When Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross first stepped into film composition with David Fincher’s The Social Network in 2010, nobody expected industrial rock legends to become Hollywood’s most exciting composers. Yet here we are, 15 years later, and these Nine Inch Nails masterminds have collected two Oscars, four Golden Globes, an Emmy, and multiple Grammys.
They’ve scored everything from David Fincher thrillers to Pixar animations, working with directors like Luca Guadagnino and Ken Burns. With Tron: Ares marking their first score credited under the Nine Inch Nails name, let’s rank every major Reznor-Ross movie soundtrack from worst to best.
20. Mid90s (2018)
Jonah Hill’s skateboarding nostalgia trip through 1990s Los Angeles features just 12 minutes of Reznor-Ross music, making it more of a cameo than a proper score. Written during a Nine Inch Nails tour, tracks like “Big Wide World” and “Finding a Place” offer warm synths and hushed melodies that complement the film’s coming-of-age vibe.
But honestly? The hip-hop classics do the heavy lifting here. Tracks from A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde anchor the period authenticity, while the duo’s score adds subtle emotional depth.
It’s charming and restrained, perfect for Hill’s intimate directorial debut starring Sunny Suljic and Lucas Hedges, but ultimately too brief to leave a lasting impression. Think of it as a pleasant sketch rather than a fully realized painting.
You can buy or rent Mid90s on Amazon Video, Apple TV, or Fandango At Home.
19. 22 vs. Earth (2021)
This six-minute Pixar short directed by Kevin Nolting features Soul’s grumpy character 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) attempting to stop souls from reaching Earth. The Reznor-Ross contribution is minimal, just enough atmospheric music to support the brief runtime.
While it serves its purpose for this bite-sized prequel starring Fey alongside Richard Ayoade and Alice Braga in voice roles, there’s simply not enough material here to evaluate compared to their feature-length masterworks.
It’s functional background music for a charming Disney+ short, nothing more, nothing less. If you blink during your Soul rewatch, you might miss this one entirely. Still, it shows their willingness to contribute to projects of any size.
You can watch the Pixar short film 22 vs. Earth by streaming it on Disney+.
18. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
Jeff Rowe’s animated reboot proves Reznor and Ross can adapt to any genre, even family-friendly turtle adventures. The score features playful electronic energy that fits the film’s youthful vibe and Spider-Verse-inspired animation style, supporting the vocal performances of Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the teenage heroes.
There are moments of genuine fun here, especially during the action sequences where the duo lets loose with some propulsive beats. But compared to their darker, more experimental work, this feels like they’re operating at half-power. It’s perfectly serviceable for a TMNT movie featuring Jackie Chan as Splinter and Ice Cube as the villain, just not particularly memorable in their broader catalog.
You can watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on the streaming service Paramount+ and for digital purchase or rental on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and the Paramount Movies website.
17. Bird Box (2018)
Here’s where things get spicy. Reznor famously threw a fit about Susanne Bier’s post-apocalyptic thriller, calling it “a waste of time” (via Variety) because the music was mixed so low in Sandra Bullock’s Netflix hit. And you know what? He had a point.
The score itself is actually fantastic: a brilliant blend of ominous horror soundscapes and twisted electronica that creates genuine unease. When you can actually hear it beneath the sound effects and dialogue, it’s chilling stuff that perfectly captures the paranoia of a world where looking outside means death.
The problem wasn’t the quality but how director Bier and the filmmakers buried it in the mix. Had they trusted Reznor and Ross’s vision for this Bullock-led survival story, this could’ve ranked much higher.
You can currently watch Bird Box on Netflix.
16. Empire of Light (2022)
Sam Mendes directed this melancholic drama about Hilary (Olivia Colman), a lonely cinema worker in 1980s England who finds a connection with a new employee (Micheal Ward). The score lives up to its title. All air and illumination, with lovely orchestral piano pieces underscored by breezy melancholia.
It’s beautiful and contemplative, perfectly matching Mendes’s wistful examination of mental health, racism, and human connection.
Colman’s vulnerable performance gets wonderful support from the duo’s gentle compositions. But here’s the thing: while it’s undeniably pretty and emotionally resonant, it doesn’t push boundaries or challenge expectations the way their most exciting work does. Sometimes, atmospheric beauty is enough, and for this tender character study, it absolutely works. Just don’t expect the daring experimentation of their Fincher collaborations.
You can currently watch Empire of Light by renting or purchasing it from digital storefronts like Prime Video, Disney+, and Google Play.
15. Before the Flood (2016)
Fisher Stevens’s climate change documentary featuring Leonardo DiCaprio found Reznor and Ross collaborating with Gustavo Santaolalla and Mogwai, which makes this feel less like a pure Reznor-Ross joint and more like a supergroup project.
