Best Adapted Screenplay

This page lists all Oscar nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay. Reviews of films on the original 1001 Films list are linked here.
As I finish each set of films for a given year and category, I will revisit those films and determine which film I think should have won and why. Those posts will be linked here as well.

Best Adapted Screenplay
1930/1931: What should have won?
Cimarron (winner)
The Criminal Code
Holiday
Little Caesar
Skippy

1931/1932: What should have won?
Arrowsmith
Bad Girl (winner)
Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde

1932/1933: What should have won?
Lady for a Day
Little Women (winner)
State Fair

1934: What should have won?
It Happened One Night (winner)
The Thin Man
Viva Villa!

1935: What should have won?
Captain Blood (write-in)
The Informer (winner)
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Mutiny on the Bounty

1936: What should have won?
After the Thin Man
Dodsworth
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
My Man Godfrey
The Story of Louis Pasteur (winner)

1937: What should have won?
The Awful Truth
Captains Courageous
The Life of Emile Zola (winner)
Stage Door
A Star is Born

1938: What should have won?
Boys Town
The Citadel
Four Daughters
Pygmalion (winner)
You Can't Take it With You

1939: What should have won?
Gone with the Wind (winner)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Wuthering Heights

1940: What should have won?
The Grapes of Wrath
Kitty Foyle
The Long Voyage Home
The Philadelphia Story (winner)
Rebecca

1941: What should have won?
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (winner)
Hold Back the Dawn
How Green Was My Valley
The Little Foxes
The Maltese Falcon

1942: Who should have won?
49th Parallel
Mrs. Miniver (winner)
The Pride of the Yankees
Random Harvest
The Talk of the Town

1943: What should have won?
Casablanca (winner)
Holy Matrimony
The More the Merrier
The Song of Bernadette
Watch on the Rhine

1944: What should have won?
Double Indemnity
Gaslight
Going My Way (winner)
Laura
Meet Me in St. Louis

1945: What should have won?
The Lost Weekend (winner)
Mildred Pierce
Pride of the Marines
Story of G.I. Joe
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

1946: What should have won?
Anna and the King of Siam
The Best Years of Our Lives (winner)
Brief Encounter
The Killers
Rome, Open City

1947: What should have won?
Boomerang
Crossfire
Gentlemen's Agreement
Great Expectations
Miracle on 34th Street (winner)

1948: What should have won?
A Foreign Affair
Johnny Belinda
The Search
The Snake Pit
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (winner)

1949: What should have won?
All the King's Men
Bicycle Thieves
Champion
The Fallen Idol
A Letter to Three Wives (winner)

1950: What should have won?
All About Eve (winner)
The Asphalt Jungle
Born Yesterday
Broken Arrow
Father of the Bride

1951: What should have won?
The African Queen
Detective Story
A Place in the Sun (winner)
La Ronde
A Streetcar Named Desire

1952: What should have won?
5 Fingers
The Bad and the Beautiful (winner)
High Noon
The Man in the White Suit
The Quiet Man

1953: What should have won?
The Cruel Sea
From Here to Eternity (winner)
Lili
Roman Holiday
Shane

1954: What should have won?
The Caine Mutiny
The Country Girl (winner)
Rear Window
Sabrina
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

1955: What should have won?
Bad Day at Black Rock
Blackboard Jungle
East of Eden
Love Me or Leave Me
Marty (winner)

1956: What should have won?
Around the World in 80 Days (winner)
Baby Doll
Friendly Persuasion
Giant
Lust for Life

1957: What should have won?
12 Angry Men
The Bridge on the River Kwai (winner)
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
Peyton Place
Sayonara

1958: What should have won?
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Gigi (winner)
The Horse's Mouth
I Want to Live!
Separate Tables

1959: What should have won?
Anatomy of a Murder
Ben-Hur
The Nun's Story
Room at the Top (winner)
Some Like it Hot

1960: What should have won?
Elmer Gantry (winner)
Inherit the Wind
Sons and Lovers
The Sundowners
Tunes of Glory

1961: What should have won?
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Guns of Navarone
The Hustler
Judgment at Nuremburg (winner)
West Side Story

1962: What should have won?
David and Lisa
Lawrence of Arabia
Lolita
The Miracle Worker
To Kill a Mockingbird (winner)

1963: What should have won?
Captain Newman, M.D.
Hud
Lilies of the Field
Sundays and Cybele
Tom Jones (winner)

1964: What should have won?
Becket (winner)
Dr. Strangelove
Mary Poppins
My Fair Lady
Zorba the Greek

1965: What should have won?
Cat Ballou
The Collector
Doctor Zhivago (winner)
Ship of Fools
A Thousand Clowns

1966: What should have won?
Alfie
A Man for All Seasons (winner)
The Professionals
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1967: What should have won?
Cool Hand Luke
The Graduate
In Cold Blood
In the Heat of the Night (winner)
Ulysses

1968: What should have won?
The Lion in Winter (winner)
The Odd Couple
Oliver!
Rachel, Rachel
Rosemary's Baby

1969: What should have won?
Anne of the Thousand Days
Goodbye, Columbus
Midnight Cowboy (winner)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Z

1970: What should have won?
Airport
I Never Sang for My Father
Lovers and Other Strangers
M*A*S*H (winner)
Women in Love

1971: What should have won?
A Clockwork Orange
The Conformist
The French Connection (winner)
The Garden of the Finzi Continis
The Last Picture Show

