Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross remain in the frontrunner position this month for their acclaimed score for Soul. There has been equal adoration for their work on David Fincher’s Mank and it’s highly likely they’ll be double nominees in this category. Whether that means we’ll see a vote-splitting situation remains another story.
Joining the race this month is two-time winner Alexandre Desplat for his score on Netflix’s space epic, The Midnight Sky. With 11 nominations and two victories in his illustrious career, it’s clear the Academy adores Desplat and you can never really count him out on scoring another nomination.
The rest of the contenders are comprised of numerous previous nominees/winners like Terence Blanchard, James Newton Howard, Ludwig Göransson, and Hans Zimmer. It’s entirely plausible one of these veterans could steal a spot from newcomers like Daniel Pemberton and Emile Mosseri.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE PREDICTIONS:
1. Soul (Disney)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
2. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Daniel Pemberton
3. Minari (A24)
Emile Mosseri
4. Mank (Netflix)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
5. The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Alexandre Desplat
MAJOR CONTENDERS:
Ammonite (NEON)
Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O’Halloran
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Terence Blanchard
Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
David Fleming and Hans Zimmer
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Branford Marsalis
Mulan (Disney)
Henry Gregson-Williams
News of the World (Universal Pictures)
James Newton Howard
One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
Terence Blanchard
Over the Moon (Netflix)
Steven Price
Tenet (Warner Bros.)
Ludwig Göransson
The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Paramount Pictures)
Kris Bowers
