Category: Film Music News

Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 23, 2025)

Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the live-action reimagining of Disney’s animated feature Lilo & Stitch directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and starring Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, Billy Magnussen, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere and Zach Galifianakis. The film’s original music composed by Dan Romer (Station Eleven, Luca, Superman & Lois, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Maniac, Beasts of No Nation, The Good Doctor). Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as several songs this past Wednesday. Check out our previous article for the full album details and to learn more about the Walt Disney Pictures release and also click here to check out the project’s music team credits.

Also opening wide is the action sequel Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Pom Klementieff, Holt McCallany, Mariela Garriga, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Shea Whigham and Angela Bassett. Max Aruj (The Ice Road, Crawl, Lansky, Mech Cadets, iBoy) and Alfie Godfrey (Marching Powder, A Town Called Malice) have composed the film’s original music. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. La-La Land Records will release a CD version and Mutant will release a double vinyl edition. Click here for the full album details and for more information about the movie, which is being released by Paramount Pictures.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 16, 2025)

Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the horror movie Final Destination: Bloodlines directed by Zach Lipovsky & Adam B. Stein and starring Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Brec Bassinger, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Richard Harmon and Tony Todd.  The film’s original music is composed by Tim Wynn (Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Freaks, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, XCOM 2, Warhawk, Mech-X4, The Starving Games). Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our previous article for the full album details and to learn more about the New Line Cinema production, which is being released by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Also opening wide is the musical psychological thriller Hurry Up Tomorrow co-written and directed by Trey Edward Shults and starring Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd), Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. Tesfaye has also co-scored the movie with Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) (Uncut Gems, Good Time, The Mountain, The Bling Ring) have composed the film’s original score. No word on a score release. XO & Republic Records have released The Weeknd’s companion album of the same title this past January (visit Amazon or any other major digital music services to stream/download). Check out our scoring assignment announcement for more information about the Lionsgate release.

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Charles Strouse (1928-2025)

Charles Strouse passed away today at age 96 at his home in New York. The composer/lyricist, best known for his work on Broadway musicals such as Bye Bye Birdie, Annie & Applause, has also composed numerous songs and scores for film and television. His scoring credits include Arthur Penn’s 1967 classic Bonnie and Clyde, for which he received a Grammy Award nomination, as well as Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1970 western There Was a Crooked Man…, William Friedkin’s 1968 musical comedy The Night They Raided Minsky’s and Sidney Lumet’s 1980 comedy Just Tell Me What You Want. He also co-wrote Those Were the Days, the theme song for the  sitcom All in the Family, and penned original songs for Don Bluth’s 1989 animated classic All Dogs Go to Heaven. Strouse was honored with a Primetime Emmy Award for the song Let’s Settle Down (written with Lee Adams) for 1995’s television adaptation of Bye Bye Birdie.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 9, 2025)

Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the action thriller Shadow Force co-written and directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Mark Strong and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The film’s original music is composed by Craig DeLeon (Strange Darling, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, A Man in Full, Fatal Attraction, End of the Road, Velma, Music, Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul). Lionsgate Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our previous article for the full album details and to learn more about the Lionsgate release.

Also opening wide is the action thriller Fight or Flight directed by James Madigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff, Marko Zaror, Charithra Chandran and Julian Kostov. Paul Saunderson (Trying, Love at First Sight, Three Identical Strangers, Starfish, The More You Ignore Me, Picture This, The Grand Duke of Corsica) has composed the film’s original music. Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as a song performed by Stephen Warwick this past March when the movie premiered in the UK. Click here for the full album details and for more information about the movie, which is being distributed stateside by Vertical.

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BMI Announces Launch of Composer Lab to Foster the Next Generation of Media Composers

BMI today announced the launch of its inaugural Composer Lab, designed to provide emerging composers with a one-of-a-kind experience to foster artistic growth and professional development. Under the guidance of composer (and former director of the Sundance Film Music Program) Peter Golub, and BMI’s VP of Film, TV & Visual Media Tracy McKnight, the program will select ten composers to participate in a two-week online workshop followed by a nine-day onsite intensive in Los Angeles. Throughout the lab, participants will be advised by BMI composers including Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rob Simonsen, Blake Neely, Mark Isham, Christopher Lennertz, Nathan Barr, Sean Callery, Ed Shearmur, Sherri Chung, Chanda Dancy, William Ross, Nami Melumad, Bryce Dessner, Carlos Rafael Rivera, Nami Melumad, George S Clinton, Stephanie Economou, Tony Morales, Dara Taylor, Kathryn Bostic, Fil Eisler, Kurt Farquhar, William Ross, among others to be announced.,

