Ludwig Göransson’s Potential Oscar Wins: 6 Records He Could Break with ‘Sinners’ Score

First Three-Time Winner for Best Original Score in the 21st Century

Ludwig Göransson has made history by winning the Oscar for Best Original Score for Black Panther in 2019 and for Oppenheimer in 2024. He is currently tied with Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain and Babel), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network and Soul), and Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water) for the most scoring Oscars in this century.

If Desplat were to win again, he would surpass Göransson as the first three-time winner in this category for the 21st century.

Ryan Coogler directed both Black Panther and Sinners. Should Coogler’s score for Sinners win, he would become the first composer to collaborate with the same director to win two Oscars for Best Original Score since Shore, who won for the two aforementioned The Lord of the Rings films directed by Peter Jackson.

First Composer in Nearly Two Decades to Win Two Best Original Score Oscars in Three Years

Göransson would be the first composer to return to the winners’ podium this swiftly since Gustavo Santaolalla achieved back-to-back Oscars in 2006 and 2007 for Brokeback Mountain and Babel.

Second-Youngest Composer in Oscar History to Win Three Oscars in Scoring Categories

At just 41 years old, Göransson is the second-youngest composer to win three Oscars in scoring categories. The youngest was André Previn, who was 35 when he won his third Oscar for Irma LaDouce in 1964. Previn’s earlier wins were for Gigi and Porgy and Bess.

Second Composer to Achieve 3-0 in Scoring Categories

Göransson has won the first two times he was nominated for Best Original Score, for Black Panther and Oppenheimer. He is competing to become the first individual to win on his first three nominations in scoring categories since Alan Menken, who won on his first four nominations for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas.

Third Living Composer with Three or More Scoring Oscars

Göransson would become the 16th composer with three or more Oscars in scoring categories, but most of these individuals are no longer living. The only living three-time winners are John Williams, 94, who has secured five scoring Oscars, and Alan Menken, 76, who has four.

Fourth Person Born in Sweden to Win Three Oscars (in Any Category)

If Göransson wins, he would join the ranks of those born in Sweden who have earned three Oscars. Previous winners include actress Ingrid Bergman, sound editor Per Hallberg, and sound editor and mixer Paul N.J. Ottosson.

Bergman won Academy Awards for Best Actress for Gaslight (1945) and Anastasia (1957), along with a Best Supporting Actress award for Murder on the Orient Express (1975).

Director Ingmar Bergman helmed three films that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film—The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, and Fanny and Alexander. However, his only personal Oscar was the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award received in 1970.