---
name: "John Debney"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-debney"
fi1m_id: "john-debney"
imdb_id: "nm0002201"
tmdb_id: 4500
wikidata_id: "Q48975"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "18 August 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 21
average_fi1m_score: 60
average_over: 21
updated: "2026-10-19T04:30:00.464852+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Debney

## Identity

John Debney

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-debney
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-debney
- **IMDb ID:** nm0002201
- **TMDB ID:** 4500
- **Wikidata ID:** Q48975
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Debney, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48975, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002201/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4500

Composer. Born 18 August 1956 in Glendale, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 18 August 1956, Glendale, California, USA
- **Active:** 1982–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Jon Favreau](https://film.one/person/jon-favreau.md), [Alexander Singer](https://film.one/person/alexander-singer.md), [Gabrielle Beaumont](https://film.one/person/gabrielle-beaumont.md), [Hannah Louise Shearer](https://film.one/person/hannah-louise-shearer.md), [Mark Dindal](https://film.one/person/mark-dindal.md), [Michael Piller](https://film.one/person/michael-piller.md), [Mike Vejar](https://film.one/person/michael-vejar.md), [Abbey Lee](https://film.one/person/abbey-lee.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmys (2 won)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 82 (2), 1990s 65 (4), 2000s 58 (7), 2010s 56 (5), 2020s 50 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 57 to 56 across 18 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 6 at 60–79, 11 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 8, Adventure 7, Family 7, Fantasy 7, Drama 6, Action 5
- **Screen time:** 33 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $5,393m across 17 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Debney, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48975, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002201/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4500

## Coming up

- *The Man with the Bag* (2026-12-02), Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-man-with-the-bag.md)
- *Oswald* (2027-02-17), Original Music Composer

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Emperor's New Groove*](https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove.md) (80), [*The Jungle Book*](https://film.one/film/the-jungle-book-2016.md) (72), [*Iron Man 2*](https://film.one/film/iron-man-2.md) (56), [*The Garfield Movie*](https://film.one/film/the-garfield-movie.md) (47), [*Chicken Little*](https://film.one/film/chicken-little.md) (42), [*Ice Age: Collision Course*](https://film.one/film/ice-age-collision-course.md) (37)
- **Paramount+:** [*Star Trek: Deep Space Nine*](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-deep-space-nine.md) (85), [*Star Trek: The Next Generation*](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-the-next-generation.md) (84)
- **HBO Max:** [*Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1*](https://film.one/film/horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1.md) (55), [*The Greatest Showman*](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-showman.md) (54)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Cagney & Lacey*](https://film.one/tv/cagney-and-lacey.md) (81)
- **Netflix:** [*Liar Liar*](https://film.one/film/liar-liar.md) (68)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Debney is an American composer and conductor of film, television and video game scores. Born on 18 August 1956 in Glendale, California, he is the son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney. He studied music composition at the California Institute of the Arts, graduating in 1979.

Debney began his career at Walt Disney Studios before working in television, scoring series including *Star Trek: The Next Generation* and *SeaQuest DSV*. He has composed for numerous films, including *Liar Liar* (1997), *The Princess Diaries* (2001), *Bruce Almighty* (2003), *Sin City* (2005), *Iron Man 2* (2010), *The Jungle Book* (2016) and *The Greatest Showman* (2017). His score for *The Passion of the Christ* (2004) earned an Academy Award nomination. He received three Primetime Emmy Awards and has collaborated with directors such as Jon Favreau and Robert Rodriguez. Recent work includes the score for *Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1* (2024).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, filmmusic.com.*

