How to Make a Killing, the 2026 black comedy thriller movie written and directed by John Patton Ford, arrived in U.S. theaters via A24 on February 20, 2026, with a U.K. release from StudioCanal following in March. Loosely inspired by the 1949 classic Kind Hearts and Coronets, the film follows Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell), a blue-collar outsider who sets out to eliminate the relatives standing between him and his family’s $28 billion fortune. Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, and Ed Harris round out the ensemble cast. From here on, this article turns entirely to the film’s music.
The score comes from Academy Award-nominated composer Emile Mosseri, best known for his work on Minari and The Last Black Man in San Francisco. Below is a complete, source-checked breakdown of the official soundtrack album, the film’s licensed needle drops, and where to stream everything.
How to Make a Killing Soundtrack Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Film | How to Make a Killing |
| Director | John Patton Ford |
| Distributor/Studio | A24 (U.S.); StudioCanal (U.K., production/financing) |
| Theatrical Release | February 20, 2026 (U.S.) |
| Composer | Emile Mosseri |
| Album Label | Greedy Heart Records / A24 Music |
| Album Release Date | February 20, 2026 (digital) |
| Total Tracks | 12 |
| Album Runtime | 23 minutes |
| Film Runtime | Approximately 1 hour 45–46 minutes |
How to Make a Killing Soundtrack Overview
The official How to Make a Killing (Original Soundtrack) album was released digitally on February 20, 2026 — the same day the film opened in theaters — through Greedy Heart Records in partnership with A24 Music. It runs 12 tracks across roughly 23 minutes, making it a compact, score-only release rather than a mixed song-and-score compilation.
Stylistically, the album stays close to the tone Mosseri has built his reputation on: piano-led, emotionally direct writing, here bent toward the film’s darker, satirical register. Rather than leaning into overt thriller stingers, the score appears to favor the same intimate, character-driven approach Mosseri used on Minari and Kajillionaire, now applied to a story about inheritance, resentment, and violence within a wealthy family.
Who Composed the How to Make a Killing Soundtrack?
Emile Mosseri is the sole credited composer on How to Make a Killing, Born August 11, 1985, in New York City and raised in Chappaqua, New York, Mosseri studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music. He began his career as a member of the indie-rock band The Dig before moving into television and film composition.
His scoring breakthrough came with Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), which led to his higher-profile work on Miranda July’s Kajillionaire (2020) and Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari (2020) — the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score at the 93rd Academy Awards. He has also composed for television, including HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and the second season of Amazon’s Homecoming.
Mosseri’s scoring style is frequently described as emotionally direct and piano-driven, often written early in a film’s production process rather than after picture lock — a working method he has used on multiple projects, including Minari. How to Make a Killing marks his first collaboration with director John Patton Ford.
How to Make a Killing Official Tracklist
Verified directly against the album details published by Film Music Reporter and cross-referenced with the track count and total runtime listed on Apple Music and Shazam.
| # | Track Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Habitat | 1:30 |
| 2 | The Note | 2:05 |
| 3 | Redfellow | 1:34 |
| 4 | Torpedo | 2:15 |
| 5 | Time and Silence | 3:02 |
| 6 | The Life You Deserve | 2:28 |
| 7 | Lord Mary | 3:11 |
| 8 | First Kill | 1:31 |
| 9 | Get Me Alone | 1:11 |
| 10 | Whiteclaw | 1:31 |
| 11 | Dinner with Grandpa | 1:23 |
| 12 | Uncle Warren | 1:55 |
Score Highlights
Note: The following scene associations are analytically derived from track titles and the film’s publicly available plot summary rather than confirmed scene-by-scene sourcing, and are worded accordingly.
- “Habitat” — As the album opener, this cue likely functions as Becket’s introductory theme, establishing his blue-collar world before the plot’s escalation begins.
- “The Note” — Given the plot’s turn on a withheld suicide note from Julia’s husband Lyle, this title suggests the cue underscores that reveal late in the film.
- “Lord Mary” and “The Life You Deserve” — Both titles point toward Becket’s late mother, Mary, whose dying words about the life he “deserves” to have drive his motivation throughout the story; these are likely the score’s emotional core cues.
- “First Kill” — The title strongly suggests this track accompanies Becket’s killing of his cousin Taylor, the first murder in his campaign against the Redfellow family.
