Academy Award for Best Sound Editing

The Academy Award for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound design or sound editing. Sound editing is the creation of sound effects (such as foley). The award is usually received by the Supervising Sound Editors of the film, sometimes accompanied by the Sound Designers.

The nominations process previously took place in two phases. The sound branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shortlisted seven films during the early 1980s until 2006. Clips were screened at a "bake-off" and branch members voted using a weighted ballot to select up to three nominees. In a rule change on June 30, 2006, the bake-off for the Sound Branch was eliminated. The usual process of a "preferential ballot" submission was instituted resulting in five nominees each year.

During certain years, the highest award given for this category may be a "Special Achievement Award", not an Oscar. Academy rules require that a minimum number of films must be nominated in a category for an Academy Award to be granted; when the number of qualifying nominees is insufficient, a Special Achievement Award is granted instead.

This is a list of films that have won or been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects (1963–1967, 1975), Sound Effects Editing (1977, 1981–1999), or Sound Editing (1979, 2000–present). See Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for a corresponding list of winners for Best Sound.

Winners and nominees
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Superlatives

 * Richard King have received the most wins (4)
 * Ben Burtt, Charles L. Campbell, Per Hallberg, Richard Hymns, and Gary Rydstrom have received the most wins (3), including Special Achievement Awards.
 * Wylie Stateman has the most nominations without a single win. He has been nominated eight times.
 * Richard Hymns and Alan Robert Murray have the most nominations (9).

Multiple wins and nominations
Note: Ben Burtt and Stephen Hunter Flick both have Special Achievement wins in addition to their competitive wins. These have been included with their win and nomination count. The only sound editor to date who has a Special Achievement win and has an Oscar nomination but not a competitive win is Richard L. Anderson.

Multiple wins

 * 4 wins
 * Richard King


 * 3 wins
 * Ben Burtt †
 * Charles L. Campbell
 * Per Hallberg
 * Richard Hymns
 * Gary Rydstrom


 * 2 wins
 * Bub Asman
 * Karen Baker Landers
 * Christopher Boyes
 * Mike Hopkins
 * Stephen Hunter Flick †
 * Alan Robert Murray
 * Paul N. J. Ottosson
 * George Watters II
 * Ethan Van der Ryn

Multiple nominations

 * 9 nominations
 * Richard Hymns
 * Alan Robert Murray


 * 8 nominations
 * Gary Rydstrom
 * George Watters II


 * 7 nominations
 * Ben Burtt †
 * Wylie Stateman


 * 6 nominations
 * Bub Asman
 * Christopher Boyes
 * Richard King
 * Michael Silvers
 * Ethan Van der Ryn


 * 5 nominations
 * Stephen Hunter Flick †
 * Mark Mangini
 * Bruce Stambler


 * 4 nominations
 * Lon Bender
 * Charles L. Campbell
 * Per Hallberg
 * John Leveque
 * Randy Thom
 * Matthew Wood


 * 3 nominations
 * Richard L. Anderson †
 * Mike Hopkins
 * Skip Lievsay
 * Paul N. J. Ottosson
 * Mark Stoeckinger


 * 2 nominations
 * Erik Aadahl
 * Karen Baker Landers
 * Tom Bellfort
 * Steve Boeddeker
 * Gloria Borders
 * Robert Bratton
 * Brent Burge
 * Glenn Freemantle
 * Eugene Gearty
 * Cecelia Hall
 * Robert G. Henderson
 * Martin Hernández
 * Mildred Iatrou Morgan
 * Ren Klyce
 * Ai-Ling Lee
 * Tom Myers
 * Walter Rossi
 * Philip Stockton
 * Oliver Tarney
 * Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

† = includes special achievement wins.