Best Original Score: Ranking Every Nominee of the 97th Academy Awards
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Now that we have gotten Best Original Song out of the way, we arrive at the better music-based category of the Academy Awards: Best Original Score. Unlike some categories which have many moving parts or much to discuss, this one is self explanatory: it’s an award for the composer(s) who created the best music for their respective film. Like Best Original Song, I’m not only looking at what scores best compliment the films they are associated with (which is the main priority, to be fair), but also which scores work strongly on their own as well; this sounds silly, since scores are meant to be associated with the films they are written for, but consider that AMPAS members are sent the nominated albums to listen to. Thus, I will be grading the scores as they’re meant to be considered by Academy standards. I may be a film geek, but I hope I am in good company when I say that I do enjoy listening to great film scores on their own, so that should be applicable here as well. Which scores resonated with me the most both in and outside of their films?
Here are your nominees for Best Original Score ranked from worst to best.
Biggest Snub: Challengers-Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Do I even need to explain this one? Not only were Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross cleaning up numerous awards shows thanks to their magnificent score for Challengers — one that ramps up eighties workout music to eleven, creating a blood-rushing set of tracks that match the emotional and physical intensity of what we see on screen — but the celebrated duo (who have won Best Original Score for The Social Network and Soul) were considered the front runners to win again and claim their third trophy. Just listen to “Match Point” below: a combination of vintage club jams with droning ambient brooding akin to Burial. How they didn’t wind up in this batch of nominees is insane. It’s brutal that Challengers wound up with zero nominations total, but it’s especially shocking that it wasn’t featured in this category considering I’d easily consider this score one of the best of 2025 (in fact, it may be the best, depending on what day you ask me). I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that this may be one of the worst snubs of the year.
5. Emilia Pérez-Clément Ducol and Camille
I actually really like the music in Emilia Pérez, but I’ll justify why I have the score ranked last: because I am a traditionalist. That isn’t to say that I love orthodox, conventional scores over anything experimental (I consider Mica Levi one of the greatest film composers of all time, and I will defend this claim until the day I die). I mean that an original score to me is the orchestral, instrumental compositions of a film. What we have here with Emilia Pérez is a “score” that is really more of a soundtrack (big difference). Most of the songs present on the official release have singing and lyrics, so this is a collection of original songs. The authentic “score” moments are few and far between. If this category encompassed soundtracks as well, I’d rank this differently, but I’m working with what I have. I like what I hear for the most part, but — if I’m sticking with the category’s regulations — I’m going to be favouring actual scores over what is apparently and clearly a soundtrack in a scores category. I like the music in this film a lot, but this does feel like Emilia Pérez is taking up a spot in a category that could have been for another nominee because of logistics (think of it like how LaKeith Stanfield — one of my favourite working actors today — was nominated for supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah despite being the obvious protagonist and lead of that film; brilliant performance, and I’m glad he was nominated, but how in the hell was he a supporting actor in that film?).
4. Conclave-Volker Bertelmann
I like the score for Conclave quite a bit, but I’m placing it fourth just because I feel like the other three nominees ranked above it are better enhanced because of their scores. As stand-alone music, the compositions by Volker Bertelmann are back at it again, and are reminiscent of the tracks he was making for his Oscar-winning work in All Quiet on the Western Front (which remains his finest orchestration to date). Bertelmann has a traditionalist heart but an unorthodox mind, as he is eager to blend the styles of old and new in an undeniably massive, effective way. I don’t feel like his music is as prioritized in Conclave as it was in All Quiet on the Western Front, but there are moments where it is quite effective. Still a strong score and I’m fine with it being nominated.
3. Wicked-John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
Now Wicked is stuffed with songs (not originals, mind you) but also has a fully fledged and released original score that can accompany it. This is a score attached to a musical I can actually critique within the confinements of this category. Of course, the sing-along songs are what will stand out the most, but John Powell and Stephen Schwartz don’t fuck around with the music that fills in the empty spaces, as they craft majestic, swirling compositions that are reminiscent of what Danny Elfman would make for a Tim Burton film (although maybe a little less quirky, to be fair). Many audience members show up for the legendary songs, but they may leave being spellbound and swept away by the music in between as both composers match the energy and high bar of already established classic tracks with what feels like ease (I guarantee it’s more challenging than it seems). There is never a moment in Wicked where the feeling of magic stops, and a major reason why is the accompanying score that is always guiding us to new places and mindsets.
2. The Wild Robot-Kris Bowers
We now enter the big leagues with the final two nominees. I cannot begin to describe how much the score for The Wild Robot by Kris Bowers means to me. The film is already an emotional rush that never fails to bowl me over (it’s easily one of the finest animated films DreamWorks has released), but it’s the score by Bowers that sends me over the edge. I don’t get goosebumps (an unintended pun, I promise you): I full-on bawl my eyes out while watching — and listening to — this film. Even just selecting a song to feature below had the waterworks ready to erupt. Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe the swelling, majestic, triumphant, magnificent score here. It doesn’t do anything new or unusual, but — and I do believe this is one reason why I love it so much — it almost sounds like Bowers has discovered these untapped orchestrations amidst thousands of scores and over one hundred years of filmmaking; how in the hell did he manage to come up with something this personal, unique, and idiosyncratic without breaking any rules or colouring outside of the box? I don’t even need to get into how scenes are elevated by this score either, mainly because thinking about Bright Bill joining his flock while being boosted by Roz and the music that comes with it will render me a mess (the point is that Bowers’ influence on the film is obvious). All things considered, I adore the music in The Wild Robot and already consider it a favourite score of mine in recent memory. There are other years where it would be ranked first, but not regarding 2024, because of one other score…
1. The Brutalist-Daniel Blumberg
So Daniel Blumberg’s score for The Brutalist may not make me cry at the drop of a hat like Kris Bowers’ work for The Wild Robot does, but this score is also an instant favourite of mine for other reasons. Akin to what Jonny Greenwood was creating for Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, Blumberg’s The Brutalist score is insanely massive whilst also reinventing the wheel. There are percussive little plunks that send chills down my spine, while the string sections engulf me with titanic-feeling dread, anticipation, and wonder. To listen to Blumberg’s music is to truly experience the audible version of watching a gigantic structure be constructed before our very eyes. Sure, I have a more personal connection with the music found in The Wild Robot, but, objectively, The Brutalist’s score is monumental, inventive, and unforgettable. There are many moments (nay, the entire film) where Bulmberg’s music compliments, challenges, or elevates what we see on screen. I’d argue that the score is crucial to how the film feels. I cherish Blumberg’s score within The Brutalist as much as I do while listening to it on its own. It is objectively one of the best scores of 2024, alongside The Wild Robot (which I’d place below The Brutalist by a molecule) and Challengers (I’ll give Dune: Part Two some love here as well).
Who I Want To Win: I’ll be thrilled if either Daniel Blumberg for The Brutalist or Kris Bowers for The Wild Robot win. I wouldn’t necessarily be upset if another nominee wins, but I will jump out of my seat for joy if Blumberg or Bowers win for two of the best scores in recent memory.
Who I Think Will Win: Right now, I think this will go to Daniel Blumberg for The Brutalist, given the slowly generating steam for the composer as the awards season goes. However, Blumberg has been nominated a lot without necessarily winning this season, so don’t be surprised if another nominee takes this (I wouldn’t put it past the Academy to award The Wild Robot, Wicked, or Emilia Pérez at this point in time). For now, I’m still going with The Brutalist.
The Academy Awards Project will continue on Monday with another category: Best Cinematography. We’re going to rank every single nominee in every single category, Monday through Friday. You don’t want to miss it!
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.