The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source (usually a novel, play, short story, or TV show but sometimes another film). All sequels are automatically considered adaptations by this standard (since the sequel must be based on the original story).
History[]
The first person to win twice in this category is Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who won the award in two consecutive years, 1950 and 1951. Frances Marion was the first woman to win in this category, in 1930. Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney were the first to win for adapting their own work, for The Life of Emile Zola. Philip G. Epstein and Julius J. Epstein were the first siblings to win in this category, for Casablanca. Emma Thompson is the only winner who has also won for acting. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are the only married couple to win in this category, for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
The official name of the award has changed several times over the years:
- 1927/28 — 1934: Adaptation
- 1928/29 — 1929/30: Writing
- 1930/31 — 1934: Adaptation
- 1935 — 1955: Screenplay
- 1956: Adapted Screenplay
- 1957 — 2001: Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
- 2002 — Present: Adapted Screenplay
Nominees and winners[]
Best Adapted Screenplay By Decade |
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1920s • 1930s • 1940s • 1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s • 2010s |
1920s
1st Academy Awards (1927/28)
- Winner
- 7th Heaven — Benjamin Glazer
- Nominees
- The Jazz Singer — Alfred Cohn
- Glorious Betsy — Anthony Coldeway
2nd Academy Awards (1928/29)
- Winner
- The Patriot — Hans Kraly
- Nominees
- In Old Arizona and The Valiant — Tom Barry
- The Cop , The Leatherneck, Sal of Singapore and Skyscraper — Elliott Clawson
- The Last of Mrs. Cheney — Hans Kraly
- Our Dancing Daughters — Josephine Lovett
- A Woman of Affairs and Wonder of Women — Bess Meredyth
3rd Academy Awards (1929/30)
- Winner
- The Big House — Frances Marion
- Nominees
- All Quiet on the Western Front — George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews
- Disraeli — Julian Josephson
- The Divorcee — John Meehan
- Street of Chance — Howard Estabrook
1930s
4th Academy Awards (1930/31)
- Winner
- Cimarron — Howard Estabrook
- Nominees
- The Criminal Code — Seton I. Miller, Fred Niblo, Jr.
- Holiday — Horace Jackson
- Little Caesar — Francis Faragoh, Robert N. Lee
- Skippy — Jospeh L. Mankiewicz
5th Academy Awards (1931/32)
- Winner
- Bad Girl — Edwin Burke
- Nominees
- Arrowsmith — Sidney Howard
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Percy Heath, Samuel Hoffenstein
6th Academy Awards (1932/33)
- Winner
- Little Women — Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason
- Nominees
- Lady for a Day — Robert Riskin
- State Fair — Paul Green, Sonya Levien
7th Academy Awards (1934)
- Winner
- It Happened One Night — Robert Riskin
- Nominees
- The Thin Man — Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
- Viva Villa! — Ben Hecht
8th Academy Awards (1935)
- Winner
- The Informer — Dudley Nichols
- Nominees
- The Lives of Bengal Lancer — Waldemar Young, John L. Balderston, Grover Jones, William Stavens McNutt
- Mutiny on the Bounty — Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, Cary Wilson
- Captain Blood — Casey Robinson
9th Academy Awards (1936)
- Winner
- The Story of Louis Pasteur — Pierre Collings, Sheridan Gibney
- Nominees
- After the Thin Man — Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
- Dodsworth — Sidney Howard
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town — Robert Riskin
- My Man Godfrey — Eric Hatch, Morris Ryskind
10th Academy Awards (1937)
- Winner
- The Life of Emile Zola — Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg
- Nominees
- The Awful Truth — Vina Delmar
- Captains Courageous — John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, Dale Van Every
