The Lion King received four Academy Award nominations.
At the 67th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 1994, the movie was recognized in four categories. Hans Zimmer was nominated for Best Original Score, while three songs—“Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”—were nominated for Best Original Song. The film won two of those four nominations: Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
A common counting mistake is to remember only the winning categories and answer two. Another is to count the three nominated songs but overlook Zimmer’s score, producing three. The correct total includes every nomination, whether or not the film won.
The song nominations were credited to composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” ultimately prevailed over the other two Lion King songs, giving the film a particularly strong showing in the music categories.