danon, Jean Poiret | |
| 5. A Little Romance | Allan Burns |
1980s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1. Ordinary People | Alvin Sargent |
| 2. The Elephant Man | Christopher DeVore, Eric Bergren & David Lynch | |
| 3. Coal Miner's Daughter | Tom Rickman | |
| 4. The Stunt Man | Lawrence B. Marcus & Richard Rush | |
| 5. Breaker Morant | Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens & Bruce Beresford | |
| 1981 | 1. On Golden Pond | Ernest Thompson |
| 2. The French Lieutenant's Woman | Harold Pinter | |
| 3. Ragtime | Michael Weller | |
| 4. Pennies from Heaven | Dennis Potter | |
| 5. Prince of the City | Jay Presson Allen & Sidney Lumet | |
| 1982 | 1. The Verdict | David Mamet |
| 2. Missing | Costa-Gavras & Donald Stewart | |
| 3. Victor/Victoria | Blake Edwards | |
| 4. Sophie's Choice | Alan J. Pakula | |
| 5. Das Boot | Wolfgang Petersen | |
| 1983 | 1. Terms of Endearment | James L. Brooks |
| 2. The Dresser | Ronald Harwood | |
| 3. Educating Rita | Willy Russell | |
| 4. Betrayal | Harold Pinter | |
| 5. Reuben, Reuben | Julius J. Epstein | |
| 1984 | 1. Amadeus | Peter Shaffer |
| 2. The Killing Fields | Bruce Robinson | |
| 3. A Passage to India | David Lean | |
| 4. A Soldier's Story | Charles Fuller | |
| 5. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | P.H. Vazak & Michael Austin | |
| 1985 | 1. The Color Purple | Menno Meyjes |
| 2. Kiss of the Spider Woman | Leonard Schrader | |
| 3. Prizzi's Honor | Richard Condon & Janet Roach | |
| 4. The Trip to Bountiful | Horton Foote | |
| 5. Out of Africa | Kurt Luedtke | |
| 1986 | 1. Stand by Me | Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans |
| 2. A Room with a View | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | |
| 3. Children of a Lesser God | Hesper Anderson & Mark Medoff | |
| 4. The Color of Money | Richard Price | |
| 5. Crimes of the Heart | Beth Henley | |
| 1987 | 1. Full Metal Jacket | Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford |
| 2. Fatal Attraction | James Dearden | |
| 3. The Last Emperor | Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci | |
| 4. The Dead | Tony Huston | |
| 5. My Life as a Dog | Lasse Hallström, Reidar Jönsson, Brasse Brännström, Per Berglund | |
| 1988 | 1. Dangerous Liaisons | Christopher Hampton |
| 2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being | Jean-Claude Carrière & Philip Kaufman | |
| 3. The Accidental Tourist | Frank Galati & Lawrence Kasdan | |
| 4. Gorillas in the Mist | Anna Hamilton Phelan & Tab Murphy | |
| 5. Little Dorrit | Christine Edzard | |
| 1989 | 1. Born on the Fourth of July | Oliver Stone, Ron Kovic |
| 2. Field of Dreams | Phil Alden Robinson | |
| 3. My Left Foot | Jim Sheridan, Shane Connaughton | |
| 4. Driving Miss Daisy | Alfred Uhry | |
| 5. Enemies, A Love Story | Roger L. Simon, Paul Mazursky |
1990s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1. GoodFellas | Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese |
| 2. The Grifters | Donald E. Westlake | |
| 3. Awakenings | Steven Zaillian | |
| 4. Reversal of Fortune | Nicholas Kazan | |
| 5. Dances With Wolves | Michael Blake | |
| 1991 | 1. The Silence of the Lambs | Ted Tally |
| 2. JFK | Oliver Stone & Zachary Sklar | |
| 3. Fried Green Tomatoes | Fannie Flagg & Carol Sobieski | |
| 4. The Prince of Tides | Pat Conroy & Becky Johnston | |
| 5. Europa Europa | Agnieszka Holland | |
| 1992 | 1. Howards End | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala |
| 2. The Player | Michael Tolkin | |
| 3. A River Runs Through It | Richard Friedenberg | |
| 4. Enchanted April | Peter Barnes | |
| 5. Scent of a Woman | Bo Goldman | |
| 1993 | 1. Schindler's List | Steven Zaillian |
| 2. The Remains of the Day | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | |
| 3. The Age of Innocence | Jay Cocks & Martin Scorsese | |
| 4. In the Name of the Father | Terry George & Jim Sheridan | |
| 5. Shadowlands | William Nicholson | |
| 1994 | 1. The Shawshank Redemption | Frank Darabont |
| 2. Quiz Show | Paul Attanasio | |
| 3. Forrest Gump | Eric Roth | |
| 4. Nobody’s Fool | Robert Benton | |
| 5. The Madness of King George | Alan Bennett | |
| 1995 | 1. Sense and Sensibility | Emma Thompson |
| 2. Apollo 13 | William Broyles, Jr. & Al Reinert | |
| 3. Babe | George Miller & Chris Noonan | |