- Stage Door — Morris Ryskind, Anthony Veiller
- A Star is Born — Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson
11th Academy Awards (1938)
- Winner
- Pygmalion — George Bernard Shaw, W. P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple
- Nominees
- Boys Town — John Meehan, Dore Schary
- The Citadel — Ian Dalrymple, Frank Wead, Elizabeth Hill
- Four Daughters — Julius J. Epstein, Lenore Coffee
- You Can't Take It with You — Robert Riskin
12th Academy Awards (1939)
- Winner
- Gone with the Wind — Sidney Howard
- Nominees
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips — R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington — Sidney Buchman
- Ninotchka — Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Walter Reisch
- Wuthering Heights — Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht
1940s
13th Academy Awards (1940)
- Winner
- The Philadelphia Story — Donald Ogden Stewart
- Nominees
- The Grapes of Wrath — Nunnally Johnson
- Kitty Foyle — Dalton Trumbo
- The Long Voyage Home — Dudley Nichols
- Rebecca — Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison
14th Academy Awards (1941)
- Winner
- Here Comes Mr. Jordan — Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller
- Nominees
- Hold Back the Dawn — Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder
- How Green Was My Valley — Philip Dunne
- The Little Foxes — Lillian Hellman
- The Maltese Falcon — John Huston
15th Academy Awards (1942)
- Winner
- Mrs. Miniver — Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, Claudine West
- Nominees
- The Invaders — Rodney Ackland, Emeric Pressburger
- The Pride of the Yankees — Jo Swerling, Herman J. Mankiewicz
- Random Harvest — Claudine West, George Froeschel, Arthur Wimperis
- The Talk of the Town — Irwin Shaw, Sidney Buchman
16th Academy Awards (1943)
- Winner
- Casablanca — Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch
- Nominees
- Holy Matrimony — Nunnally Johnson
- The More the Merrier — Robert Russell, Frank Ross, Richard Flournoy, Lewis R. Foster
- The Song of Bernadette — George Seaton
- Watch on the Rhine — Dashiell Hammett
17th Academy Awards (1944)
- Winner
- Going My Way — Frank Butler, Frank Cavett
- Nominees
- Double Indemnity — Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
- Gaslight — John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston
- Laura — Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Betty Reinhardt
- Meet Me in St. Louis — Irving Brecher, Fred F. Finklehoffe
18th Academy Awards (1945)
- Winner
- The Lost Weekend — Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder
- Nominees
- G.I. Joe — Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore, Philip Stevenson
- Mildred Pierce — Ranald MacDougall
- Pride of the Marines — Albert Maltz
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn — Tess Slesinger, Frank Davis
19th Academy Awards (1946)
- Winner
- The Best Years of Our Lives — Robert E. Sherwood
- Nominees
- Anna and the King of Siam — Talbot Jennings, Sally Benson
- Brief Encounter — David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame
- The Killers — Anthony Veiller
- Open City — Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini
20th Academy Awards (1947)
- Winner
- Miracle on 34th Street — George Seaton
- Nominees
- Boomerang! — Richard Murphy
- Crossfire — John Paxton
- Gentleman's Agreement — Moss Hart
- Great Expectations — David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allen, Ronald Neame
21st Academy Awards (1948)
- Winner
- The Treasure of Sierra Madre — John Huston
- Nominees
- A Foreign Affair — Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Richard L. Breen
- Johnny Belinda — Irmgard Von Cube, Allen Vincent
- The Search — Richard Schweizer, David Wechsler
- The Snake Pit — Frank Partos, Milen Brand
22nd Academy Awards (1949)
- Winner
- A Letter to Three Wives — Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Nominees
