This is a list of compositions by Danny Elfman for film, television, stage and the concert hall.
For a list of recordings, see Danny Elfman discography, and for Elfman's work as lead singer/songwriter of Oingo Boingo, see Oingo Boingo discography.
The following list consists of select films for which Danny Elfman composed the score and/or songs.
| Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) | Notes / Accolades | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Forbidden Zone | Richard Elfman | The Samuel Goldwyn Company | First film score Film released in 1982[1] though Elfman has said he wrote the music in 1980[2] In addition to composing the score and songs with the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, Elfman arranged and performed Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" with new lyrics as the character Satan[3] | |
| 1985 | Pee-wee's Big Adventure | Tim Burton | Warner Bros. Aspen Film Society | Debut score for a major film studio[4] | |
| 1986 | Back to School | Alan Metter | Orion Pictures Paper Clip Productions | In addition to composing the score, Elfman appears in the film as the lead singer of Oingo Boingo performing their song "Dead Man's Party"[5] | |
| Wisdom | Emilio Estevez | 20th Century Fox (United States) Cannon Films (International) Gladden Entertainment | Composed, arranged and performed by Elfman entirely on synthesizer | ||
| 1987 | Summer School | Carl Reiner | Paramount Pictures | 1984 Publishing put out this previously unreleased score by Elfman in 2023 on CD and on vinyl in 4 different color variants. | |
| 1988 | Beetlejuice | Tim Burton | Warner Bros. The Geffen Company | At the top of the "Main Titles" music as heard in the film, Elfman sings lyrics from "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" in the style of Harry Belafonte, the original version of which is used to comic effect later in the film[6] Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Music | |
| Midnight Run | Martin Brest | Universal Pictures City Light Films | |||
| Big Top Pee-wee | Randal Kleiser | Paramount Pictures | |||
| Hot to Trot | Michael Dinner | Warner Bros. | |||
| Scrooged | Richard Donner | Paramount Pictures Mirage Productions | |||
| 1989 | Batman | Tim Burton | Warner Bros. | Grammy Award Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media[7] Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (for "Batman theme") |
| Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Dolittle | Stephen Gaghan | Universal Pictures R/K Films Team Downey Productions Perfect World Pictures | ||
| 2021 | The Woman in the Window | Netflix 20th Century Studios Fox 2000 Pictures Scott Rudin Productions | Replaced Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.[24] | ||
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Sam Raimi | Marvel Studios | In addition to contributing the full score with several original themes, Elfman referenced thematic material from 2016's Doctor Strange by Michael Giacchino, by Alan Silvestri, WandaVision by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and ; the score also adapts music from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Bach's Toccata and Fugue for a climatic fight scene[25] | |
| White Noise | Noah Baumbach | Netflix | |||
| 2024 | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Tim Burton | Warner Bros. Pictures |
In addition to his feature scores, Elfman has supplied thematic material and additional music for films scored by others (theme only unless otherwise noted):
| Year | Title | Director | Composer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Bachelor Party | Neal Israel | Robert Folk | "Bachelor Party Theme" with Oingo Boingo[26] | |
| 1985 | Weird Science | John Hughes | Ira Newborn | "Weird Science" title song with Oingo Boingo[27] | |
| 1991 | Pure Luck | Nadia Tass | Jonathan Sheffer | "Main Title" and "We Found Her" | |
| 1992 | Army of Darkness | Sam Raimi | Joseph LoDuca | "March of the Dead" | |
| 1994 | Shrunken Heads | Richard Elfman | Richard Band | ||
| 1997 | Scream 2 | Wes Craven | Marco Beltrami | "Cassandra Aria" & "Cassandra Aria Reprise" | |
| 1998 | Modern Vampires | Richard Elfman | Michael Wandmacher | ||
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Donald Petrie | John Debney | "Uncle Martin's Theme" | |
| 2001 | Heartbreakers[28] | David Mirkin | |||
| Novocaine | David Atkins | Steve Bartek | |||
| 2010 | Kick-Ass | Matthew Vaughn | John Murphy Henry Jackman Marius de Vries Ilan Eshkeri | "Walk to Rasul's" | |
| 2011 | Do Not Disturb[29] | Mali Elfman | Mike Einziger Oliver Hecks |
The following list consists of select works composed for the stage and concert hall.