## On Fi1m (21)

- *Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1* (2024), Fi1m 55, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1.md)
- *Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2* (2024), Fi1m 48, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-2.md)
- *The Garfield Movie* (2024), Fi1m 47, Music, Conductor, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-garfield-movie.md)
- *The Greatest Showman* (2017), Fi1m 54, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-showman.md)
- *Ice Age: Collision Course* (2016), Fi1m 37, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/ice-age-collision-course.md)
- *The Jungle Book* (2016), Fi1m 72, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-jungle-book-2016.md)
- *Iron Man 2* (2010), Fi1m 56, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/iron-man-2.md)
- *Predators* (2010), Fi1m 60, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/predators.md)
- *The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor* (2008), Fi1m 40, Additional Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-mummy-tomb-of-the-dragon-emperor.md)
- *Chicken Little* (2005), Fi1m 42, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/chicken-little.md)
- *Sin City* (2005), Fi1m 75, Original Music Composer, Conductor, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/sin-city.md)
- *The Pacifier* (2005), Fi1m 36, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-pacifier.md)
- *Bruce Almighty* (2003), Fi1m 55, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/bruce-almighty.md)
- *Elf* (2003), Fi1m 75, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/elf.md)
- *The Emperor's New Groove* (2000), Fi1m 80, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove.md)
- *End of Days* (1999), Fi1m 48, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/end-of-days.md)
- *Liar Liar* (1997), Fi1m 68, Original Music Composer, Conductor, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/liar-liar.md)
- *Doctor Who* (1996), Fi1m 60, Theme Song Performance, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-who-1996.md)
- *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* (1993), Fi1m 85, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-deep-space-nine.md)
- *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (1987), Fi1m 84, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-the-next-generation.md)
- *Cagney & Lacey* (1982), Fi1m 81, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/cagney-and-lacey.md)