- All the King's Men — Robert Rossen
- The Bicycle Thief — Cesar Zavattini
- Champion — Carl Foreman
- The Fallen Idol — Graham Greene
1950s
23rd Academy Awards (1950)
- Winner
- All About Eve — Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Nominees
- The Asphalt Jungle — Ben Maddow, John Huston
- Born Yesterday — Albert Mannheimer
- Broken Arrow — Albert Maltz
- Father of the Bride — Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett
24th Academy Awards (1951)
- Winner
- A Place in the Sun — Michael Wilson, Harry Brown
- Nominees
- The African Queen — James Agee, John Huston
- Detective Story — Philip Yordan, Robert Wyler
- La Ronde — Max Ophuls, Jacques Natanson
- A Streetcar Named Desire — Tennessee Williams
25th Academy Awards (1952)
- Winner
- The Bad and the Beautiful — Charles Schnee
- Nominees
- Five Fingers — Michael Wilson
- High Noon — Carl Foreman
- The Man in the White Suit — Roger MacDougall, John Dighton, Alexander Mackendrick
- The Quiet Man — Frank S. Nugent
26th Academy Awards (1953)
- Winner
- From Here to Eternity — Daniel Taradash
- Nominees
- The Cruel Sea — Eric Ambler
- Lili — Helen Deutsch
- Roman Holiday — Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton
- Shane — A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
27th Academy Awards (1954)
- Winner
- The Country Girl — Daniel Taradash
- Nominees
- The Cruel Sea — Eric Ambler
- Lili — Helen Deutsch
- Roman Holiday — Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton
- Shane — A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
28th Academy Awards (1955)
- Winner
- Marty — Paddy Chayefsky
- Nominees
- Bad Day at Black Rock — Millard Kaufman
- Blackboard Jungle — Richard Brooks
- East of Eden — Paul Osborn
- Love Me or Leave Me — Daniel Fuchs, Isabel Lennart
29th Academy Awards (1956)
- Winner
- Around the World in 80 Days — James Poe, John Farrow, S.J. Perelman
- Nominees
- Baby Doll — Tennessee Williams
- Friendly Persuasion — Michael Wilson
- Giant — Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat
- Lust for Life — Norman Corwin
30th Academy Awards (1957)
- Winner
- The Bridge on the River Kwai — Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman, Pierre Boulle
- Nominees
- Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison — John Lee Mahin, John Huston
- Peyton Place — John Michael Hayes
- Sayonara — Paul Osborn
- 12 Angry Men — Reginald Rose
31st Academy Awards (1958)
- Winner
- Gigi — Alan Jay Lerner
- Nominees
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof — Richard Brooks, James Poe
- The Horse's Mouth — Alec Guinness
- I Want to Live! — Nelson Gidding, Don Mankiewicz
- Separate Tables — Terence Rattigan, John Gay
32nd Academy Awards (1959)
- Winner
- Room at the Top — Neil Paterson
- Nominees
- Anatomy of a Murder — Wendell Mayes
- Ben-Hur — Karl Tunberg
- The Nun's Story — Robert Anderson
- Some Like it Hot — Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
1960s
33rd Academy Awards (1960)
- Winner
- Elmer Gantry — Richard Brooks
- Nominees
- Inherit the Wind — Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
- Sons and Lovers — Gavin Lambert, T. E. B. Clarke
- The Sundowners — Isobel Lennart
- Tunes of Glory — James Kennaway
34th Academy Awards (1961)
- Winner
- Judgment at Nuremberg — Abby Mann
- Nominees
- Breakfast at Tiffany's — George Axelrod
- The Guns of Navarone — Carl Foreman
- The Hustler — Sidney Carroll, Robert Rossen
- West Side Story — Ernest Lehman
35th Academy Awards (1962)
- Winner
- To Kill a Mockingbird — Horton Foote
- Nominees
- David and Lisa — Eleanor Perry
- Lawrence of Arabia — Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
- Lolita — Vladimir Nabokov
- The Miracle Worker — William Gibson
36th Academy Awards (1963)
- Winner
- Tom Jones — John Osborne
- Nominees
- Captain Newman, M.D. — Richard L. Breen, Phoebe Ephron, Henry Ephron
- Hud — Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr.