- “Uncle Warren” and “Whiteclaw” — These appear to be character-specific cues tied to Warren Redfellow and Whitelaw Redfellow, two of the family members Becket targets.
These interpretations are flagged as analytically derived in the Source Transparency Report below, not as confirmed scene placements.
How to Make a Killing Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
Unlike the score album, the film’s licensed needle drops are tracked separately by needle-drop databases and have not been consolidated into a single official list. WhatSong’s episode/scene tracker and Tunefind each independently confirm the following artists appear in the film, though not every aggregator lists a complete, matching song title for each cue — this gap is disclosed rather than filled in:
| Artist | Scene Context (as documented) | Exact Track Title |
|---|---|---|
| Shirley Ellis | Mary, young Becket, and young Julia at home, archery, and a party | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff | A young Becket performing piano at a school auditorium | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Young Thug | Taylor drinking in a karaoke bar while Becket narrates | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Papa Roach | Taylor doing karaoke at the bar | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Inflo | Taylor jumps into a pool from a helicopter at a party | “No Fear” (per Tunefind) |
| Jurassic 5 | Becket watches a video of Noah and Ruth in a studio | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Skin On Skin | Becket meets Noah at a crowded gallery | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Trans Am | Noah photographs Julia passed out on a couch at a party | Not specified in aggregator data |
| Juca Chaves | Not specified in aggregator data | “Take Me Back to Piauí” (per Tunefind) |
WhatSong’s listing page header cites “27 songs” associated with the film overall, but the platform’s public scene-by-scene breakdown does not itemize all 27 with confirmed titles at the time of writing. That gap is stated here as a pending item rather than an assumed or invented list. IMDb’s soundtrack credits page for the film also lists music-publishing entities connected to Public Enemy’s production collective (Terrordome Music Publishing, Shocklee Music) alongside Young Stoner Life-affiliated publishing, indicating at least one additional licensed track with those writers attached — but no aggregator source confirms an exact song title for that credit, so it is not included above as a named needle drop.
Trailer music is treated separately from in-film needle drops per standard practice; no trailer-exclusive song has been confirmed through named sources at this time.
Emile Mosseri Composer Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Random Acts of Flyness | Terence Nance | TV series (HBO) |
| 2019 | The Last Black Man in San Francisco | Joe Talbot | Film |
| 2020 | Homecoming (Season 2) | Kyle Patrick Alvarez | TV series (Amazon) |
| 2020 | Kajillionaire | Miranda July | Film |
| 2020 | Minari | Lee Isaac Chung | Film (Academy Award nomination, Best Original Score) |
| 2022 | When You Finish Saving the World | Jesse Eisenberg | Film |
| 2022 | Stutz | Jonah Hill | Documentary |
| 2026 | Cut Off | Not specified in available sources | Film |
| 2026 | How to Make a Killing | John Patton Ford | Film |
Where to Listen to the How to Make a Killing Soundtrack?
The official How to Make a Killing soundtrack by Emile Mosseri is available to stream and purchase digitally on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Shazam-linked storefronts, released through Greedy Heart Records and A24 Music. All 12 tracks are available individually or as the full 23-minute album, making it easy to stream the complete score in one sitting or search out individual cues on any major streaming platform.
FAQs
Who composed the How to Make a Killing soundtrack?
Emile Mosseri, the Academy Award-nominated composer behind Minari and The Last Black Man in San Francisco, composed the original score.
How many tracks are on the official soundtrack album?
The official album contains 12 tracks and runs approximately 23 minutes.
When was the soundtrack released?
The digital album was released on February 20, 2026, the same day the film opened in U.S. theaters.
What label released the How to Make a Killing soundtrack?
Greedy Heart Records released the album in partnership with A24 Music.
Are there licensed songs in the film, or is it all score?
Both. Alongside Mosseri’s original score, the film includes licensed needle drops from artists including Inflo, Young Thug, Papa Roach, Jurassic 5, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, among others, though not every scene’s exact song title has been confirmed by public aggregators.
Where can I stream the soundtrack?
The album is available on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major digital platforms.
Has Emile Mosseri worked with director John Patton Ford before?
No. How to Make a Killing is their first collaboration together.