2025 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 senior 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.

More from Variety

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

OSCARS | EMMYS | GRAMMYS | TONYS

2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Original Score

Weekly Commentary (Updated Oct. 24, 2024): Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, was met with critical acclaim when it hit theaters in March. Both critics and audiences lauded the film’s visuals, storytelling, and, most notably, the music score by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer. However, Zimmer’s powerful and evocative score for the sci-fi epic is not eligible to be submitted for this year’s Oscars due to surpassing the Academy’s limit on pre-existing music; therefore, it cannot be nominated in the best original score category.

The Academy’s rule states: “In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.” Since Zimmer’s composition for “Dune: Part Two” incorporates substantial elements from his work on 2021’s “Dune,” it falls outside of the eligibility criteria.

However, Zimmer’s work on “Dune 2” remains in contention to be recognized by other awards bodies, including the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and even the Grammys. Additionally, Zimmer’s score for Steve McQueen’s upcoming World War II drama “Blitz” remains eligible, providing the composer another shot at Academy recognition this year. Zimmer and McQueen have previously collaborated on “Widows” and the best picture winner “12 Years a Slave.”

This latest development adds “Dune: Part Two” to a growing list of exceptional film scores deemed ineligible for Oscar consideration by the Academy’s Music Branch. Other notable examples include Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score for “Arrival” (2016), Cliff Martinez’s work in “Drive” (2011), and Clint Mansell’s music in “Black Swan” (2010). One of the most egregious examples involves composer Jonny Greenwood, whose work on “There Will Be Blood” (2007) and “The Master” (2012) was also disqualified from the Oscars. Interestingly, however, composing legend John Williams has found himself nominated multiple times for sequels and franchise films, including six “Star Wars” films, two for “Harry Potter,” and four for the “Indiana Jones” series.

Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.

The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2. The full rankings are below. All movie listings, titles, distributors, and credited producers are not final and are subject to change.

** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.

Read: You can see all Academy Award predictions in all 23 categories on one page on the Variety Awards Circuit: Oscars.

And the Predicted Nominees Are

Next in Line

Other Contenders

Also In Contention

Eligible Composers (Best Original Score)

** This list is incomplete and not yet finalized. Not all films have distribution or release dates. All are subject to change.

• “Alien: Romulus” (20th Century Studios) — Benjamin Wallfisch

• “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow) — Topshe

• “Anora” (Neon) — Matthew Hearon-Smith

• “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff Entertainment) — Martin Dirkov, David Holmes, Brian Irvine

• “Babygirl” (A24) — Cristobal Tapia de Veer

• “Back to Black” (Focus Features) — Nick Cave, Warren Ellis

• “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Danny Elfman

• “Better Man” (Paramount Pictures) — Batu Sener

• “Blink” (National Geographic) — Tamar-kali

• “Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM) — Chanda Dancy

• “Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Hans Zimmer

• “Bob Marley: One Love” (Paramount Pictures) — Kris Bowers

• “The Book of Clarence” (Sony Pictures) — Jeymes Samuel

• “The Brutalist” (A24) — Daniel Blumberg

• “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

• “Civil War” (A24) — Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow

• “Conclave” (Focus Features) — Volker Bertelmann

• “The Count of Monte Cristo” (Samuel Goldwyn Films) — Jérôme Rebotier

• “Daddio” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Dickon Hinchliffe

• “Day of the Fight” (Falling Forward Films) — Ben MacDiarmid

• “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel Studios) — Rob Simonsen

• “The Deliverance” (Netflix) — Lucas Vidal

• “Despicable Me 4” (Illumination/Universal Pictures) — Heitor Pereira

• “A Different Man” (A24) — Umberto Smerilli

• “Dìdi” (Focus Features) — Giosue Greco

• “Drive-Away Dolls” (Focus Features) — Carter Burwell

• “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Hans Zimmer

• “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Clément Ducol, Camille

• “The End” (Neon) — Joshua Schmidt, Marius de Vries

• “Evil Does Not Exist” (Sideshow) — Eiko Ishibashi

• “Exhibiting Forgiveness” (Roadside Attractions) — Jherek Bischoff

• “Fancy Dance” (Apple Original Films) — Samantha Crain

• “Federer: Twelve Final Days” (Amazon MGM) — Dario Marianelli

• “The Fire Inside” (Amazon MGM) — Tamar-kali

• “Firebrand” (Roadside Attractions) — Dickon Hinchliffe

• “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow) — Gints Zilbalodis, Rihards Zalupe

• “The Front Room” (A24) — Marcelo Zarvos

• “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.) — Tom Holkenborg

• “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — Harry Gregson-Williams

• “Hard Truths” (Bleecker Street) — Gary Yershon

• “Here” (Sony Pictures) — Alan Silvestri

• “Heretic” (A24) — Chris Bacon

• “His Three Daughters” (Netflix) — Rodrigo Amarante

• “Hit Man” (Netflix) — Graham Reynolds

• “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” (Warner Bros.) — John Debney