- Lilies of the Field — James Poe
- Sundays and Cybele — Serge Bourguignon, Antoine Tudal
37th Academy Awards (1964)
- Winner
- Becket — Edward Anhalt
- Nominees
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb — Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, Terry Southern
- Mary Poppins — Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi
- My Fair Lady — Alan Jay Lerner
- Zorba the Greek — Michael Cacoyannis
38th Academy Awards (1965)
- Winner
- Doctor Zhivago — Robert Bolt
- Nominees
- Cat Ballou — Walter Newman, Frank R. Pierson
- The Collector — Stanley Mann, John Kohn
- Ship of Fools — Abby Mann
- A Thousand Clowns — Herb Gardner
39th Academy Awards (1966)
- Winner
- A Man for All Seasons — Robert Bolt
- Nominees
- Alfie — Bill Naughton
- The Professionals — Richard Brooks
- The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming — William Rose
- Who's Afraid of Virigina Woolf? — Ernest Lehman
40th Academy Awards (1967)
- Winner
- In the Heat of the Night — Stirling Silliphant
- Nominees
- Cool Hand Luke — Donn Pearce, Frank R. Pierson
- The Graduate — Calder Willingham, Buck Henry
- In Cold Blood — Richard Brooks
- Ulysses — Joseph Strick, Fred Haines
41st Academy Awards (1968)
- Winner
- The Lion in Winter — James Goldman
- Nominees
- The Odd Couple — Neil Simon
- Oliver! — Vernon Harris
- Rachel, Rachel — Stewart Stern
- Rosemary's Baby — Roman Polanski
42nd Academy Awards (1969)
- Winner
- Midnight Cowboy — Waldo Salt
- Nominees
- Anne of the Thousand Days — John Hale, Bridget Boland, Richard Sokolove
- Goodbye, Columbus — Arnold Schulman
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? — James Poe, Robert E. Thompson
- Z — Jorge Semprun, Costa-Gavras
1970s
43rd Academy Awards (1970)
- Winner
- M*A*S*H — Ring Lardner, Jr.
- Nominees
- Airport — George Seaton
- I Never Sang for My Father — Robert Anderson
- Lovers and Other Strangers — Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna, David Zelag Goodman
- Women in Love — Larry Kramer
44th Academy Awards (1971)
- Winner
- The French Connection — Ernest Tidyman
- Nominees
- A Clockwork Orange — Stanley Kubrick
- The Conformist — Bernardo Bertolucci
- The Garden of the Finzi Continis — Ugo Pirro, Vittorio Bonicelli
- The Last Picture Show — Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich
45th Academy Awards (1972)
- Winner
- The Godfather — Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
- Nominees
- Cabaret — Jay Allen
- The Emigrants — Jan Troell, Bengt Forslund
- Pete 'n' Tillie — Julius J. Epstein
- Sounder — Lonne Elder, III
46th Academy Awards (1973)
- Winner
- The Exorcist — William Peter Blatty
- Nominees
- The Last Detail — Robert Towne
- The Paper Chase — James Bridges
- Paper Moon — Alvin Sargent
- Serpico — Waldo Salt, Norman Wexler
47th Academy Awards (1974)
- Winner
- The Godfather Part II — Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
- Nominees
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz — Mordecai Richler, Lionel Chetwynd
- Lenny — Julian Barry
- Murder on the Orient Express — Paul Dehn
- Young Frankenstein — Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks
48th Academy Awards (1975)
- Winner
- One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest — Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman
- Nominees
- Barry Lyndon — Stanley Kubrick
- The Man Who Would Be King — John Huston, Gladys Hill
- Scent of a Woman (1975) — Ruggero Maccari, Dino Risi
- The Sunshine Boys — Neil Simon
49th Academy Awards (1976)
- Winner
- All the President's Men — William Goldman
- Nominees
- Bound for Glory — Robert Getchell
- Fellini's Casanova — Federico Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi
- The Seven-per-cent Solution — Nicholas Meyer
- Voyage of the Damned — Steve Shagan, David Butler
50th Academy Awards (1977)
- Winner
- Julia — Alvin Sargent
- Nominees
- Equus — Peter Shaffer
- I Never Promised You a Rose Garden — Gavin Lambert, Lewis John Carlino
- Oh, God! — Larry Gelbart
- That Obscure Object of Desire — Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière
51st Academy Awards (1978)
- Winner
- Midnight Express — Oliver Stone
- Nominees
- Bloodbrothers — Walter Newman
- California Suite — Neil Simon
- Heaven Can Wait — Elaine May, Warren Beatty
- Same Time, Next Year — Bernard Slade
52nd Academy Awards (1979)
- Winner
- Kramer vs. Kramer — Robert Benton
- Nominees
- Apocalypse Now — John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola
- La Cage aux Folles — Francis Veber, Edouard Molinaro, Marcello Danon, Jean Poiret
- A Little Romance — Allan Burns
- Norma Rae — Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr.
