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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 chief 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 in response to buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
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Best Original Score Predictions Commentary (Updated: Nov. 10, 2026): Multiple Oscar winners, potential breakout composers and overdue artisans are overflowing this year’s original score category.
“The Odyssey” composer Ludwig Göransson is coming in with a perfect score (pun intended), having already collected three statuettes for “Black Panther” (2018), “Oppenheimer” (2023) and “Sinners” (2025). Will they give the 42-year-old Swedish-born musician another one?
After winning his second Oscar for “Dune” (2021) — a long-overdue triumph following “The Lion King” (1994) — Hans Zimmer is entering this season with high expectations. After being ineligible for “Dune: Part Two,” the German composer is said to have developed new, original cues for Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated conclusion, due out in December.
It would be foolish to count out 94-year-old legendary composer John Williams, who is collaborating once again with Steven Spielberg on the sci-fi drama “Disclosure Day.” With 54 Oscar nominations — the second-most of any person in history behind Walt Disney—Williams is also the oldest Academy Award nominee in any category, a record he has broken three times himself. The last was at age 91, when he picked up his nomination for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023). Another one could easily be on the way.
All eyes are on English musician Daniel Pemberton this year, whose long history of stunning, iconic work has largely gone overlooked and unrewarded. Despite groundbreaking music in films such as “Steve Jobs” (2015), “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2018) and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (2023), his sole Oscar nomination came as a songwriter for “Hear My Voice” from “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (2020). This year, he’s contributing to six different films: “The Bad Guys 2,” “The Drama,” “Ink,” “Masters of the Universe,” “Musk” and “Project Hail Mary.”
He already received an honor this season, taking home the Distinguished Composer Award at the Middleburg Film Festival, where he also performed live with a full orchestra, bringing the Salamander Resort to its feet. It got me thinking: Could this finally be the year Pemberton wins an Oscar?
Furthermore, “Project Hail Mary,” which is shaping up to be a major nominee across the board, is running into what looks to be an epic duel between two other technical juggernauts: “Dune: Part Three” and “The Odyssey.” The original score category has historically served as a consolation prize for Best Picture contenders. Just look at “Atonement” (Dario Marianelli, 2007), “Babel” (Gustavo Santaolalla, 2006), “Finding Neverland” (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, 2004) and “The Full Monty” (Anne Dudley, 1997). If the film manages to make the cut across the board, this would be a fantastic way to reward it.
But again, it’s early. It’s only November, and there’s still a long way to go. Any of the potential breakouts and newcomers, including Raül Refree (“La Bola Negra”), Damon Albarn (“Artificial”), Ari Balouzian (“You Can See Everything”) and Devonté Hynes (“The Invite”), could make their cases. Other well-established veterans like Randy Newman (“Toy Story 5”), Michael Giacchino (“Ray Gunn”) and Alberto Iglesias (“Bitter Christmas”) could also pop up.
And with a relatively small number of female composers in the conversation, we should keep an eye on Rebekka Karijord (“Tenzing”), Natalie Holt (“Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”), Hildur Guðnadóttir (“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”), Isobel Waller-Bridge (“The Unknown”) and Tara Nome Doyle (“Rose”) to make a play.
The list of predictions in all categories can be found here.
The Governors Awards, which will hand out honorary Oscars to Glenn Close and Ridley Scott, will take place Sunday, Nov. 15. Preliminary voting for the Oscars shortlist in 12 categories runs Dec. 7-11, with the shortlist announcement to follow Tuesday, Dec. 15. Following the close of the eligibility period on Dec. 31, 2026, nominations voting will run Jan. 11-15, 2027. The official Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2027. The 99th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 14, 2027 and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien. The ceremony airs live at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
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