Oscar Predictions: Best Sound

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22nd. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in most of the major categories.


Last year’s nominees: Baby Driver, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, Star Wars: The Last Jedi

My choices: Coming in February!

This year’s locks: A Quiet Place, A Star is Born

Very likely: Roma, Black Panther

Possible: Mary Poppins Returns, Bohemian Rhapsody, First Man, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Ready Player One

Unlikely: Annihilation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout

The rundown: This category is always challenging to predict. The Cinema Audio Society nominees may shed some light on the contenders here, with A Quiet Place and A Star is Born almost certain to be nominated. Black Panther is a good bet, while I’m not sure if Bohemian Rhapsody and First Man will both make the cut. I’m betting instead on Roma, which I imagine may dominate all the races, and I’m watching out also for Solo: A Star Wars Story based on the statistic of all three new films from its series being honored the past three years. That’s the same reason I’m betting against Mission: Impossible – Fallout since no film from that series, recent or otherwise, has ever been nominated here. Watch out also for Mary Poppins Returns and Ready Player One, or maybe even Annihilation.

One possible crazy scenario: I wouldn’t be happy at all, but somehow Vox Lux manages to score a nomination for one of its less off-putting elements.

Forecasted winner: I think that, if nominated, this goes to A Star is Born.