1980s
53rd Academy Awards (1980)
- Winner
- Ordinary People — Alvin Sargent
- Nominees
- Breaker Morant — Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens, Bruce Beresford
- Coal Miner's Daughter — Tom Rickman
- The Elephant Man — Christopher DeVore, Eric Bergren, David Lynch
- The Stunt Man — Lawrence B. Marcus, Richard Rush
54th Academy Awards (1981)
- Winner
- On Golden Pond — Ernest Thompson
- Nominees
- The French Lieutenant's Woman — Harold Pinter
- Pennies from Heaven — Dennis Potter
- Prince of the City — Jay Presson Allen, Sidney Lumet
- Ragtime — Michael Weller
55th Academy Awards (1982)
- Winner
- Missing — Costa-Gavras, Donald Stewart
- Nominees
- Das Boot — Wolfgang Petersen
- Sophie's Choice — Alan J. Pakula
- The Verdict — David Mamet
- Victor/Victoria — Blake Edwards
56th Academy Awards (1983)
- Winner
- Terms of Endearment — James L. Brooks
- Nominees
- Betrayal — Harold Pinter
- The Dresser — Ronald Harwood
- Educating Rita — Willy Russell
- Reuben, Reuben — Julius J. Epstein
57th Academy Awards (1984)
- Winner
- Amadeus — Peter Shaffer
- Nominees
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes — P.H. Vazak, Michael Austin
- The Killing Fields — Bruce Robinson
- A Passage to India — David Lean
- A Soldier's Story — Charles Fuller
58th Academy Awards (1985)
- Winner
- Out of Africa — Kurt Luedtke
- Nominees
- The Color Purple — Menno Meyjes
- Kiss of the Spider Woman — Leonard Schrader
- Prizzi's Honor — Richard Condon, Janet Roach
- The Trip to Bountiful — Horton Foote
59th Academy Awards (1986)
- Winner
- A Room with a View — Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Nominees
- Childer of a Lesser God — Hesper Anderson, Mark Medoff
- The Color of Money — Richard Price
- Crimes of the Heart — Beth Henley
- Stand By Me — Raynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans
60th Academy Awards (1987)
- Winner
- The Last Emperor — Mark Peploe, Bernardo Bertolucci
- Nominees
- The Dead — Tony Huston
- Fatal Attraction — James Dearden
- Full Metal Jacket — Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford
- My Life as a Dog — Lasse Hallström, Reidar Jönsson, Brasse Brännström, Per Berglund
61st Academy Awards (1988)
- Winner
- Dangerous Liaisons — Christopher Hampton
- Nominees
- The Accidental Tourist — Frank Galati, Lawrence Kasdan
- Gorillas in the Mist — Anna Hamilton Phelan, Tab Murphy
- Little Dorrit — Christine Edzard
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being — Jean-Claude Carrière, Philip Kaufman
62nd Academy Awards (1989)
- Winner
- Driving Miss Daisy — Alfred Uhry
- Nominees
- Born on the Fourth of July — Oliver Stone, Ron Kovic
- Enemies, A Love Story — Roger L. Simon, Paul Mazursky
- Field of Dreams — Phil Alden Robinson
- My Left Foot — Jim Sheridan, Shane Connaughton
1990s
63rd Academy Awards (1990)
- Winner
- Dances With Wolves — Michael Blake
- Nominees
- Awakenings — Steven Zaillian
- Good Fellas — Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
- The Grifters — Donald E. Westlake
- Reversal of Fortune — Nicholas Kazan
64th Academy Awards (1991)
- Winner
- The Silence of the Lambs — Ted Tally
- Nominees
- Europa Europa — Agnieszka Holland
- Fried Green Tomatoes — Fannie Flagg, Carol Sobieski
- JFK — Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar
- The Prince of Tides — Pat Conroy, Becky Johnston
65th Academy Awards (1992)
- Winner
- Howard's End — Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Nominees
- Enchanted April — Peter Barnes
- The Player — Michael Tolkin
- A River Runs Through It — Richard Friedenberg
- Scent of a Woman (1992) — Bo Goldman
66th Academy Awards (1993)
- Winner
- Schindler's List — Steven Zaillian
- Nominees
- The Age of Innocence — Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese
- In the Name of the Father — Terry George, Jim Sheridan
- The Remains of the Day — Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Shadowlands — William Nicholson
67th Academy Awards (1994)
- Winner
- Forrest Gump — Eric Roth
- Nominees
- The Madness of King George — Alan Bennett
- Nobody's Fool — Robert Benton
- Quiz Show — Paul Attanasio
- The Shawshank Redemption — Frank Darabont
68th Academy Awards (1995)
- Winner
- Sense and Sensibility — Emma Thompson
