Do you want to be on my next film? It’s going to be super sexy.
– Luca Guadagnino to Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross 

Challengers is the rare score that can stand on its own as an LP. It’s versatile – it pairs well with driving, writing, dancing, or even something as mundane as washing the dishes. It’s music that would not be out of place in the club, played next to such 2024 cultural juggernauts like brat. In fact, the release of Challengers feels in perfect synchronicity with brat. These works represent a musical moment that is a full release of the post-pandemic period. From “fancams” to tweets like this one, very few film scores infect popular culture like Challengers has. 

Luca Guadagnino aspired for the Challengers score to incite the feeling of a dance party in the theater. The score evokes this feeling in spades, and serves (pun intended) the film’s emotional tribulations, action, and tension. “Yeah x10” plays when we first see Tashi. It’s a bad bitch track that is meant for a star like Zendaya. There is a wandering, introspective piano piece that repeats in “L’oeuf”, “Pull Over”, and “Final Set.” A choir appears during moments of emotional collapse. Oftentimes, the entire rhythm of scenes in the film are set to the score. The moment Tashi (Zendaya) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) begin to argue after a dorm-room tryst, the techno beat comes blaring in. “Challengers: Match Point” blasts in the second the tennis ball touches Art’s hand (Mike Faist) in the final game of the film. “Challengers: Match Point” is a character of its own, building power in its synths. Energy decreases and increases, as the kinetic energy of the tennis ball bounces back and forth across the court. 

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are familiar faces for the Oscars. Winners of two best original score awards for 2010’s The Social Network and 2020’s Soul, they have also accomplished a rare feat for any category. For the 2021 ceremony, the two musicians were nominated twice, for the aforementioned Soul and David Fincher’s Mank. Since their 2021 win, Reznor and Ross have been frequent collaborators with Luca Guadiningo, working on Bones and All (2022), Queer (2024), and of course, Challengers. A win for Challengers would be recognition for this wonderful collaboration between the filmmaker and composers. 

How often does the Academy have the chance to nominate techno music in its Best Original Score category? The music branch tends to go for scores that can be performed by an orchestra. Challengers would have to be performed with a DJ set rather than in a symphony hall. How many film scores get a remix album from Boys Noize? Awarding Challengers would be an out-of-the box, wholly deserved pick from Academy voters. Challengers is one of the best pictures of the year. It’s a mid-budget, adult drama – something the industry needs more of. Best Original Score would be an inspired way of showing the film love on Oscar night. 

Challengers is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.
You can find our review of the film here.