The Hollywood Music in Media Awards have rolled out their latest batch of nominations, and the list reads like a love letter to some of the year's most anticipated releases. Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic "Michael" and Christopher Nolan's mythological epic "The Odyssey" both landed spots among the honorees, signaling that awards season is officially warming up its vocal cords.
The HMMA, as it's affectionately known around town, has carved out a niche for itself by celebrating the music that makes movies sing - literally and figuratively. Unlike the more established awards bodies that focus primarily on scores, the HMAs split honors across a dizzying array of categories, including original songs, scores for studio and independent films, and even music supervision. It's the kind of ceremony where a superhero blockbuster can go head-to-head with an intimate indie drama, and nobody bats an eye.
A King of Pop and a Mythological King
The inclusion of "Michael" in this year's nominations is hardly a shock. A biopic about the King of Pop was always going to put music front and center, and the film's team has been positioning it as a celebration of Jackson's artistry rather than a tabloid rehash. Fuqua, who stepped in to direct after a change in the project's creative leadership, has assembled a cast led by Jaafar Jackson - Michael's own nephew - in the title role. That bit of casting alone generated plenty of buzz when it was announced, and the HMMA nod suggests the film's musical elements are being taken seriously by the industry's music branch.
"The Odyssey" presents a different kind of challenge entirely. Nolan's films are known for their sonic ambition - think the ticking clocks of "Dunkirk" or the bass-heavy dread of "Oppenheimer" - and a big-screen adaptation of Homer's epic poem promises to be a canvas for something sweeping and orchestral. The HMMA recognition puts the film in the same conversation as the year's other music-driven contenders, even though its connection to music is more about atmosphere and score than needle drops and pop hits.
What the HMAs Actually Mean
For the uninitiated, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards occupy a peculiar and increasingly influential space in the awards ecosystem. Founded to honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors working across film, television, and video games, the HMAs have developed a reputation as a fairly reliable early indicator of where the Academy's music branch might be leaning. Several HMMA winners and nominees have gone on to score Oscar nominations in the best original score and best original song categories, giving the ceremony a sheen of predictive credibility.
That's not to say the HMAs are a crystal ball. The group's membership and voting body differ from the Academy's, and the sheer number of categories means the nominations can feel sprawling. But for industry watchers trying to map out the season, an HMMA nod is a useful data point - especially in a year when the musical landscape of cinema looks particularly crowded.
The Bigger Picture for This Awards Season
What's notable about this year's HMMA nominations is how they reflect the breadth of what counts as "movie music" in 2026. We're past the era when a film either had a traditional orchestral score or a soundtrack stuffed with pop songs. Today's films blend diegetic music, original songs, and experimental sound design in ways that blur the lines between categories. A biopic like "Michael" lives and dies by its musical authenticity. A spectacle like "The Odyssey" demands a score that can carry the weight of gods and monsters.
The HMAs, whatever their quirks, seem built for this moment. By honoring both the obvious contenders and the more under-the-radar achievements, the ceremony keeps the conversation about film music lively and, frankly, more interesting than a single "best score" category ever could.
The full list of nominees spans dozens of films and television projects, and as always, the ceremony itself will feature live performances and appearances from composers and artists who rarely get the spotlight on the major red carpets. For fans of movie music - the kind of people who hum John Williams themes in the shower or can identify a Hans Zimmer ostinato from three rooms away - it's appointment viewing.
As for "Michael" and "The Odyssey," both films have the kind of profiles that suggest this is just the beginning of their awards-season journeys. Whether they convert HMMA recognition into bigger trophies remains to be seen, but for now, the music is playing, and Hollywood is listening. The ceremony's winners will be revealed in the coming weeks, and if history is any guide, a few of those names will still be in the conversation when the Oscars roll around.
Source: Deadline