2026 Oscars Best Original Score Predictions

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Oscars Best Original Score Commentary (Updated Dec. 14, 2025): The Oscars shortlist has been announced for best original score.

Three women earned spots on the original score shortlist, including current Music Branch governor Lesley Barber for “Diane Warren: Relentless,” Oscar nominee Laura Karpman for “Captain America: Brave New World,” and Academy Award winner Hildur Guðnadóttir for “Hedda.”

The list featured several inspired choices, notably Kangding Ray’s haunting work on “Sirât” and Nathan Johnson’s inventive score for “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” Among the more unexpected selections were Brian Tyler’s “Nuremberg,” signaling a strong overall showing for the film, and Aaron Zigman’s “Truth and Treason,” a historical drama from Angel Studios based on the true story of Helmuth Hübener.

Notable omissions included two high-profile works by Michael Giacchino — “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Zootopia 2” — as well as Volker Bertelmann’s “Ballad of a Small Player,” despite his presence on the list for “A House of Dynamite.” Perhaps the most surprising snub was last year’s winner Daniel Blumberg, whose score for “The Testament of Ann Lee” was left off the list amid a complete shutout for the film.

Twenty films will advance in the original score category from an eligible field of 135 submissions—the lowest number in a decade. Members of the Music Branch will vote to determine both the shortlist and the final nominees. Among the scores that were either not submitted or deemed ineligible: “After the Hunt” (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), “Blue Moon” (Graham Reynolds), “Ella McCay” (Hans Zimmer), “KPop Demon Hunters” (Marcelo Zarvos), and “The Phoenician Scheme” (Alexandre Desplat).

Oscar nomination voting opens Monday, Jan. 12, and closes Friday, Jan. 16. Nominations will be announced Thursday, Jan. 22.

NOTE: All titles, release dates, studios and listed and credited artisans are subject to change.

Image Credit: Agata Grzybowska

window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
Image Credit: ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
Image Credit: Eli Adé

window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});