- Nominees
- Apollo 13 — William Broyles, Jr., Al Reinert
- Babe — George Miller, Chris Noonan
- Leaving Las Vegas — Mike Figgis
- The Postman (Il Postino) — Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, Massimo Troisi
69th Academy Awards (1996)
- Winner
- Sling Blade — Billy Bob Thornton
- Nominees
- The Crucible — Arthur Miller
- The English Patient — Anthony Minghella
- Hamlet — Kenneth Branagh
- Trainspotting — John Hodge
70th Academy Awards (1997)
- Winner
- L.A. Confidential — Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson
- Nominees
- Donnie Brasco — Paul Attanasio
- The Sweet Hereafter — Atom Egoyan
- Wag the Dog — Hilary Henkin, David Mamet
- The Wings of the Dove — Hossein Amini
71st Academy Awards (1998)
- Winner
- Gods and Monsters — Bill Condon
- Nominees
- Out of Sight — Scott Frank
- Primary Colors — Elaine May
- A Simple Plan — Scott B. Smith
- The Thin Red Line — Terrence Malick
72nd Academy Awards (1999)
- Winner
- The Cider House Rules — John Irving
- Nominees
- Election — Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
- The Green Mile — Frank Darabont
- The Insider — Eric Roth and Michael Mann
- The Talented Mr. Ripley — Anthony Minghella
2000s
73rd Academy Awards (2000)
- Winner
- Traffic — Stephen Gaghan
- Nominees
- Chocolat — Robert Nelson Jacobs
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo Jung
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? — Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Wonder Boys — Steve Kloves
74th Academy Awards (2001)
- Winner
- A Beautiful Mind — Akiva Goldsman
- Nominees
- Ghost World — Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff
- In the Bedroom — Rob Festinger, Todd Field
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
- Shrek — Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, Roger S.H. Schulman
- "PuffRuff School: The Movie" — Trevor Jordan, Nicholas Pockes, Sean Andrews
75th Academy Awards (2002)
- Winner
- The Pianist — Ronald Harwood
- Nominees
- About a Boy — Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
- Adaptation. — Charlie Kaufman, Donald Kaufman
- Chicago — Bill Condon
- The Hours — David Hare
76th Academy Awards (2003)
- Winner
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
- Nominees
- American Splendor — Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
- City of God — Braulio Mantovani
- Mystic River — Brian Helgeland
- Seabiscuit — Gary Ross
77th Academy Awards (2004)
- Winner
- Sideways — Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
- Nominees
- Before Sunset — Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Kim Krizan
- Finding Neverland — David Magee
- Million Dollar Baby — Paul Haggis
- The Motorcycle Diaries — José Rivera
78th Academy Awards (2005)
- Winner
- Brokeback Mountain — Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
- Nominees
- Capote — Dan Futterman
- The Constant Gardener — Jeffrey Caine
- A History of Violence — Josh Olson
- Munich — Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
79th Academy Awards (2006)
- Winner
- The Departed — William Monahan
- Nominees
- Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan — Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer, Todd Phillips
- Children of Men — Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
- Little Children — Todd Field, Tom Perrotta
- Notes on a Scandal — Patrick Marber
80th Academy Awards (2007)
- Winner
- No Country for Old Men — Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Nominees
- Atonement — Christopher Hampton
- Away from Her — Sarah Polley
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — Ronald Harwood
- There Will Be Blood — Paul Thomas Anderson
81st Academy Awards (2008)
- Winner
- Slumdog Millionaire — Simon Beaufoy
- Nominees
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
- Doubt — John Patrick Shanley
- Frost/Nixon — Peter Morgan
- The Reader — David Hare
82nd Academy Awards (2009)
- Winner
- Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire — Geoffrey Fletcher
- Nominees
- District 9 — Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
- An Education — Nick Hornby
- In the Loop — Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
- Up in the Air — Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
