Variety’s Awards Circuit predicts the Best Original Score race at the 2027 Oscars will include scores from Project Hail Mary, The Odyssey and La Bola Negra, and asks whether one overlooked composer could finally win — Oscars: Best Original Score — Could One of Hollywood’s Most Overlooked Composers Finally Get His Moment?
Variety published a predictions piece that lists the early frontrunners in the Best Original Score race, naming specific films under consideration and framing the category as open and competitive; the Variety feature was published on Nov. 10, 2026 and highlights scores from Project Hail Mary, The Odyssey, La Bola Negra, Disclosure Day and The Debut.
That Variety predictions story anchors this preview of the Oscars: Best Original Score contest and raises the question whether a frequently nominated but never-winning composer might break through. Variety’s piece frames the race around the films and the tonal variety of their scores rather than a single runaway favorite.
One concrete industry name often cited in conversations about “overlooked” composers is Thomas Newman, long familiar to Academy voters; search results in this session note that Newman has received about fifteen Academy Award nominations across his career, making him one of the most-nominated composers without an Oscar win.
How the Oscars: Best Original Score voting works helps explain why a steady, longtime nominee can finally get a moment: the Academy’s music branch shortlists and then nominates scores based on submitted eligible material and voting rounds, and early-season critics’ response plus festival momentum often shifts attention toward particular composers and films — the Variety feature described the early-season shape of the race.
Past precedent shows the category can be unpredictable. Variety’s Awards Circuit has been used by awards watchers as an early thermometer for the score race, and previous seasons have seen late surges for less-expected composers when their films gained traction with voters, according to Variety’s reporting on awards-season patterns.
Who could benefit and why it matters
Composers who have a clear thematic identity in a film and whose scores are heavily featured in awards-season clips often benefit; Variety’s predictions point to scores that are integral to each film’s tone, which can raise a composer’s profile with voters as nominations are decided.
If the Oscars: Best Original Score race opens up for a longtime nominee such as Thomas Newman, the win would be a notable career milestone after many nominations without a victory — a fact repeatedly noted in awards coverage this season.
Sources
- Variety — published predictions for the 2027 Best Original Score race and named films under consideration on Nov. 10, 2026.
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