Best Original Score:

This category sees some of the most established names, such as Hans Zimmer for his work in Dune, three-time-nominee Nicholas Britell (The Big Short, Moonlight) for Don’t Look Up, and four-time-nominee Alberto Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Skin I Live In) for his amazing work in Parallel Mothers. Just as incredible were Jonny Greenwood for The Power of the Dog and Germaine Franco for Encanto, and all of these five composers tend to create music that encapsulates the atmosphere of the film very well, though it is a safe bet that this year’s award would go to Hans Zimmer. Then again, it is always safe to bet that Hans Zimmer did something Oscar-worthy.

Prediction: Dune

Best Original Song:

Usual suspect Diane Warren has yet another song (‘Somehow You Do’ from Four Good Days) nominated making this her astonishing 13th Oscar nomination. Unsurprisingly, the song is for a movie that, besides this nomination, has no presence in the awards circuit. Irish artist Van Morrison is competing with ‘Down to Joy’, written for Belfast, directed by Kenneth Branagh, a fellow Northern Irishman. ‘Down to Joy’ is very reminiscent of classic Van Morrison, which is appropriate for a movie so steeped in nostalgia. 

Two music superstars are also competing in this category, though it may be a little difficult to judge their cultural impact. ‘No Time to Die’, the eponymous song of the latest in the 007 franchise, is a perfect amalgamation of Billie Eilish‘s (and brother Finneas O’Connell‘s) style with the tropes of the Bond song, but No Time to Die was also underseen compared to previous entries and not just for pandemic-related reasons. Beyonce also takes risks with ‘Be Alive’ in making a song that isn’t instantly catchy but still interesting in terms of its dense production and oblique musicality. If you were to ask a person who had seen King Richard (which may not have been many given its concurrent release on HBO Max and fairly limited wide release) if he or she knew there was a song by Beyonce nominated this year, you would probably hear an answer in the negative.

In 2022, though, it felt like Lin-Manuel Miranda was inescapable. He was involved in not one, but two animated features including Encanto, from which ‘Dos Oroguitas’ is nominated; he also made his directorial debut and had one of his musicals adapted, albeit to little fanfare and some controversy. ‘Dos Oroguitas’ is a quiet, tender song in the midst of a soundtrack full of catchy and lyrically dense songs, and perhaps it will get a boost from association with those songs to complete Miranda’s EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).

Prediction: ‘No Time to Die’ (No Time to Die)

Best Sound:

Looking at the nominees for Best Sound, you can see some definite trends. Often the movies with the “most” sound as opposed to the best-designed sound (not necessarily mutually exclusive) are nominated. It’s no wonder than that large-scale blockbusters like Dune, No Time to Die, and West Side Story were nominated considering the breadth of those projects and the vast array of sounds needed. Dune had the special challenge of coming up with sounds that would make sense in a sci-fi epic such as futuristic weapons and vehicles. 

Belfast and The Power of the Dog wouldn’t seem like obvious contenders in this category, but sound is crucial in both of these films. Belfast had to believably give the impression of a relatively small community plagued with violence. Whereas The Power of the Dog also has taking place in huge, overwhelming vistas and getting actors to sound halfway decent in such settings is a monumental task in and of itself. But it is within these technical categories where the Academy is OK with voting for big blockbusters, and Dune certainly fits that bill.

Prediction: Dune