Best Original Score Oscars Predictions (February)

There weren’t any major shocks or snubs in the Oscars shortlist for Best Original Score, especially given we already knew scores like Judas and the Black Messiah, One Night in Miami, and Sound of Metal had been ruled ineligible. All the heavyhitters made it into the final 15, and now we await the Academy’s nomination announcement on March 15.

What scores will make the final five is still shrouded in mystery. Mank, News of the World, and the frontrunner Soul all seem like locks, particularly after all three were nominated at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. But those final two spots are wide open.

The HFPA went for The Midnight Sky and Tenet as their additional picks, while Critics Choice chose Da 5 Bloods and The Midnight Sky. Does that suggest Alexandre Desplat is in line for his 12th Oscar nomination for George Clooney’s space epic? Desplat’s nominations generally align with Best Picture nominees (nine from his 11 nominations), so the fact The Midnight Sky is only a tech category contender could work against the composer.

If there’s one potential shocker waiting in the wings, it has to be 15-time Thomas Newman. The Little Things has overperformed from absolutely nowhere and Warner Bros. are suddenly starting to campaign the film like crazy. While no one would ever think Newman has a chance to win, we know the Academy seemingly can’t help but nominate the composer.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE PREDICTIONS:
1. Soul (Disney)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
2. News of the World (Universal Pictures)
James Newton Howard
3. Mank (Netflix)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
4. The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Alexandre Desplat
5. Minari (A24)
Emile Mosseri

MAJOR CONTENDERS:
Ammonite (NEON)
Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O’Halloran
Blizzard of Souls (Film Movement)
Lolita Ritmanis
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Terence Blanchard
The Invisible Man (Universal Pictures)
Benjamin Wallfisch
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix)
John Debney
The Life Ahead (Netflix)
Gabriel Yared
The Little Things (Warner Bros.)
Thomas Newman 
Mulan (Disney)
Henry Gregson-Williams
Tenet (Warner Bros.)
Ludwig Göransson
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Daniel Pemberton