• “I Saw the TV Glow” (A24) — Alex G

• “I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Warren Ellis

• “The Idea of You” (Amazon MGM) — Siddhartha Khosla

• “IF” (Paramount Pictures) — Michael Giacchino

• “The Imaginary” (Netflix) — Kenji Tamai, Agehasprings

• “In the Summers” (Music Box Films) — Eduardo Cabra

• “Inside Out 2” (Pixar) — Andrea Datzman

• “It Ends With Us” (Sony Pictures) — Rob Simonsen, Duncan Blickenstaff

• “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) — Hildur Guðnadóttir

• “Kinds of Kindness” (Searchlight Pictures) — Jerskin Fendrix

• “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Studios) — John Paesano

• “Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Michael “Mikey J” Asante

• “Lee” (Roadside Attractions) — Alexandre Desplat

• “The Life of Chuck” (No U.S. Distribution) — The Newton Brothers **

• “Longlegs” (Neon) — Zilgi

• “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Warner Bros.) — Stephen Gallagher

• “Love Lies Bleeding” (A24) — Clint Mansell

• “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate) — Osvaldo Golijov

• “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films) — Elena Kats-Chernin

• “Misericordia” (Janus Films) — Marc Verdaguer

• “Moana 2” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foaʻi

• “Monkey Man” (Universal Pictures) — Jed Kurzel

• “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (StudioCanal) — Alexandre Desplat

• “Mothers’ Instinct” (Neon) — Anne Nikitin

• “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nicholas Britell, Mark Mancina

• “My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM) — Tyler Hilton, Jaco Caraco

• “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM/Orion) — Alex Somers, Scott Alario

• “Nightbitch” (Searchlight Pictures) — Nate Heller

• “Nosferatu” (Focus Features) — Robin Carolan

• “Oh, Canada” (Kino Lorber) — Phosphorescent

• “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (A24) — Lucrecia Dalt

• “One Life” (Bleecker Street) — Volker Bertelmann

• “The Order” (Vertical Entertainment) — Jed Kurzel

• “The Outrun” (Sony Pictures Classics) — John Gürtler, Jan Miserre

• “Parthenope” (A24) — Lele Marchitelli

• “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat

• “Piece by Piece” (Focus Features) — Michael Andrews

• “Queer” (A24) — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

• “Rez Ball” (Netflix) — Dan Deacon

• “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Alberto Iglesias

• “Rumours” (Bleecker Street) — Kristian Eidnes Andersen

• “Santosh” (Metrograph Pictures) — Luisa Gerstein

• “Sasquatch Sunset” (Bleecker Street) — The Octopus Project

• “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Jon Batiste

• “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon) — Karzan Mahmood

• “September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Lorenz Dangel

• “Shirley” (Netflix) — Tamar-kali

• “Sing Sing” (A24) — Bryce Dessner

• “The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix) — Aaron Zigman

• “Small Things Like These” (Lionsgate) — Senjan Jansen

• “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (Paramount Pictures) — Tom Holkenborg

• “Spellbound” (Netflix) — Alan Menken

• “Stopmotion” (IFC/Shudder) — Lola de la Mata

• “The Substance” (Mubi) — Raffertie

• “Suncoast” (Searchlight Pictures) — Este Haim and Christopher Stracey

• “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros.) — Ilan Eshkeri

• “That Christmas” (Netflix) — John Powell

• “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures) — Nick Chuba

• “Transformers One” (Paramount Pictures) — Brian Tyler

• “Tuesday” (A24) — Anna Meredith

• “Twisters” (Universal Pictures) — Benjamin Wallfisch

• “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix) — Scot Stafford

• “Unstoppable” (Amazon MGM) — Alexandre Desplat

• “Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony Pictures) — Dan Deacon

• “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix) — Lorne Balfe

• “We Grown Now” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Jay Wadley

• “We Live in Time” (A24) — Bryce Dessner

• “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation) — Kris Bowers

• “Wildcat” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) — Latham Gaines, Shelby Gaines

• “Will & Harper” (Netflix) — Nathan Halpern

• “Woman of the Hour” (Netflix) — Dan Romer, Mike Tuccillo

• “Young Woman and the Sea” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Amelia Warner

More Information (Oscars: Best Original Score)

2024 category winner: “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures) — Ludwig Göransson

2024-2025 Oscars Calendar and Timeline (all dates are subject to change)

• Eligibility period: Jan. 1, 2024 – Dec. 31, 2024

• General entry, best picture, RAISE submission deadline: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024

• Governors Awards: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024

• Preliminary voting begins Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at 9 a.m. PT.

• Preliminary voting ends Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT.

• Oscar Shortlists Announcement: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024

• Eligibility period ends: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024

• Nominations voting begins Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT.

• Nominations voting ends Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.

• Oscar Nominations Announcement: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025

• Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Monday, Feb. 10, 2025

• Final voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT

• Final voting ends: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT

• Scientific and Technical Awards: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025

• 97th Oscars: Sunday, March 2, 2025

Oscars Prediction Categories

About the Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Seventeen branches are represented within the nearly 10,000-person membership. The branches are actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.