USA
Writers Guild of America Awards
The Writers Guild of America Awards, presented by the Writers Guild of America, honour screenwriting in film and television. The film categories, Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, have been presented since 1949, and until 1983 each was split into separate drama and comedy awards. Only the winners are listed here, from 1969 on.
Winners of the Writers Guild of America Awards (USA), year by year. Names link to the film or person page when they are on Sinekatalog. Compiled from Wikidata.
Best Original Screenplay Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
57 years listed (1970–2026); some years may be missing from the source data.
| Year | Film | Director / winner | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sinners |  Ryan Coogler | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2025 | Anora |  Sean Baker | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2024 | The Holdovers | David Hemingson | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2023 | Everything Everywhere All at Once |  Daniel Kwan  Daniel Scheinert | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2022 | Don't Look Up (2021) |  Adam McKay David Sirota | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2021 | Promising Young Woman |  Emerald Fennell | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2020 | Parasite |  Bong Joon-ho Han Jin-won | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2019 | Eighth Grade |  Bo Burnham | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2018 | Get Out |  Jordan Peele | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2017 | Moonlight |  Barry Jenkins Tarell Alvin McCraney | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2016 | Spotlight |  Tom McCarthy  Josh Singer | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2015 | The Grand Budapest Hotel |  Wes Anderson Hugo Guinness | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2014 | Her |  Spike Jonze | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2013 | Zero Dark Thirty |  Mark Boal | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2012 | Midnight in Paris |  Woody Allen | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2011 | Inception |  Christopher Nolan | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2010 | The Hurt Locker | Mark Boal | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2009 | Milk |  Dustin Lance Black | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2008 | Juno | Diablo Cody | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2007 | Little Miss Sunshine | Michael Arndt | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2006 | Crash (2005) |  Paul Haggis Bobby Moresco | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2005 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Pierre Bismuth  Michel Gondry Charlie Kaufman | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2004 | Lost in Translation |  Sofia Coppola | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2003 | Bowling for Columbine |  Michael Moore | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2002 | Gosford Park |  Julian Fellowes | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2001 | You Can Count on Me |  Kenneth Lonergan | Best Original Screenplay |
| 2000 | American Beauty | Alan Ball | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1999 | Shakespeare in Love | Marc Norman  Tom Stoppard | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1998 | As Good as It Gets |  James L. Brooks Mark Andrus | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1997 | Fargo |  Joel Coen Ethan Coen | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1996 | Braveheart | Randall Wallace | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1995 | Four Weddings and a Funeral |  Richard Curtis | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1994 | The Piano |  Jane Campion | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1993 | The Crying Game |  Neil Jordan | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1992 | Thelma & Louise |  Callie Khouri | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1991 | Avalon (1990) |  Barry Levinson | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1990 | Crimes and Misdemeanors | Woody Allen | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1989 | Bull Durham |  Ron Shelton | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1988 | Moonstruck |  John Patrick Shanley | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1987 | Hannah and Her Sisters | Woody Allen | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1986 | Witness | William Kelley Earl W. Wallace | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1985 | Broadway Danny Rose | Woody Allen | Best Original Screenplay |
| 1984 | Tender Mercies |  Horton Foote | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| The Big Chill |  Lawrence Kasdan Barbara Benedek | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1983 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |  Melissa Mathison | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Tootsie | Don McGuire Larry Gelbart Murray Schisgal | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1982 | Reds |  Warren Beatty Trevor Griffiths | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Arthur | Steve Gordon | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1981 | Melvin and Howard |  Bo Goldman | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Private Benjamin | Nancy Meyers Harvey Miller Charles Shyer | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1980 | The China Syndrome | Mike Gray T. S. Cook  James Bridges | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Breaking Away | Steve Tesich | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1979 | Coming Home | Nancy Dowd Robert C. Jones  Waldo Salt | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Movie Movie | Larry Gelbart Sheldon Keller | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1978 | The Turning Point (1977) |  Arthur Laurents | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Annie Hall | Woody Allen Marshall Brickman | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1977 | Network |  Paddy Chayefsky | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| The Bad News Bears | Bill Lancaster | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1976 | Dog Day Afternoon | Frank Pierson | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Shampoo |  Robert Towne Warren Beatty | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1975 | Chinatown | Robert Towne | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Blazing Saddles |  Mel Brooks Norman Steinberg Andrew Bergman Richard Pryor Alan Uger | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1974 | Save the Tiger |  Steve Shagan | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| A Touch of Class |  Melvin Frank Jack Rose | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1973 | The Candidate (1972) | Jeremy Larner | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| What's Up, Doc? |  Peter Bogdanovich  Buck Henry David Newman  Robert Benton | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1972 | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Penelope Gilliatt | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| The Hospital | Paddy Chayefsky | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1971 | Patton |  Francis Ford Coppola Edmund H. North | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| The Out-of-Towners |  Neil Simon | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1970 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid |  William Goldman | Best Original Screenplay – Drama |
| Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice |  Paul Mazursky Larry Tucker | Best Original Screenplay – Comedy |
Best Adapted Screenplay
57 years listed (1970–2026); some years may be missing from the source data.