They contributed haunting ambient pieces like “A Minute to Breathe” and “And When the Sky Was Opened” that underscore the urgency of the environmental crisis as DiCaprio travels the world documenting melting ice caps and rising temperatures.
The music is properly foreboding. You can practically hear the polar ice melting in the atmospheric drones. It’s effective environmental storytelling through sound that complements Stevens’s powerful imagery. However, the collaborative nature means this doesn’t showcase their singular voice the way their solo efforts do. Still, when the planet’s on fire, who cares about auteur theory?
You can watch Before the Flood on Disney+, Prime Video, or Apple TV+.
14. Waves (2019)
Trey Edward Shults’s emotional family drama starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Taylor Russell, and Sterling K. Brown features one of the duo’s most experimental approaches. Rather than traditional songs, they created sonic collages that feel more like abstract sound design than conventional scoring.
There’s something genuinely captivating about this music as it follows a suburban African-American family through tragedy and healing, though it’s admittedly heavy going.
The lack of their trademark electronic thrusts makes it feel like an outlier in their filmography, all atmosphere and texture with minimal melodic hooks. Russell’s heartbreaking performance in the film’s second half gets wonderful support from the more contemplative pieces. It’s interesting and bold, challenging listeners to engage differently with film music, but maybe not essential unless you’re a completist.
You can watch Waves on Tubi (free with ads) or rent or purchase it from platforms like Amazon Video, Google Play, and Apple TV.
13. Patriots Day (2016)
Peter Berg’s docudrama about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, starring Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, and J.K. Simmons, was Reznor and Ross’s first non-Fincher film score, and they approached the sensitive subject matter with appropriate solemnity.
The duo delivered unsettling soundscapes, solemn piano movements, and warped electronica that captured both the tragedy of the terrorist attack and the resilience of Boston’s response.
While not as innovative as their best work, it demonstrated their ability to handle real-world material with grace and emotional intelligence. The score supports Berg’s tense recreation of events without sensationalizing the violence.
Wahlberg’s composite character gets a suitably heroic theme, while the victims are honored with restraint. It’s competent, respectful work that proves these rock stars understand the gravity of true stories.
You can watch Patriots Day on streaming services like Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu, where it is available to stream, rent, or buy.
12. The Gorge (2025)
Scott Derrickson’s sci-fi horror romance starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as elite snipers guarding opposite sides of a mysterious canyon benefits enormously from an unexpected musical approach.
Rather than delivering the bombastic action score you’d expect from a multi-million monster movie featuring Sigourney Weaver in a mysterious supporting role, they emphasize melancholic connection and foggy longing between Teller and Taylor-Joy’s isolated characters.
Even when the pulse quickens during the creature attacks and canyon exploration, the score maintains an intimate, contemplative quality. At just 34 minutes for a 127-minute film, it’s surprisingly restrained, and all the more effective for it.
Critics particularly praised the nostalgic sci-fi sensibility reminiscent of classic composers, with the music evoking both Vangelis and Trentemøller. It’s proof that Derrickson (Doctor Strange, Sinister) knows when to let atmosphere trump bombast.
You can watch the 2025 movie The Gorge by streaming it exclusively on Apple TV+.
11. Mank (2020)
David Fincher’s black-and-white biopic about Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) required Reznor and Ross to do something completely different: use only period-appropriate instrumentation from the 1930s and ’40s. No synths, no electronics, no Nine Inch Nails DNA whatsoever, just lush orchestral arrangements that could have accompanied Orson Welles’s masterpiece itself.
The result is a fascinating curio in their catalog that won them their third Oscar nomination. Amanda Seyfried shines as Marion Davies, and the score captures Old Hollywood’s glamour and seediness with equal measure. It showcases their versatility and musical knowledge beyond electronic music, proving they can inhabit any era when needed.
Some fans might miss their signature sound, but watching these industrial rockers nail 1940s studio orchestra music is genuinely impressive. It’s like hearing what might’ve been if they’d been born 50 years earlier.
You can currently watch Mank exclusively on Netflix.
10. Queer (2024)
Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burroughs adaptation starring Daniel Craig as an American expat in 1950s Mexico City features an enchanting, sinister score that ties into themes of unrequited love and emotional vulnerability. Craig delivers a career-best performance as William Lee, pursuing a younger man (Drew Starkey), and the music captures his desperate longing perfectly.
The opening track, “Vaster Than Empires” is particularly bewitching, sending shivers down your spine with its fragile beauty. It’s wild that the same person who made “Closer” created something this delicate and aching. The duo’s song choices add another thoughtful layer.
They included Nirvana tracks like “Come As You Are” and Sinéad O’Connor’s cover of “All Apologies” to highlight the connection between Burroughs and Kurt Cobain. Some critics questioned this anachronistic choice, but it works beautifully, adding emotional resonance to Craig’s heartbreaking journey through desire and addiction.
