Starting today, we are publishing our predictions for the nominees in the Best Original Score category of next year’s 98th Academy Awards on the left side column of this page. The selection and ranking is based on our own experience of the scores in context of the movies, historical data, reactions of Academy music branch members and others in the film music community, the level of awards campaigning and awareness of the competing titles, and the response to the movies and their chances in other categories. The order of the titles in the ranking is likely to shift as some movies have yet to be released or are early in their release cycle, more reactions are coming in and the eligibility of all contenders is confirmed (a few titles currently listed in our predictions could face issues in that regard).
The Frontrunners:
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- Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
- One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
- Hamnet – Max Richter
- Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
- Wicked: For Good – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
Runner-ups:
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- Marty Supreme – Daniel Lopatin
- Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
- The Testament of Ann Lee – Daniel Blumberg
- Hedda – Hildur Guðnadóttir
- Jay Kelly – Nicholas Britell
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Michael Giacchino
Other Possibilities:
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- Avatar: Fire and Ash – Simon Franglen
- F1 – Hans Zimmer
- A House of Dynamite – Volker Bertelmann
- Sentimental Value – Hania Rani
- Sirat – Kangding Ray
- Captain America: Brave New World – Laura Karpman
- Highest 2 Lowest – Howard Drossin
- Tron: Ares – Nine Inch Nails
- Train Dreams – Bryce Dessner
Short list voting will begin on Monday, December 8 and the shortlists of twenty titles will be announced on December 16. The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on January 22, 2026 and the awards ceremony will take place on March 15.
