The Academy Award for Best Sound is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most

euphonic Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century and ...

sound mixing, recording, sound design, and sound editing. The award used to go to the studio sound departments until a rule change in 1969 said it should be awarded to the specific technicians. The first were

Murray Spivack Murray Spivack (September 6, 1903 – May 8, 1994) was an American audio engineering, sound engineer best known as the sound designer for the 1933 film ''King Kong (1933 film), King Kong''. He won an Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award f ...

and Jack Solomon for '' Hello, Dolly!''. It is generally awarded to the production sound mixers, re-recording mixers, and

supervising sound editor A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of a television program, motion picture, video game, or any production involving recorded ...

s of the winning film. In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. Before the 93rd Academy Awards, Best Sound Mixing and

Best Sound Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awa ...

were separate categories. For the second and third years of this category (i.e., the

4th Academy Awards The 4th Academy Awards were held on November 10, 1931 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding films released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931. '' Cimarron'' was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would rema ...

and the

5th Academy Awards The 5th Academy Awards were held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Conrad Nagel. Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and Jul ...

) only the names of the film companies were listed. Paramount Publix Studio Sound Department won in both years.

Winners and nominees

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple nominations and awards for Best Sound Mixing

Multiple awards and nominations for Best Sound Editing

Multiple awards

;4 awards * Richard King * Ben Burtt † ;3 awards *

Charles L. Campbell Charles L. Campbell (August 17, 1930 – June 21, 2013) was an American sound engineer who won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing. He also served as Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) 1984-1987. Early l ...

* Per Hallberg *

Richard Hymns Richard Hymns (born 18 July 1947) is an English sound editor. He won three Academy Awards for his work on ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', ''Jurassic Park'' and ''Saving Private Ryan''. He was also nominated for nine more in the category ...

Gary Rydstrom Gary Roger Rydstrom (born June 29, 1959) is an American sound designer and film director. He has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards for his work in sound for movies, winning 7. Life and career Rydstrom was born in Chicago. He graduated from ...

;2 awards * Bub Asman * Karen Baker Landers * Christopher Boyes * Mike Hopkins *

Stephen Hunter Flick Stephen Hunter Flick (born June 21, 1949, in Evanston, Illinois) is an American sound editor with over 170 film credits. Oscar Nominations All of these are in Best Sound Editing, with one being a Special achievement award. * 1982 Academy Award ...

† * Alan Robert Murray *

Paul N. J. Ottosson Paul N. J. Ottosson (born 25 February 1966) is a Swedish sound designer. The recipient of numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, he has worked on more than 130 films since 1995. Selected ...

George Watters II George Watters II (born September 19, 1949) is an American retired sound editor with more than 80 feature film credits. He has won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing twice, for ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990) and for ''Pearl Harbor'' ...

* Ethan Van der Ryn

Multiple nominations

;10 nominations * Alan Robert Murray ;9 nominations *

;8 nominations *

* Ben Burtt † ;7 nominations *

Wylie Stateman Wylie Stateman (born November 20, 1957) is an American sound director, supervising sound editor, sound designer, and post production media entrepreneur. Stateman has supervised over 150 sound projects, resulting in 9 Academy Award nominations, 6 B ...

;6 nominations * Bub Asman * Christopher Boyes * Richard King *

Michael Silvers Michael Silvers is a sound editor who has often worked with Pixar. He has worked on nearly every Pixar feature film. He has over 110 credits to his name. Oscar history All of these films were for Best Sound Editing. * 74th Academy Awards-Nomi ...

* Ethan Van der Ryn ;5 nominations *

† *

Mark Mangini Mark Mangini (born 1956) is an American sound editor with over 125 film credits. He won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Sound Editing along with David White for their work on '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. Mangini is renowned for recording and ed ...

Bruce Stambler Bruce Stambler is a sound editor. He won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for the drama thriller film ''The Ghost and the Darkness'' (1996). This marked both his first win and fifth consecutive nomination in the category, after being re ...

* Matthew Wood ;4 nominations *

Lon Bender Lon Ethan Bender (born July 22, 1959) is an American supervising sound editor, business executive and inventor. Bender won the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing for his work on '' Braveheart'' (1995). He has been recognized for numer ...

* Per Hallberg *

John Leveque John Leveque (born March 12, 1944) is a sound editor. He has won two BAFTAs for sound and has been nominated by the Motion Picture Sound Editors for sound. He has worked on over 70 films. Oscar history All four nominations are for Best Sound E ...

* Randy Thom ;3 nominations * Richard L. Anderson † * Mike Hopkins * Skip Lievsay *

Mark Stoeckinger Mark Stoeckinger is an American sound editor. He has over 80 film credits. In addition to 3 Oscar nominations, he has been nominated for the Motion Picture Sound Editors a total of 10 times, winning once with ''Gladiator''. Oscar Nominations Al ...

;2 nominations *

Erik Aadahl Erik Aadahl (born September 16, 1976) is an American sound editor. He is best known for providing Godzilla's roar in the 2014 film of the same name. He also voiced Bumblebee in '' Transformers: The Last Knight''. Career He graduated from the ...

* Karen Baker Landers * Tom Bellfort * Steve Boeddeker * Gloria Borders * Robert Bratton *

Brent Burge Brent Burge is a sound editor. Burge was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for the 2013 film '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'' with fellow sound editor Chris Ward and for the 2014 film '' The Hobbit: The Battle of the ...

Glenn Freemantle Glenn Freemantle is a British sound editor and sound designer. He was nominated at the 81st Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing for his work on the film ''Slumdog Millionaire''. He received a second nomination and his first win in the same ca ...

* Eugene Gearty *

Cecelia Hall Cecelia Hall (Cece Hall) is an Oscar winning sound designer and sound editor. She was the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing for ''Top Gun'' and went on to win the Oscar for ''The Hunt for Red October, ...

* Robert G. Henderson *

Martin Hernández Martin Hernández (born 1 June 1964) is a Mexican sound editor and designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work on the films '' Birdman'' (2014) and '' The Revenant'' (2015), the latter of which also earned him a British Academy ...

* Mildred Iatrou Morgan * Ren Klyce * Ai-Ling Lee * Tom Myers * Walter Rossi *

Philip Stockton Philip Stockton is a sound editor. On February 26, 2012, he won an Academy Award for the movie ''Hugo''. He also won a 2011 BAFTA for his work on that film and also won Emmy Award for Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period ...

* Oliver Tarney * Gwendolyn Yates Whittle † = includes special achievement awards

Notes

References

{{Academy Award Best Sound Editing Sound * Film sound awards