You can watch Queer on the MUBI streaming service or rent it digitally from platforms like Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Google Play.
9. Bones and All (2022)
For their first collaboration with Luca Guadagnino, Reznor and Ross completely abandoned their electronic comfort zone for this cannibal love story. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell as young outcasts traveling through Reagan-era America, the film demanded something different.
Guadagnino told them the score needed to be (via The Wrap)
terminal and melodic and timeless. A melancholic elegy, an unending longing. It needs to be a character in the film, a part of the landscape.
So they used acoustic guitars and stripped-down instrumentation that captures the loneliness of both Russell and Chalamet’s characters and the ravaged American countryside.
It’s gorgeous and haunting, evoking wide-open spaces and desperate connection. Mark Rylance appears as a terrifying fellow cannibal, and his scenes get appropriately unsettling musical support. The film also yielded a proper Nine Inch Nails song: the heartbreaking “(You Made It Feel Like) Home” over the end credits, which alone makes this essential. Sometimes the best way forward is stripping everything back to basics.
Currently, you are able to watch Bones and All streaming on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus.
8. The Killer (2023)
Reznor and Ross’s fifth collaboration with David Fincher follows Michael Fassbender’s methodical assassin on an international revenge quest that’s equal parts brutal and darkly funny. The score blurs the line between sound design and music, sometimes taking on the feeling of an electronic heartbeat monitor or machinery constantly running.
Tracks like “F*ck.” are gliding atmospheric panic: serene on the surface but churning beneath, perfectly matching Fassbender’s calm exterior and internal chaos. It captures what’s happening inside the protagonist’s brain when he’s not listening to The Smiths (which he does constantly, adding another layer of ironic commentary).
Tilda Swinton shows up for one memorable scene, and the music gets appropriately tense. What makes this score special is how it becomes the assassin’s internal monologue: precise, mechanical, efficient, yet somehow deeply human underneath all that cold professionalism.
You can watch The Killer now streaming on Netflix.
7. Tron: Ares (2025)
Following Wendy Carlos (Tron 1982) and Daft Punk (Tron: Legacy 2010) was always going to be daunting, but Reznor and Ross delivered something spectacular for Joachim Rønning’s sequel. Significantly, this is their first score credited to Nine Inch Nails rather than their individual names, and boy, does it show.
Starring Jared Leto as a rogue program seeking to experience human life, with Greta Lee and Evan Peters in supporting roles, the film gave them freedom to go full industrial. They used “not one second of orchestra,” instead creating a sound they describe as “precise and unpleasant at times” (via Empire).
The 24-track album functions both as a film score and a standalone NIN record, featuring four songs with Reznor’s vocals, including the industrial banger “As Alive as You Need Me to Be.” Tracks like “Echoes” evoke Erik Satie through a cybernetic lens, while the gorgeous “Who Wants to Live Forever?” features Spanish artist Judeline in a haunting duet.
After 15 years of film scoring, this feels like coming full circle: Reznor and Ross are finally bringing their Nine Inch Nails identity explicitly into their soundtrack work.
Tron: Ares is currently running in the theaters.
6. Soul (2020)
Pete Docter’s Pixar masterpiece about a middle school music teacher (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dies right before his big break required something ineffable: the sound of the Great Before. While Jon Batiste handled the earthbound jazz scenes in New York City, Reznor and Ross created glassy synths, airy textures, and pulsing resonance that feels suspended between life and the afterlife.
Tracks like “Portal” shimmer with curiosity, while “Epiphany” distills Pixar’s emotional wallop into hushed, transcendent tones. The contrast between Batiste’s kinetic jazz performances and their spectral electronics gives Soul its dual heartbeat, perfectly representing the divide between Earth and the cosmic waiting room where souls get their personalities.
Phylicia Rashad, Tina Fey, and Graham Norton provide excellent voice work, but the music steals the show. It won them their second Oscar alongside Batiste, proof that electronic soundscapes work beautifully in animation.
You can watch Soul by streaming it with a subscription on Disney+. Alternatively, you can buy or rent the movie from digital platforms such as Fandango at Home, Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Google Play.
5. Gone Girl (2014)
When David Fincher asked for “spa music” to score his adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestseller, Reznor and Ross delivered something far more sinister. The score starts as New Age tone clusters that could pass for Tangerine Dream: all serene surfaces perfect for a seemingly happy marriage between Ben Affleck’s Nick and Rosamund Pike’s Amy.
Then, buzzing glitches tear open the tranquil façade as Pike’s character reveals her true nature. Sonar pings that initially embody romantic connection become militaristic as the psychological warfare escalates between the dueling spouses.