| Year | Title | Other Artists | Notes / Accolades | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Serenada Schizophrana | Commissioned and premiered by the American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Sloane | First commissioned concert work Premiered February 23, 2005 at Carnegie Hall[31] Recorded in 2006 by conductor John Mauceri and the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra | |
| 2008 | Rabbit & Rogue | First ballet score, written for Twyla Tharp's Rabbit and Rogue Co-commission by American Ballet Theatre and Orange County Performing Arts Center Premiered June 3, 2008, at the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center[32] LA Film Festival's Rabbit and Rogue contest provided free usage of Elfman's music to which filmmakers created short films[33] | ||
| 2011 | Iris | Commissioned by Cirque Du Soleil for director Philippe Decouflé's Cirque du Soleil show based on the history and themes of cinema Elfman's score was pre-recorded with an orchestra of 100 musicians (the largest in Cirque du Soleil's history), that was then mixed with the show's eight live, in-house musicians during performance.[34] | ||
| 2013 | Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton | John Mauceri conductor | Nearly two hours of orchestral suites newly arranged by Elfman from his scores for the films of Tim Burton Premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 7, 2013, with John Mauceri conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Elfman performing the songs of characters Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas segment.[35] Continues to tour internationally, with performances in Europe, Japan, Australia, and throughout the U.S. The 2015 performance at Lincoln Center was recorded live and broadcast on PBS[36] | |
| 2017 | Violin Concerto "Eleven Eleven" | Violinist Sandy Cameron, conductor John Mauceri and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra | First violin concerto Co-commissioned by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Stanford Live at Stanford University, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for violinist Sandy Cameron[37] Premiered in Prague June 21, 2017, with Cameron, Mauceri and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra Recorded in 2019 with Cameron, Mauceri and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra | |
| 2018 | Piano Quartet | Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet (Matthew Hunter, Knut Weber, Luis Esnaola, Markus Groh) | First piano quartet Co-commissioned by the Lied Center for Performing Arts University of Nebraska in Lincoln and the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet Premiered February 6, 2018, at the Lied Center in Lincoln, Nebraska[38] | |
| 2019 | Incidental music for the Broadway production written by Taylor Mac, directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Scott Rudin[39] | |||
| Percussion Quartet | Third Coast Percussion | Commissioned by Third Coast Percussion, who premiered the piece at Philip Glass Center's 2019 Central Coast Days & Nights Festival on October 10, 2019[40] | ||
| 2022 | Danny Elfman: From Boingo to ‘Batman’ to ‘Big Mess’ to Beyond! | Steve Bartek (conductor), Wes Borland (guitar), Stu Brooks (bass), Nili Brosh (guitar), Josh Freese (drums)[41] | Initially announced as Danny Elfman: Past, Present and Future! From Boingo to Batman and Beyond | as part of Coachella 2020, the concert was postponed to April 16, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic[42] [43] Featuring selections of Elfman's film and television music arranged for band, orchestra and choir, as well as songs from his solo album Big Mess and new arrangements of songs from his Oingo Boingo catalogue[44] Expanded for two concerts performed Halloween weekend at the Hollywood Bowl[45] |
| Cello Concerto | Gautier Capucon (cello), Wiener Symphoniker, David Robertson (conductor) | Commissioned jointly by Wiener Konzerthaus, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. World premiere Wiener Konzerthaus, Vienna 18 March 2022[46] | ||
| Percussion Concerto | Colin Currie (percussion), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ludwig Wicki (conductor) | Commissioned jointly by London Philharmonic Orchestra and Soka University of America World premiere Royal Festival Hall, London 25 March 2022 | ||
| Wunderkammer | National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Andrew Gourlay (conductor) | Commissioned by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain World premiere Bridgewater Hall, Manchester 3 August and then at the BBC Proms, 6 August 2022[47] | ||
| 2023 | Suite for Chamber Orchestra | Orpheus Chamber Orchestra | Co-commissioned by the Library of Congress, The Andre Kostelanetz Royalty Pool, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland World premiere St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Washington, D.C.) 4 May 2023[48] |
Elfman has written the theme music and occasional episodic scores for several television series, including:
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Episode: "The Jar", directed by Tim Burton | |
| Amazing Stories | Episodes: "Mummy, Daddy" & "The Family Dog" with Steve Bartek | ||
| 1986 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | Episodes: "Monster in the Playhouse," "Cowboy and the Cowntess," "Store," & "Pee-Wee Catches A Cold" | |
| Sledge Hammer! | Theme music only Score composed by Don Davis, Ron Grant, Lance Rubin & Richard Stone | ||
| Fast Times | Theme music only, with Oingo Boingo Score composed by Barry Goldberg, Arthur Barrow & Steve Schiff | ||
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt | Theme music only Score composed by various others including Jay Ferguson, Nicholas Pike, Alan Silvestri, J. Peter Robinson & Michael Kamen | |
| Beetlejuice: The Animated Series | Theme music only Score composed by Tom Szczesniak | ||
| The Simpsons | Theme music only Score composed by Richard Gibbs, Alf Clausen & Bleeding Fingers MusicNominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | ||
| 1990 | The Flash | Theme music only Score composed by Shirley Walker | |
| 1992 | "Main Title" & "End Credit"Score composed by various others including Shirley Walker | ||
| 1993 | Family Dog | Theme music only Score composed by Steve Bartek | |
| 1997 | Perversions of Science | Theme music only Score composed by J. Peter Robinson & Ernest Troost | |
| 1999 | Dilbert | Theme music only, rearrangement of the title song for Forbidden Zone Score composed by Adam Cohen & Ian Dye | |
| 2004 | Desperate Housewives | Theme music only Score composed by Steve Bartek, Stewart Copeland & Steve JablonskyPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music[49] | |
| 2005 | Point Pleasant | Theme music only Score composed by Robert Duncan | |
| 2008 | Amas de Casa Desesperadas | Theme music only Score composed by Steve Bartek, Stewart Copeland & Steve Jablonsky | |
| 2017 | When We Rise | Miniseries Score composed with Chris Bacon[50] | |
| 2022 | Wednesday | Television series Theme music Score composed with Chris BaconPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | |
| TBA | Rhona Who Lives By The River | Television seriesScore composer, songwriter and executive producer[51] |
In 2019 selections from his score to the film Midnight Run were used in the third season of Netflix's Stranger Things,[53] including "Stairway Chase" in episodes 5 and 6, and "Wild Ride" and "Package Deal" in episode 6.
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Fable[54] | Opening title theme Score composed by Russell Shaw | |
| 2008 | Excerpts from Batman; DS version also uses excerpts from Batman Returns Score arranged by Morgan Peeters | ||
| Fable II[55] | Composed with Russell Shaw | ||
| 2009 | Themes from Wanted Score composed by Ulf Andersson | ||
| 2012 | Excerpts from Batman and Batman Returns Compliments score composed by Rob Westwood | ||
| 2013 | Puppet Masterpiece Theater: The Circus | iPad app created by children's entertainment group Organa Kids[56] | |
| 2014 | Excerpts from Batman Compliments score composed by Rob Westwood |