| Year | Film | Director / winner | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | One Battle After Another |  Paul Thomas Anderson | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2025 | Nickel Boys |  RaMell Ross Joslyn Barnes | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2024 | American Fiction |  Cord Jefferson | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2023 | Women Talking |  Sarah Polley | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2022 | CODA |  Siân Heder | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2021 | Borat Subsequent Moviefilm |  Sacha Baron Cohen | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2020 | Jojo Rabbit |  Taika Waititi | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2019 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? |  Nicole Holofcener Jeff Whitty | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2018 | Call Me by Your Name |  James Ivory | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2017 | Arrival |  Eric Heisserer | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2016 | The Big Short | Adam McKay Charles Randolph | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2015 | The Imitation Game | Graham Moore | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2014 | Captain Phillips |  Billy Ray | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2013 | Argo | Chris Terrio | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2012 | The Descendants |  Alexander Payne Nat Faxon Jim Rash | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2011 | The Social Network |  Aaron Sorkin | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2010 | Up in the Air |  Jason Reitman Sheldon Turner | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2009 | Slumdog Millionaire |  Simon Beaufoy | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2008 | No Country for Old Men | Joel Coen Ethan Coen | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2007 | The Departed |  William Monahan | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2006 | Brokeback Mountain | Larry McMurtry Diana Ossana | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2005 | Sideways | Alexander Payne Jim Taylor | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2004 | American Splendor |  Shari Springer Berman  Robert Pulcini | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2003 | The Hours |  David Hare | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2002 | A Beautiful Mind |  Akiva Goldsman | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2001 | Traffic (2000) | Stephen Gaghan | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2000 | Election (1999) | Alexander Payne Jim Taylor | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1999 | Out of Sight | Scott Frank | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1998 | L.A. Confidential |  Curtis Hanson Brian Helgeland | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1997 | Sling Blade |  Billy Bob Thornton | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1996 | Sense and Sensibility |  Emma Thompson | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Eric Roth | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1994 | Schindler's List |  Steven Zaillian | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1993 | The Player |  Michael Tolkin | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1992 | The Silence of the Lambs | Ted Tally | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1991 | Dances with Wolves | Michael Blake | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1990 | Driving Miss Daisy | Alfred Uhry | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1989 | Dangerous Liaisons | Christopher Hampton | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1988 | Roxanne |  Steve Martin | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1987 | A Room with a View | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1986 | Prizzi's Honor |  Richard Condon Janet Roach | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1985 | The Killing Fields |  Bruce Robinson | Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 1984 | Reuben, Reuben | Julius J. Epstein | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Terms of Endearment | James L. Brooks | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1983 | Missing |  Costa-Gavras Donald E. Stewart | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Victor/Victoria (1982) |  Blake Edwards | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1982 | On Golden Pond | Ernest Thompson Donald E. Stewart | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Rich and Famous | Gerald Ayres | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1981 | Ordinary People (1980) | Alvin Sargent | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Airplane! | Jim Abrahams David Zucker  Jerry Zucker | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1980 | Kramer vs. Kramer | Robert Benton | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Being There |  Jerzy Kosinski | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1979 | Midnight Express |  Oliver Stone | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Heaven Can Wait (1978) |  Elaine May Warren Beatty | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1978 | Julia | Alvin Sargent | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Oh, God! | Larry Gelbart | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1977 | All the President's Men | William Goldman | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Frank Waldman Blake Edwards | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1976 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Lawrence Hauben Bo Goldman | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| The Sunshine Boys | Neil Simon | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1975 | The Godfather Part II | Francis Ford Coppola Mario Puzo | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | Mordecai Richler Lionel Chetwynd | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1974 | Serpico | Waldo Salt Norman Wexler | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Paper Moon | Alvin Sargent | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1973 | The Godfather |  Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Cabaret | Jay Presson Allen | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1972 | The French Connection |  Ernest Tidyman | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Kotch | John Paxton | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1971 | I Never Sang for My Father |  Robert Anderson | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| M*A*S*H | Ring Lardner Jr. | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy | |
| 1970 | Midnight Cowboy | Waldo Salt | Best Adapted Screenplay – Drama |
| Goodbye, Columbus | Arnold Schulman | Best Adapted Screenplay – Comedy |