## Complete filmography (194)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Oswald* (2027), series, Original Music Composer
- *The Man with the Bag* (2026), Original Music Composer — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/the-man-with-the-bag.md)
- *You, Me & Tuscany* (2026), Original Music Composer
- *The Gray House* (2026), series, Original Music Composer
- *The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants* (2025), Original Music Composer
- *In Your Dreams* (2025), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2* (2024), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-2.md)
- *Space Cadet* (2024), Original Music Composer
- *Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1* (2024), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/horizon-an-american-saga-chapter-1.md)
- *The Garfield Movie* (2024), Conductor, Original Music Composer — Fi1m 47, [page](https://film.one/film/the-garfield-movie.md)
- *Under the Boardwalk* (2023), Original Music Composer
- *Spy Kids: Armageddon* (2023), Original Music Composer
- *Hypnotic* (2023), Additional Music
- *Bad Luck Spot!* (2023), Music
- *80 for Brady* (2023), Original Music Composer
- *Hocus Pocus 2* (2022), Original Music Composer
- *Luck* (2022), Original Music Composer
- *Marry Me* (2022), Original Music Composer
- *American Underdog* (2021), Original Music Composer
- *Home Sweet Home Alone* (2021), Original Music Composer
- *Clifford the Big Red Dog* (2021), Original Music Composer
- *The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers* (2021), series, Original Music Composer
- *Come Away* (2020), Original Music Composer
- *Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey* (2020), Original Music Composer
- *In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover* (2020), as Music Man
- *Asteroid Hunters* (2020), Original Music Composer
- *I Still Believe* (2020), Original Music Composer
- *Lake of Death* (2019), Original Music Composer
- *Sextuplets* (2019), Original Music Composer
- *Brian Banks* (2019), Original Music Composer
- *Dora and the Lost City of Gold* (2019), Original Music Composer
- *The Beach Bum* (2019), Original Music Composer
- *Isn't It Romantic* (2019), Original Music Composer
- *Beirut* (2018), Original Music Composer
- *Chiefs* (2018), Original Music Composer
- *The Greatest Showman* (2017), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-showman.md)
- *Flint* (2017), Original Music Composer
- *Young Sheldon* (2017), series, Original Music Composer
- *The Orville* (2017), series, Music
- *Home Again* (2017), Original Music Composer
- *Santa Clarita Diet* (2017), series, Music
- *Growing Up Wild* (2016), Original Music Composer
- *Scrat: Spaced Out* (2016), Original Music Composer
- *League of Gods* (2016), Original Music Composer
- *Ice Age: Collision Course* (2016), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 37, [page](https://film.one/film/ice-age-collision-course.md)
- *Mother's Day* (2016), Original Music Composer
- *The Jungle Book* (2016), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-jungle-book-2016.md)
- *The Young Messiah* (2016), Original Music Composer
- *Texas Rising* (2015), series, Music
- *American Odyssey* (2015), series, Music
- *Broken Horses* (2015), Original Music Composer
- *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water* (2015), Original Music Composer
- *Point of Honor* (2015), series, Music
- *Stonehearst Asylum* (2014), Original Music Composer
- *The Cobbler* (2014), Original Music Composer
- *Houdini* (2014), series, Music
- *Walk of Shame* (2014), Original Music Composer
- *Draft Day* (2014), Original Music Composer
- *Bonnie & Clyde* (2013), series, Original Music Composer
- *Jobs* (2013), Original Music Composer
- *The Call* (2013), Original Music Composer
- *Alex Cross* (2012), Original Music Composer
- *The Three Stooges* (2012), Original Music Composer
- *A Thousand Words* (2012), Original Music Composer
- *New Year's Eve* (2011), Original Music Composer
- *The Double* (2011), Original Music Composer
- *Dream House* (2011), Original Music Composer
- *The Change-Up* (2011), Original Music Composer
- *No Strings Attached* (2011), Original Music Composer
- *Yogi Bear* (2010), Original Music Composer
- *Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of 'Iron Man 2'* (2010), Music
- *Predators* (2010), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/predators.md)
- *Iron Man 2* (2010), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/iron-man-2.md)
- *Valentine's Day* (2010), Original Music Composer
- *Old Dogs* (2009), Original Music Composer
- *Aliens in the Attic* (2009), Original Music Composer
- *The Stoning of Soraya M.* (2009), Original Music Composer
- *Hannah Montana: The Movie* (2009), Original Music Composer
- *Hotel for Dogs* (2009), Original Music Composer
- *My Best Friend's Girl* (2008), Original Music Composer
- *Swing Vote* (2008), Original Music Composer
- *Meet Dave* (2008), Original Music Composer
- *The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor* (2008), Additional Music — Fi1m 40, [page](https://film.one/film/the-mummy-tomb-of-the-dragon-emperor.md)
- *The Seed* (2008), Music
- *Evan Almighty* (2007), Original Music Composer
- *Georgia Rule* (2007), Original Music Composer
- *By His Wounds We Are Healed: Making 'The Passion of the Christ'* (2007), as Music
- *Idlewild* (2006), Original Music Composer
- *Barnyard* (2006), Conductor, Original Music Composer
- *Everyone's Hero* (2006), Original Music Composer
- *The Ant Bully* (2006), Original Music Composer
- *Keeping Up with the Steins* (2006), Original Music Composer
- *Cheaper by the Dozen 2* (2005), Original Music Composer
- *Zathura: A Space Adventure* (2005), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Chicken Little* (2005), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 42, [page](https://film.one/film/chicken-little.md)
- *Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story* (2005), Original Music Composer
- *The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl* (2005), Original Music Composer
- *Duma* (2005), Original Music Composer
- *Sin City* (2005), Original Music Composer, Conductor — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/sin-city.md)
- *The Pacifier* (2005), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 36, [page](https://film.one/film/the-pacifier.md)