2010s
83rd Academy Awards (2010)
- Winner
- The Social Network — Aaron Sorkin
- Nominees
- 127 Hours — Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
- Toy Story 3 — Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
- True Grit (2010) — Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Winter's Bone — Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini
84th Academy Awards (2011)
- Winner
- The Descendants — Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
- Nominees
- Hugo — John Logan
- The Ides of March — George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
- Moneyball — Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy — Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
85th Academy Awards (2012)
- Winner
- Argo — Chris Terrio
- Nominees
- Silver Linings Playbook — David O. Russell
- Beasts of the Southern Wild — Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
- Life of Pi — David Magee
- Lincoln — Tony Kushner
86th Academy Awards (2013)
- Winner
- 12 Years a Slave — John Ridley
- Nominees
- Before Midnight — Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
- Captain Phillips — Billy Ray
- Philomena — Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
- The Wolf of Wall Street — Terence Winter
87th Academy Awards (2014)
- Winner
- The Imitation Game — Graham Moore
- Nominees
- American Sniper — Jason Hall
- Inherent Vice — Paul Thomas Anderson
- The Theory of Everything — Anthony McCarten
- Whiplash — Damien Chazelle
88th Academy Awards (2015)
- Winner
- The Big Short — Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
- Nominees
- Brooklyn — Nick Hornby
- Carol — Phyllis Nagy
- The Martian — Drew Goddard
- Room — Emma Donoghue
89th Academy Awards (2016)
- Winner
- Moonlight — Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney
- Nominees
- Arrival — Eric Heisserer
- Fences — August Wilson
- Hidden Figures — Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi
- Lion — Luke Davies
90th Academy Awards (2017)
- Winner
- Call Me By Your Name — James Ivory
- Nominees
- The Disaster Artist — Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
- Logan — Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green; James Mangold
- Molly's Game — Aaron Sorkin
- Mudbound — Virgil Williams, Dee Rees
91st Academy Awards (2018)
- Winner
- BlacKkKlansman — Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
- Nominees
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs — Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Can You Ever Forgive Me? — Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty
- If Beale Street Could Talk — Barry Jenkins
- A Star is Born — Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters
92nd Academy Awards (2019)
- Winner
- Jojo Rabbit — Taika Waititi
- Nominees
- The Irishman — Steven Zaillian
- Joker — Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
- Little Women — Greta Gerwig
- The Two Popes — Anthony McCarten
2020s
93rd Academy Awards (2020)
- Winner
- The Father — Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller
- Nominees
- Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan — Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern, Nina Pedrad
- Nomadland — Chloé Zhao
- One Night in Miami… — Kemp Powers
- The White Tiger — Ramin Bahrani
94th Academy Awards (2021)
- Winner
- CODA — Siân Heder
- Nominees
- Drive My Car — Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
- Dune: Part One — Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
- The Lost Daughter — Maggie Gyllenhaal
- The Power of the Dog — Jane Campion
95th Academy Awards (2022)
- Winner
- Women Talking — Sarah Polley
- Nominees
- All Quiet on the Western Front — Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell
- Glass Onion — Rian Johnson
- Living — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Top Gun: Maverick — Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie
96th Academy Awards (2023)
- Winner
- TBD
- Nominees
- American Fiction — Cord Jefferson
- Barbie — Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
- Oppenheimer — Christopher Nolan
- Poor Things — Tony McNamara
- The Zone of Interest — Jonathan Glazer
Related Categories[]
- Best Orginal Story