2026 Oscar Predictions: ORIGINAL SCORE, ORIGINAL SONG, SOUND (November)
For November we have our first of several song and score precursors with the Hollywood Music in Media nominations and awards, where Sinners, Diane Warren and KPop Demon Hunters triumphed, as did songs from Highest 2 Lowest and Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Then this morning came the Critics Choice Awards shortlists in 11 categories, including all three here where titles like Sinners, One Battle After Another, Hamnet and Frankenstein did well but also Cannes winner Sirāt, with its thumping EDM beats and fever dream soundscape.
Here are my 2026 Oscar nomination predictions in Original Score, Original Song and Sound for November.
ORIGINAL SCORE (shortlist of 20)
| 1. Sinners — Ludwig Göransson (Warner Bros) ↑ | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 2. One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood (Warner Bros) ↓ | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 3. Hamnet — Max Richter (Focus Features) | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 4. Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat (Netflix) | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 5. Jay Kelly — Nicholas Britell (Netflix) | |
| 6. Marty Supreme — Daniel Lopatin (A24) | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 7. Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix (Focus Features) | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 8. Train Dreams — Bryce Dessner (Netflix) | |
| 9. A House of Dynamite — Volker Bertelmann (Netflix) | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 10. F1: The Movie — Hans Zimmer (Warner Bros/Apple Original Films) | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 11. Wicked: For Good — Stephen Schwartz, John Powell (Universal Pictures) | HMMA (main) |
| 12. Hedda — Hildur Guðnadóttir (Amazon MGM) | CCA shortlist |
| 13. The Testament of Ann Lee — Daniel Blumberg (Searchlight Pictures) | |
| 14. Avatar: Fire and Ash — Simon Franglen (20th Century Studios) | HMMA (sc-fi) |
| 15. Sirāt — Kangding Ray (NEON) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 16. The Ballad of Wallis Island — Adem Ilhan (Focus Features) | HMMA (independent) |
| 17. The Secret Agent — Mateus Alves, Tomas Alvez Souza (NEON) | |
| 18. Tron: Ares — Nine Inch Nails (Walt Disney) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 19. The Phoenician Scheme — Alexandre Desplat (Focus Features) | |
| 20. How to Train Your Dragon — John Powell (Universal Pictures) – if eligible |
Other contenders: After the Hunt — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (Amazon MGM), Black Bag — David Holmes (Focus Features), The History of Sound — Oliver Coates (MUBI), The Mastermind — Rob Mazurek (MUBI), The Plague — Johan Lenox (IFC) – CCA shortlist, Sentimental Value — Hania Rani (NEON), The Smashing Machine — Nala Sinephro (A24), Superman — David Fleming, John Murphy (Warner Bros)
ORIGINAL SONG (shortlist of 15)
| 1. “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix) | HMMA (animated) |
| 2. “I Lied to You” from Sinners (Warner Bros) | HMMA (main) |
| 3. “Dear Me” from Relentless (Greenwich Entertainment) ↑ | HMMA (documentary) |
| 4. “The Girl in the Bubble” from Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures) ↓ | HMMA (main) |
| 5. “Last Time (I Seen The Sun)” from Sinners (Warner Bros) ↑ | HMMA (main) |
| 6. “Lose My Mind” from F1: The Movie (Warner Bros/Apple Original Films) | HMMA (main) |
| 7. “Clothed By the Sun” from The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures) | CCA shortlist |
| 8. “Zoo” from Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney) | HMMA (animated) |
| 9. “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams (Netflix) | CCA shortlist |
| 10. “No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures) ↓ | HMMA (main) |
| 11. “Highest 2 Lowest” from Highest 2 Lowest (A24/Apple Original Films) | HMMA (independent) |
| 12. “Pale Pale Moon” from Sinners (Warner Bros) ↑ | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 13. “Drive” from F1: The Movie (Warner Bros/Apple Original Films) ↑ | HMMA (main), CCA shortlist |
| 14. “Dream as One from Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) ↑ | HMMA (sci-fi) |
| 15. “Open the Door” from The Twits (Netflix) ↑ | HMMA (animated) |
Other contenders: “Just Keep Watching” from F1: The Movie (Warner Bros/Apple Original Films)A, “Baby” from Freakier Friday (Walt Disney), “Both Eyes Closed” from Highest 2 Lowest (A24/Apple Original Films), “How It’s Done” from KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix), “Takedown” from KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix), “He Lei Pāpahi No Lilo a me Stitch” from Lilo & Stitch (Walt Disney), “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” from Tron: Ares (Walt Disney), “Lullaby” from The Twits (Netflix), “We’re Not Like Ev’ryone Else” from The Twits (Netflix)
SOUND (shortlist of 10)
| 1. F1: The Movie (Warner Bros/Apple Original Films) | CCA shortlist |
| 2. One Battle After Another (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 3. Sinners (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 4. Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures) | CCA shortlist |
| 5. Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) | |
| 6. Warfare (A24) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 7. Hamnet (Focus Features) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 8. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures) | |
| 9. Marty Supreme (A24) | |
| 10. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (20th Century Studios) ↓ |
Other contenders: Bugonia (Focus Features), Frankenstein (Netflix), A House of Dynamite (Netflix) – CCA shortlist, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Roadside Attractions), The Lost Bus (Apple Original Films) – CCA shortlist, Marty Supreme (A24), Nuremberg (Sony Pictures Classics), The Running Man (Paramount Pictures), Sirāt (NEON) – CCA shortlist, The Smashing Machine (A24), Superman (Warner Bros) – CCA shortlist, The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures), Tron: Ares (Walt Disney), Weapons (Warner Bros/New Line)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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