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 2, 2025)

Opening in theaters nationwide today is the superhero movie Thunderbolts* directed by Jake Schreier and starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour,Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman, Chris Bauer, Geraldine Viswanathan and Wendell Edward Pierce. The film’s original music is composed by Son Lux (Ryan Lott, Ian Chang & Rafiq Bhatia) (Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Paper Towns). Hollywood Records & Marvel Music have released a soundtrack album featuring the band’s score this past Wednesday. Check out our previous news article for the full album details and to learn more about the Marvel Studios production, which is being released by Walt Disney Pictures.

Opening semi-wide in around 900 theaters today is the psychological thriller The Surfer directed by Lorcan Finnegan and starring Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Alexander Bertrand, Nic Cassim, Justin Rosniak and Miranda Tapsell. François Tétaz (Wolf Creek, Hesher, Judy & Punch, Rogue, The Portal) has composed the film’s original music. Rubber Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today and Impressed Recordings will release a vinyl edition in the coming weeks. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and for more information about the movie, which is being distributed by Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions.

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Tim Phillips & PJ Harvey Win BAFTA TV Craft Award for ‘Bad Sisters’

PJ Harvey & Tim Phillips have won their first BAFTA TV Craft Award for their music from the second season of the Apple TV+ original series Bad Sisters created by  Sharon Horgan, Brett Baer & Dave Finkel and starring Horgan herself, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson at tonight’s awards ceremony at The Brewery in London. A soundtrack album featuring the music from Season 2 has been released by Hollywood Records.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 25, 2025)

Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the action thriller The Accountant 2 directed by Gavin O’Connor and starring Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, J.K. Simmons, Allison Robertson and Daniella Pineda. The film’s original music is composed by The National’s Bryce Dessner (Sing Sing, We Live in Time, The Two Popes, Bardo, Cyrano, She Came to Me,Manhunt, A Good Person). WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as  cover version of Nina Simone’s See-Line Woman performed by Danielle Ponder & Dessner last Friday. Check our previous article for the full album details and to learn more about the Warner Bros. Pictures production, which is being released by Amazon MGM Studios.

Also opening nationwide is the survival horror thriller Until Dawn based on PlayStation Studios’s video game, directed by David F. Sandberg and starring Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Maia Mitchell, Belmont Cameli and Peter Stormare. Benjamin Wallfisch (It, Twisters, Alien: Romulus, Shazam!, The Flash, Blade Runner 2049, The Invisible Man, Hidden Figures) has composed the film’s original music. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and for more information about the Sony Pictures release.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 18, 2025)

Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the horror movie Sinners written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Omar Benson Miller, Jayme Lawson and Delroy Lindo. The film’s original score is composed by Ludwig Göransson (Oppenheimer, The Mandalorian, Black Panther, Creed, Tenet, Turning Red, Venom). Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today (click here for the full album details). Sony Masterworks has also released a separate album featuring the songs from the movie performed by Rod Wave, Buddy Guy, James Blake, Brittany Howard, Don Toliver, Rhiannon Giddens & others (click here for the full album details). Also click here to check out the music team credits for the Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Also opening wide is the romantic comedy The Wedding Banquet co-written and directed by Andrew Ahn and starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Youn Yuh-jung and Joan Chen. Jay Wadley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Heart Eyes, Tell Me Lies, Franklin, Swan Song, Before, I Carry You with Me) has composed the film’s original score. No word on a soundtrack release. Check out our previous news article for more information about the movie, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is being distributed by Bleecker Street.

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Jesse Eisenberg to Write Music & Lyrics for A24 Movie Musical

A24 announced today that Jesse Eisenberg wrote the original music and lyrics for the actor’s third feature directorial effort. The (currently untitled) musical comedy will star Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, Bernadette Peters, Bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan, Maulik Pancholy and Lilli Cooper. Steven Gizicki (A Complete Unknown, La La Land) serves as the project’s music supervisor and Bill Sherman (In the Heights, tick, tick…BOOM!) is the executive music producer on the film, which follows a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a community theater musical production and going to extremes as she loses herself in the role.

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