The 2024 Oscars is the last opportunity to break Indiana Jones‘s 42-year losing streak in a key category. The first film in the franchise, Raiders of the Lost Arc, was released in 1981. It earned eight Academy Award nominations and four wins for editing, production design, sound mixing, and visual effects. Then, in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came out, which received two nominations and one win for its incredible visual effects.
The third film in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, received four nominations and won one Oscar for Best Sound Effects. Then the 2023 movie Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which is the last film in the franchise, was nominated for Best Original Score at the 96th Academy Awards. If longtime composer John Williams pulls off a feat at this year’s Oscars, he’ll finally accomplish something he never has before.
John Williams Has 4 Oscar Nominations For Indiana Jones (But 0 Wins So Far)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is John Williams’s fourth nomination for his score in an Indiana Jones movie, yet he has never clinched the award. Williams has been nominated for Best Original Score for Raiders of the Lost Arc, Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, and now Dial of Destiny. If John Williams were to win, it would mark the end of a 42-year-long losing streak for Indiana Jones in the Best Original Score category.
Williams’s first film score was for the movie Daddy-O in 1958, and it wasn’t until 1974 that he collaborated with Steven Spielberg for the first time on The Sugarland Express. Their partnership has spanned 29 films, with Williams helping shape iconic Spielberg movies like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones through his exceptional compositions. Williams has 54 Oscar nominations and five wins for the films Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler’s List, three of which were directed by Spielberg.
Despite Indiana Jones‘ iconic score and four nominations, it has yet to secure an Oscar, being beaten out by the films Chariots of Fire, A Passage to India, and The Little Mermaid. A victory at this year’s Academy Awards would be William’s first win for his Indiana Jones score. This would give him an award for a franchise he started working on 42 years ago.
Indiana Jones Best Original Score Nominations | ||
|---|---|---|
Year | Nominated Indiana Jones Movie | Actual Winner |
1982 | Raiders of the Lost Arc | Chariots of Fire |
1985 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | A Passage to India |
1990 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | The Little Mermaid |
Will John Williams Win Best Original Score For Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny?
Even though John Williams secured a nomination for Best Original Score at the 96th Academy Awards for his work on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, it seems unlikely that he will emerge victorious. William’s 2024 Oscar nomination was a surprise, so he isn’t considered a frontrunner for the award. He faces tough competition from the scores in American Fiction, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Killers of the Flower Moon.
Looking at the 2024 Golden Globe winners, Ludwig Goransson took home the award at the end of the night for Best Original Score for Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer is set to win big at the Academy Awards with 13 nominations, meaning Goransson will likely win the Oscar as well. With this being the final film in the Indiana Jones franchise, this nomination represents William’s last opportunity to clinch the award. However, given the tough competition and the way the award season is trending, it appears unlikely that Williams will secure an Oscar for his work on Indiana Jones.