By the end, it’s all noise and glitches, with recurring themes employed ironically – a faint reminder of a shattered façade. It’s a perfect musical representation of the film’s central conceit: placid surfaces hiding carefully maintained fictions. Pike’s Oscar-nominated performance gets the unnerving score it deserves. Brilliant and unsettling in equal measure, this is manipulation through music.
You can watch Gone Girl by streaming it on services like MGM+, Philo, and fuboTV, or by purchasing or renting it from platforms such as Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. You can also find it on streaming services like Netflix and Peacock.
4. Challengers (2024)
Nobody expected Reznor and Ross to deliver a propulsive techno score for Luca Guadagnino’s erotic tennis drama, but that audacity is exactly what makes it work. Starring Zendaya as Tashi, a tennis prodigy turned coach managing the career of her husband Art (Mike Faist) while dealing with complications from his former best friend Patrick (Josh O’Connor), the film needed music that could match its sweaty intensity.
The hypnotic, blood-pumping electronic score becomes the secret weapon, elevating every tennis match into a transcendent experience. Tracks like the explosive “Compress/Repress” have become fan favorites, with the score later remixed by Boys Noize into a standalone dance record that conquered clubs worldwide.
The intensity and forward momentum never let up; this music genuinely makes you want to commit your life to tennis. The duo won their fourth Golden Globe for this audacious work, proving they could dominate any genre they touch.
You can watch Challengers on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, FuboTV, MGM+, and Philo, with options to rent or buy on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Their second Fincher collaboration expanded to nearly three hours of music across David Lagercrantz’s sprawling Swedish mystery. Starring Rooney Mara as hacker Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig as journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigating a decades-old disappearance, the film demanded something epic.
They framed the score with vocal cuts. Karen O’s devastating Led Zeppelin cover “Immigrant Song” over the opening credits, and Mariqueen Maandig (Reznor’s wife) singing Bryan Ferry’s “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” at the end.
Between those bookends lies a searing landscape of industrial aggression and warped orchestral textures that turns unease into spectacle. The music takes center stage during key sequences. Christopher Plummer’s flashback narration, a high-speed motorcycle chase, and Mara’s sleek revenge that’s pure Fincher elegance. It won them their first Grammy and proved The Social Network wasn’t a fluke. This is industrial filmmaking at its finest.
Currently, you are able to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads. It is also possible to buy it on Apple TV as download.
2. The Social Network (2010)
The one that started it all and changed everything. David Fincher’s film about Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and the creation of Facebook needed music that captured the antisocial obsession of coding culture and the vertiginous rise of social media.
Nobody had heard anything like this in 2010: a thrilling mixture of electronic music and deeply felt atmosphere. The stark single-note piano theme became iconic, while “In Motion” conveys programming obsessions through percolating techno. “A Familiar Taste” channels underlying greed and corruption with throbbing abrasiveness as Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake’s characters battle over ownership.
Their frighteningly sleek interpretation of Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” during the regatta scene remains absolutely chilling. This score won them the Oscar for Best Original Score, an impressive feat given the Academy’s historic bias against rock musicians.
It established their trademark balance of delicateness and animosity, proving industrial rock legends could create sophisticated film music. Everything they’ve accomplished since traces back to this haunting triumph.
The Social Network is currently available to stream on Netflix.
1. Watchmen (2019)
At number one sits the most ambitious, genre-spanning, and creatively daring work in the entire Reznor-Ross filmography. Damon Lindelof’s HBO series, starring Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Irons across multiple timelines, required the duo to reinvent themselves completely across three volumes of music.
They jumped from pulsing modern synthscapes to uncanny 1940s swing recreations, composing music that sounds authentically period while maintaining their signature unease.
Tracks like “Dreamland Jazz” don’t just evoke old recordings; they sound like they are old recordings, yet there’s something wrong lurking underneath. The way they weave between timelines, between King’s present-day vigilante and the Tulsa massacre flashbacks, shows a mastery of emotional storytelling through sound.
This isn’t just scoring scenes, it’s building an entire musical universe that spans decades. The scope, ambition, and flawless execution make this their crowning achievement. While The Social Network launched their careers, Watchmen represents the full realization of their artistic vision: proof that they can do absolutely anything.
You can currently watch Watchmen (2019) on Max and Amazon Prime Video.
Over 15 years and more than 20 film and TV scores, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have become the most vital composers working in contemporary cinema. What makes them special isn’t just their electronic mastery or emotional depth; it’s their willingness to serve each film’s unique vision while remaining unmistakably themselves.
Whether it’s period orchestration for Mank, acoustic Americana for Bones and All, or industrial fury for Tron: Ares, they find new ways to surprise us. They’re constantly experimenting, constantly evolving, never falling back on what worked before.
What’s your favorite Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross soundtrack? Did we rank Watchmen too high or The Social Network too low? Are you team Fincher collaborations or team Guadagnino? Drop a comment below and let us know which score deserves the top spot. We want to hear your hot takes!