- *Christmas with the Kranks* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *Raising Helen* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *The Whole Ten Yards* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *The Passion of the Christ* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *Welcome to Mooseport* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *Elf* (2003), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/elf.md)
- *Bruce Almighty* (2003), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/bruce-almighty.md)
- *Malibu's Most Wanted* (2003), Original Music Composer
- *The Hot Chick* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *The Tuxedo* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Swimfan* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *The Scorpion King* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Dragonfly* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Snow Dogs* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *The Princess Diaries* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *Cats & Dogs* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *Heartbreakers* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *Spy Kids* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *See Spot Run* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *The Emperor's New Groove* (2000), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-emperors-new-groove.md)
- *Running Mates* (2000), Music
- *The Replacements* (2000), Original Music Composer
- *Relative Values* (2000), Original Music Composer
- *Michael Jordan to the Max* (2000), Music
- *Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *End of Days* (1999), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/end-of-days.md)
- *The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story* (1999), Music
- *The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Dick* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Inspector Gadget* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Komodo* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *G-Saviour* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Lost & Found* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *My Favorite Martian* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *I'll Be Home for Christmas* (1998), Original Music Composer
- *Paulie* (1998), Original Music Composer
- *Justice League of America* (1997), Original Music Composer
- *I Know What You Did Last Summer* (1997), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Liar Liar* (1997), Original Music Composer, Conductor — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/liar-liar.md)
- *The Relic* (1997), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Carpool* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *Doctor Who* (1996), Original Music Composer, Theme Song Performance — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-who-1996.md)
- *Getting Away with Murder* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *Chameleon* (1996), Music
- *Cutthroat Island* (1995), Original Music Composer
- *Sudden Death* (1995), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Runaway Brain* (1995), Original Music Composer
- *Kansas* (1995), Music
- *In Pursuit of Honor* (1995), Original Music Composer
- *Houseguest* (1995), Original Music Composer
- *Little Giants* (1994), Original Music Composer
- *White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf* (1994), Original Music Composer
- *The Flintstones: Hollyrock a Bye Baby* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *The Town Santa Forgot* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *The Halloween Tree* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *Against the Grain* (1993), series, Music
- *SeaQuest DSV* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *For Love and Glory* (1993), Music
- *Praying Mantis* (1993), Music
- *Hocus Pocus* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *Gunmen* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *Class of '61* (1993), Music
- *Jonny's Golden Quest* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* (1993), series, Music — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-deep-space-nine.md)
- *Sunstroke* (1992), Music
- *Still Not Quite Human* (1992), Original Music Composer
- *Into the Badlands* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *Tiny Toon Adventures* (1990), series, Music
- *Jetsons: The Movie* (1990), Original Music Composer
- *The Yum Yums: The Day Things Went Sour* (1990), Music
- *The Eyes of the Panther* (1989), Music
- *Trenchcoat in Paradise* (1989), Music
- *Carmilla* (1989), Music
- *The Turn of the Screw* (1989), Music
- *A Pup Named Scooby-Doo* (1988), series, Sound
- *The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *Yogi's Great Escape* (1987), as Songs
- *DTV: Monster Hits* (1987), Additional Music
- *The Day My Kid Went Punk* (1987), Music
- *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (1987), series, Music — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-the-next-generation.md)
- *Sport Goofy in Soccermania* (1987), Music
- *Rose Petal Place: Real Friends* (1985), Music
- *Donald Duck's 50th Birthday* (1984), Original Music Composer
- *Disney Family Album* (1984), series, Main Title Theme Composer
- *Fitness and Me: Why Exercise?* (1984), Original Music Composer
- *Backstage at Disney* (1983), Music
- *Cagney & Lacey* (1982), series, Music — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/cagney-and-lacey.md)
- *Fame* (1982), series, Original Music Composer
- *Deer in the Works* (1980), Music
- *The Strongest Man in the World* (1975), as John (Student)

## Gallery

- ![John Debney](https://film.one/media/person/11365/gallery-611ad82082f3.jpg) John Debney — Floatjon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/John_Debney.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![John Debney](https://film.one/media/person/11365/gallery-76c9588d7ed2.jpg) John Debney — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2005: Best Original Score (nominated), for *The Passion of the Christ*

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 2 won

- 1997: Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) (won), for *The Cape*
- 1994: Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music (won), for *SeaQuest DSV*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-debney