‘Challengers’ receives Grammy nomination en route to Oscars
On Friday, Nov. 8, Oscar contender “Challengers” received a Grammy nomination for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media. This specific music category is awarded to the composers of an original score — in this case, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — that is created specifically for film or television or other visual media. The Amazon MGM Studios production is also currently predicted to receive an Oscar bid for Best Score, and all of this attention could certainly boost its chances.
The other four nominees at the 2025 Grammys for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media are “American Fiction” by Laura Karpman, “The Color Purple” by Kris Bowers, “Dune: Part Two” by Hans Zimmer, and “Shōgun” by Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross, and Leopold Ross. Yes, that means Atticus Ross is competing against himself.
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Because of the different eligibility periods for the Grammys and the Oscars, “American Fiction” and “The Color Purple” actually competed at last year’s Academy Awards. The former score was nominated, but lost to Ludwig G?ransson‘s “Oppenheimer”; the latter score was snubbed.
As for “Shōgun,” the only television nominee in this year’s lineup, it recently earned an Emmy bid for its score, but lost to Siddhartha Khosla‘s “Only Murders in the Building.” Despite that, “Shōgun” still made history by winning the most Emmys in a single year, at 18.
SEE How a Frank Lloyd Wright building inspired the kinetic editing of ‘Challengers’
That brings us to “Dune: Part Two,” which is having an interesting ride as the current Oscar season approaches. Initially, the score for the Warner Bros. sequel was ruled ineligible for Academy Awards consideration due to its reliance on pre-existing music. However, the studio ended up submitting the score anyway, despite the question as to whether it will qualify under the rules.
“Challengers” stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, Josh O’Connor as Patrick Zweig, and Mike Faist as Art Donaldson, three fictional tennis pros who inexplicably become involved in a love triangle. Luca Guadagnino directed the fan-fave film from an original script by Justin Kuritzkes.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are already double Oscar champions for composing the scores to “The Social Network” (2010) and “Soul” (2020). They’ve also taken home Grammy Awards for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2012) and “Soul.” Additionally, Reznor won two Best Metal Performance Grammys as part of the band Nine Inch Nails, for “Wish” and “Happiness In Slavery.”
Gold Derby currently predicts that “Challengers” will receive a Best Score Oscar nomination alongside these other four films: “Conclave,” “The Brutalist,” “Emilia Perez,” and “The Wild Robot.” Have YOU made your Oscar predictions yet? It’s fun and easy — start right now!
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