1972: What should have won?
Cabaret
The Emigrants
The Godfather (winner)
Pete 'n' Tillie
Sounder

1973: What should have won?
The Exorcist (winner)
The Last Detail
The Paper Chase
Paper Moon
Serpico

1974: What should have won?
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
The Godfather Part II (winner)
Lenny
Murder on the Orient Express
Young Frankenstein

1975: What should have won?
Barry Lyndon
The Man Who Would Be King
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (winner)
Profumo di Donna
The Sunshine Boys

1976: What should have won?
All the President's Men (winner)
Bound for Glory
Fellini's Casanova
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Voyage of the Damned

1977: What should have won?
Equus
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Julia (winner)
Oh, God!
That Obscure Object of Desire

1978: What should have won?
Bloodbrothers
California Suite
Heaven Can Wait
Midnight Express (winner)
Same Time, Next Year

1979: What should have won?
Apocalypse Now
La Cage aux Folles
Kramer vs. Kramer (winner)
A Little Romance
Norma Rae

1980: What should have won?
Breaker Morant
Coal Miner's Daughter
The Elephant Man
Ordinary People (winner)
The Stunt Man

1981: What should have won?
The French Lieutenant's Woman
On Golden Pond (winner)
Pennies from Heaven
Prince of the City
Ragtime

1982: What should have won?
Das Boot
Missing (winner)
Sophie's Choice
The Verdict
Victor/Victoria

1983: What should have won?
Betrayal
The Dresser
Educating Rita
Reuben, Reuben
Terms of Endearment (winner)

1984: What should have won?
Amadeus (winner)
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
The Killing Fields
A Passage to India
A Soldier's Story

1985: What should have won?
The Color Purple
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Out of Africa (winner)
Prizzi's Honor
The Trip to Bountiful

1986: What should have won?
Children of a Lesser God
The Color of Money
Crimes of the Heart
A Room with a View (winner)
Stand by Me

1987: What should have won?
The Dead
Fatal Attraction
Full Metal Jacket
The Last Emperor (winner)
My Life as a Dog

1988: What should have won?
The Accidental Tourist
Dangerous Liaisons (winner)
Gorillas in the Mist
Little Dorrit
The Unbearable Lightness of Being

1989: What should have won?
Born on the Fourth of July
Driving Miss Daisy (winner)
Enemies, a Love Story
Field of Dreams
My Left Foot

1990: What should have won?
Awakenings
Dances with Wolves (winner)
Goodfellas
The Grifters
Reversal of Fortune

1991: What should have won?
Europa Europa
Fried Green Tomatoes
JFK
The Prince of Tides
The Silence of the Lambs (winner)

1992: What should have won?
Enchanted April
Howards End (winner)
The Player
A River Runs Through It
Scent of a Woman

1993: What should have won?
The Age of Innocence
In the Name of the Father
The Remains of the Day
Schindler's List
Shadowlands

1994: What should have won?
Forrest Gump (winner)
The Madness of King George
Nobody's Fool
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption

1995: What should have won?
Apollo 13
Babe
Leaving Las Vegas
Il Postino
Sense and Sensibility (winner)

1996: What should have won?
The Crucible
The English Patient
Hamlet
Sling Blade (winner)
Trainspotting

1997: What should have won?
Donnie Brasco
L.A. Confidential (winner)
The Sweet Hereafter
Wag the Dog
The Wings of the Dove

1998: What should have won?
Gods and Monsters (winner)
Out of Sight
Primary Colors
A Simple Plan
The Thin Red Line

1999: What should have won?
The Cider House Rules (winner)
Election
The Green Mile
The Insider
The Talented Mr. Ripley

2000: What should have won?
Chocolat
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
O Brother, Where Art Thou
Traffic (winner)
Wonder Boys

2001: What should have won?
A Beautiful Mind (winner)
Ghost World
In the Bedroom
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Shrek

2002: What should have won?
About a Boy
Adaptation
Chicago
The Hours
The Pianist (winner)

2003: What should have won?
American Splendor
City of God
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (winner)
Mystic River
Seabiscuit

2004: What should have won?
Before Sunset
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby
The Motorcycle Diaries
Sideways (winner)

2005: What should have won?
Brokeback Mountain (winner)
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich

2006: What should have won?
Borat
Children of Men
The Departed (winner)
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

2007: What should have won?
Atonement
Away from Her
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men (winner)
There Will Be Blood

2008: What should have won?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire (winner)

2009: What should have won?
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious (winner)
Up in the Air

2010: What should have won?
127 Hours
The Social Network (winner)
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

2011: What should have won?
The Descendants (winner)
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012: What should have won?
Argo (winner)
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

2013: What should have won?
12 Years a Slave (winner)
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

2014: What should have won?
American Sniper
The Imitation Game (winner)
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

2015: What should have won?
The Big Short (winner)
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

2016: What should have won?
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight (winner)

2017: What should have won?
Call Me by Your Name (winner)
The Disaster Artist
Logan
Molly's Game
Mudbound

2018: What should have won?
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman (winner)
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star is Born

2019: What should have won?
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit (winner)
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes

2020: What should have won?
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father (winner)
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger

2021: What should have won?
CODA (winner)
Drive My Car
Dune
The Lost Daughter
The Power of the Dog

2022
All Quiet on the Western Front
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Living
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking (winner)