2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: ORIGINAL SCORE and ORIGINAL SONG (October)

Erik Anderson October 15, 2019

***STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER*** (Disney)

Not a move this month in Original Score, which is feeling very solid at the moment. Obviously though, we’ll have a clear picture on December 16th when the Academy reveals the shortlist of 15 scores that will be eligible. But for now, my list remains packed with previous multi-winners (Little Women‘s Alexandre Desplat, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s John Williams, Marriage Story‘s Randy Newman), the most nominated person in this category to never win (1917‘s Thomas Newman) and a newcomer sent to shake things up (Joker‘s Hildur Guðnadóttir).

Here are my 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions in Original Score for October 15, 2019.

Green – moves up Red – moves down Blue – new/re-entry

1. 1917 (Thomas Newman) – Universal
2. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams) – Disney
3. Little Women (Alexandre Desplat) – Sony/Columbia
4. Joker (Hildur Guðnadóttir) – Warner Bros
5. Marriage Story (Randy Newman) – Netflix

NEXT UP (alphabetical by film)

The Farewell (Alex Weston) – A24
Harriet (Terence Blanchard) – Focus Features
A Hidden Life (James Newton Howard) – Fox Searchlight
The Irishman (Robbie Robertson) – Netflix
Jojo Rabbit (Michael Giacchino) – Fox Searchlight

OTHER CONTENDERS (alphabetical by film)

Ad Astra (Max Richter with additional music by Lorne Balfe) – 20th Century Fox
The Aeronauts (Steven Price) – Amazon
Avengers: Endgame (Alan Silvestri) – Disney
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Nate Heller) – Sony/TriStar
Bombshell (Theodore Shapiro) – Lionsgate
Dark Waters (TBD) – Focus Features
Ford v. Ferrari (Marco Beltrami) – 20th Century Fox
The Good Liar (Carter Burwell) – Warner Bros
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (John Powell) – Dreamworks
The King (Nicholas Britell) – Netflix
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Emile Mosseri) – A24
Monos (Mica Levi) – Neon
Motherless Brooklyn (Daniel Pemberton) – Warner Bros
The Two Popes (Bryce Dessner) – Netflix
Waves (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross) – A24

WILL IT BE ELIGIBLE?

Ad Astra (Max Richter with additional music by Lorne Balfe) – 20th Century Fox
The Lion King (Hans Zimmer) – Disney
Us (Michael Abel) – Universal
Waves (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross) – A24

***WESTERN STARS*** (Photo credit: Rob DeMartin)

While Original Song will have the same shortlist of 15 eligible films/songs for a nomination, there is some shakeup here this month. Primarily in the form of Bruce Springsteen for his song “Sundown,” from the concert doc Western Stars. Springsteen is a previous Oscar winner (for “Streets of Philadelphia” from 1993’s Philadelphia) and was nominated again for the eponymous “Dead Man Walking” in 1996 but he shockingly missed out on a nomination for “The Wrestler” from 2008’s The Wrestler despite winning the Globe for that song. Although he bursts onto the chart and into the top 5, it’s not going to be a cakewalk.

Another new entry is “One Little Soldier” from Bombshell, written and performed by Regina Spektor. This would be the first Oscar nomination for the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter.

Here are my 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions in Original Song for October 15, 2019.

Green – moves up Red – moves down Blue – new/re-entry

1. Frozen II – “Into the Unknown” (Disney)
2. Toy Story 4 – “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” (Disney/Pixar)
3. Rocketman – “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (Paramount)
4. Western Stars – “Sundown” (Warner Bros)
5. Harriet, “Stand Up” (Focus Features)

NEXT UP (alphabetical by film)

Aladdin – “Speechless”
Breakthrough – “I’m Standing with You”
Cats – TBA (Universal)
The Lion King – “Never Too Late” (Disney)
The Lion King – “Spirit” (Disney)

OTHER CONTENDERS (alphabetical by film)

Alita: Battle Angel – “Swan Song” (20th Century Fox)
Always Be My Maybe – “I Punched Keanu Reeves” (Netflix)
Bombshell – “One Little Soldier” (Lionsgate)
Charlie’s Angels – “Don’t Call Me (Angel) (Sony)
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part – “Catchy Song” (Warner Bros)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil – “You Can’t Stop the Girl (Disney)
Missing Link – “Do-Dilly-Do (A Friend Like You)” (Annapurna)
Motherless Brooklyn, “Daily Battles” (Warner Bros)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire – “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Neon)
Toy Story 4 – “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” (Disney/Pixar)
Wild Rose – “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” (Neon)

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.