| 4. Leaving Las Vegas | Mike Figgis | |
| 5. The Postman (Il Postino) | Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, Massimo Troisi | |
| 1996 | 1. Trainspotting | John Hodge |
| 2. Sling Blade | Billy Bob Thornton | |
| 3. The English Patient | Anthony Minghella | |
| 4. The Crucible | Arthur Miller | |
| 5. Hamlet | Kenneth Branagh | |
| 1997 | 1. L.A. Confidential | Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson |
| 2. The Sweet Hereafter | Atom Egoyan | |
| 3. Wag the Dog | David Mamet & Hilary Henkin | |
| 4. Donnie Brasco | Paul Attanasio | |
| 5. The Wings of the Dove | Hossein Amini | |
| 1998 | 1. Gods and Monsters | Bill Condon |
| 2. Out of Sight | Scott Frank | |
| 3. Primary Colors | Elaine May | |
| 4. A Simple Plan | Scott B. Smith | |
| 5. The Thin Red Line | Terrence Malick | |
| 1999 | 1. Election | Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor |
| 2. The Talented Mr. Ripley | Anthony Minghella | |
| 3. The Insider | Eric Roth & Michael Mann | |
| 4. The Green Mile | Frank Darabont | |
| 5. The Cider House Rules | John Irving |
2000s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1. Traffic | Stephen Gaghan |
| 2. O Brother, Where Art Thou? | Joel Coen & Ethan Coen | |
| 3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus & Tsai Kuo Jung | |
| 4. Wonder Boys | Steve Kloves | |
| 5. Chocolat | Robert Nelson Jacobs | |
| 2001 | 1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson |
| 2. In the Bedroom | Rob Festinger & Todd Field | |
| 3. Ghost World | Daniel Clowes & Terry Zwigoff | |
| 4. Shrek | Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman & Roger S.H. Schulman | |
| 5. A Beautiful Mind | Akiva Goldsman | |
| 2002 | 1. Adaptation | Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman |
| 2. The Hours | David Hare | |
| 3. The Pianist | Ronald Harwood | |
| 4. Chicago | Bill Condon | |
| 5. About a Boy | Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz | |
| 2003 | 1. Mystic River | Brian Helgeland |
| 2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson | |
| 3. City of God | Braulio Mantovani | |
| 4. American Splendor | Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman | |
| 5. Seabiscuit | Gary Ross | |
| 2004 | 1. Before Sunset | Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Kim Krizan |
| 2. Sideways | Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor | |
| 3. Million Dollar Baby | Paul Haggis | |
| 4. The Motorcycle Diaries | José Rivera | |
| 5. Finding Neverland | David Magee | |
| 2005 | 1. Brokeback Mountain | Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana |
| 2. A History of Violence | Josh Olson | |
| 3. Capote | Dan Futterman | |
| 4. Munich | Tony Kushner & Eric Roth | |
| 5. The Constant Gardener | Jeffrey Caine | |
| 2006 | 1. The Departed | William Monahan |
| 2. Children of Men | Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby | |
| 3. Notes on a Scandal | Patrick Marber | |
| 4. Little Children | Todd Field & Tom Perrotta | |
| 5. Borat | Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer, Todd Phillips | |
| 2007 | 1. No Country for Old Men | Joel Coen & Ethan Coen |
| 2. There Will Be Blood | Paul Thomas Anderson | |
| 3. Atonement | Christopher Hampton | |
| 4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Ronald Harwood | |
| 5. Away from Her | Sarah Polley | |
| 2008 | 1. Doubt | John Patrick Shanley |
| 2. Frost/Nixon | Peter Morgan | |
| 3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Eric Roth and Robin Swicord | |
| 4. Slumdog Millionaire | Simon Beaufoy | |
| 5. The Reader | David Hare | |
| 2009 | 1. Up in the Air | Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner |
| 2. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire | Geoffrey Fletcher | |
| 3. An Education | Nick Hornby | |
| 4. District 9 | Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell | |
| 5. In the Loop | Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche |
2010s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1. The Social Network | Aaron Sorkin |
| 2. Toy Story 3 | Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich | |
| 3. True Grit | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | |
| 4. Winter's Bone | Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini | |
| 5. 127 Hours | Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy | |
| 2011 | 1. Moneyball | Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin |
| 2. The Descendants | Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash | |
| 3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan | |
| 4. Hugo | John Logan | |
| 5. The Ides of March | George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon | |
| 2012 | 1. Lincoln | Tony Kushner |
| 2. Silver Linings Playbook | David O. Russell | |
| 3. Argo | Chris Terrio | |
| 4. Beasts of the Southern Wild | Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin | |
| 5. Life of Pi | David Magee | |
| 2013 | 1. 12 Years a Slave | John Ridley |
| 2. Before Midnight | Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke | |
| 3. The Wolf of Wall Street | Terence Winter | |
| 4. Captain Phillips | Billy Ray | |
| 5. Philomena | Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope | |
| 2014 | 1. Whiplash | Damien Chazelle |
| 2. Inherent Vice | Paul Thomas Anderson | |
| 3. The Imitation Game | Graham Moore | |
| 4. The Theory of Everything | Anthony McCarten | |
| 5. American Sniper | Jason Hall | |
| 2015 | 1. Carol | Phyllis Nagy |
| 2. Room | Emma Donoghue | |
| 3. Brooklyn | Nick Hornby | |
| 4. The Big Short | Charles Randolph and Adam McKay | |
| 5. The Martian | Drew Goddard | |
| 2016 | 1. Moonlight | Barry Jenkins; story by Tarell Alvin McCraney |
| 2. Arrival | Eric Heisserer | |
| 3. Fences | August Wilson | |
| 4. Lion | Luke Davies | |
| 5. Hidden Figures | Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi | |
| 2017 | 1. Call Me by Your Name | James Ivory |
| 2. Logan | Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green | |
| 3. Mudbound | Virgil Williams and Dee Rees | |
| 4. The Disaster Artist | Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber | |
| 5. Molly's Game | Aaron Sorkin | |
| 2018 | 1. If Beale Street Could Talk | Barry Jenkins |
| 2. BlacKkKlansman | Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee | |
| 3. Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty | |
| 4. A Star Is Born | Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters | |
| 5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | |
| 2019 | 1. Little Women | Greta Gerwig |
| 2. The Irishman | Steven Zaillian | |
| 3. Jojo Rabbit | Taika Waititi | |
| 4. The Two Popes | Anthony McCarten | |
| 5. Joker | Todd Phillips & Scott Silver |
2020s
| Year | Film and rank | Nominee |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1. The Father | Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller |
| 2. Nomadland | Chloé Zhao | |
| 3. One Night in Miami | Kemp Powers | |
| 4. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm | Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern, Nina Pedrad | |
| 5. The White Tiger | Ramin Bahrani | |
| 2021 | 1. Drive My Car | Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe |
| 2. The Power of the Dog | Jane Campion | |
| 3. The Lost Daughter | Maggie Gyllenhaal | |
| 4. CODA | Sian Heder | |
| 5. Dune | Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth | |
| 2022 | 1. Women Talking | Sarah Polley |
| 2. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Rian Johnson | |
| 3. Living | Kazuo Ishiguro | |
| 4. All Quiet on the Western Front | Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, and Ian Stokell | |
| 5. Top Gun: Maverick | Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie, Peter Craig, and Justin Marks | |
| 2023 | 1. Poor Things | Tony McNamara |
| 2. Oppenheimer | Christopher Nolan | |
| 3. Barbie | Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach | |
| 4. American Fiction | Cord Jefferson | |
| 5. The Zone of Interest | Jonathan Glazer |
Multiple winners (Combined Original and Adapted)
* = Original Screenplay win
- Billy Wilder – 6 (Double Indemnity; Sunset Boulevard*; The Big Carnival*; Some Like It Hot; The Apartment*; The Fortune Cookie*)
- Federico Fellini – 4 (Paisan*; La Strada*; Vitelloni*; 8½*)
- Charlie Kaufman – 3 (Being John Malkovich*; Adaptation; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*)
- I.A.L. Diamond – 3 (Some Like It Hot; The Apartment*; The Fortune Cookie*)
- Woody Allen – 3 (Annie Hall*; Broadway Danny Rose*; Hannah and Her Sisters*)
- Pete Docter – 3 (Toy Story*; WALL-E*; Inside Out*)
- Tullio Pinelli – 3 (La Strada*; Vitelloni*; 8½*)
- Robert Bolt – 2 (Doctor Zhivago; A Man for All Seasons)
- Francis Ford Coppola – 2 (The Godfather; The Godfather Part II)
- Christopher Hampton – 2 (Dangerous Liaisons; The Father)
- Brian Helgeland – 2 (L.A. Confidential; Mystic River)
- John Huston – 2 (The Maltese Falcon; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
- Barry Jenkins – 2 (Moonlight; If Beale Street Could Talk)
- Stanley Kubrick – 2 (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb; Full Metal Jacket)
- Larry McMurtry – 2 (The Last Picture Show; Brokeback Mountain)
- Mario Puzo – 2 (The Godfather; The Godfather Part II)
- Robert Riskin – 2 (Lady for a Day; It Happened One Night)
- Alvin Sargent – 2 (Julia; Ordinary People)
- Oliver Stone – 2 (Midnight Express; Born on the Fourth of July)
- Steven Zaillian – 2 (Schindler’s List; Moneyball)
- Robert Benton – 2 (Bonnie and Clyde; Kramer vs. Kramer*)
- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – 2 (Fargo*; No Country for Old Men)
- William Goldman – 2 (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*; All the President’s Men)
- Ring Lardner, Jr. – 2 (Woman of the Year*; M*A*S*H)
- Tony McNamara – 2 (The Favourite*; Poor Things)
- John Patrick Shanley – 2 (Moonstruck*; Doubt)
- Nedrick Young – 2 (The Defiant Ones*; Inherit the Wind)
- Charles Chaplin – 2 (The Great Dictator*; Monsieur Verdoux*)
- Paddy Chayefsky – 2 (Marty*; Network*)
- Ennio Flaiano – 2 (Vitelloni*; 8½*)
- Christopher Nolan – 2 (Memento*; Inception*)
- Andrew Stanton – 2 (Toy Story*; WALL-E*)
- Quentin Tarantino – 2 (Pulp Fiction*; Inglourious Basterds*)
Most nominations without a win (Combined Original and Adapted)
* = Original Screenplay nomination
- Eric Roth – 6 (Forrest Gump; The Insider; Munich; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; A Star Is Born; Dune)
- Michael Wilson – 5 (A Place in the Sun; Five Fingers; Friendly Persuasion; The Bridge on the River Kwai; Lawrence of Arabia)
- Mike Leigh – 5 (Secrets & Lies*; Topsy-Turvy*; Vera Drake*; Happy-Go-Lucky*; Another Year*)
- Ingmar Bergman – 5 (Wild Strawberries*; Through a Glass Darkly*; Cries and Whispers*; Autumn Sonata*; Fanny and Alexander*)
- Frances Goodrich – 4 (The Thin Man; After the Thin Man; Father of the Bride; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
- Albert Hackett – 4 (The Thin Man; After the Thin Man; Father of the Bride; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
- George Seaton – 4 (The Song of Bernadette; Miracle on 34th Street; The Country Girl; Airport)
- Neil Simon – 4 (The Odd Couple; The Sunshine Boys; The Goodbye Girl*; California Suite)
- Melvin Frank – 4 (Road to Utopia*; Knock on Wood*; The Facts of Life*; A Touch of Class*)
- William Rose – 4 (Genevieve*; The Ladykillers*; The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner*)
- Stanley Shapiro – 4 (Operation Petticoat*; Pillow Talk*; Lover Come Back*; That Touch of Mink*)
- Ronald Harwood – 3 (The Dresser; The Pianist; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
- Sidney Howard – 3 (Arrowsmith; Dodsworth; Gone with the Wind)
- David Lean – 3 (Brief Encounter; Great Expectations; A Passage to India)
- Simon Beaufoy – 3 (The Full Monty*; Slumdog Millionaire; 127 Hours)
- Todd Field – 3 (In the Bedroom; Little Children; TÁR*)
- Alan Jay Lerner – 3 (An American in Paris*; Gigi; My Fair Lady)
- Jim Sheridan – 3 (My Left Foot; In the Name of the Father; In America*)
- Walter Reisch – 3 (Ninotchka; Gaslight; Titanic*)
- Frank Butler – 3 (Road to Morocco*; Wake Island*; Going My Way)
- Paul Haggis – 3 (Million Dollar Baby; Crash*; Letters from Iwo Jima*)
- Gary Ross – 3 (Big*; Dave*; Seabiscuit)
- Lawrence Kasdan – 3 (The Big Chill*; The Accidental Tourist; Grand Canyon*)
- John Logan – 3 (Gladiator*; The Aviator*; Hugo)
- Adam McKay – 3 (The Big Short; Vice*; Don’t Look Up*)
- Ruth Gordon – 3 (A Double Life*; Adam’s Rib*; Pat and Mike*)
- Tonino Guerra – 3 (Casanova ’70*; Blow-Up*; Amarcord*)
- Garson Kanin – 3 (A Double Life*; Adam’s Rib*; Pat and Mike*)
- Barry Levinson – 3 (…And Justice for All*; Diner*; Avalon*)
- Norman Panama – 3 (Road to Utopia*; Knock on Wood*; The Facts of Life*)
- Jack Rose – 3 (The Seven Little Foys*; Houseboat*; A Touch of Class*)
- Furio Scarpelli – 3 (The Organizer*; Casanova ’70*; The Postman (Il Postino)*)
