2023 Oscar Predictions: ORIGINAL SONG (December)

We have the official Oscar eligibility list of 82 original songs and nominations from Critics Choice, Golden Globes and the winners from Hollywood Music in Media going into the shortlist of 15 that will be announced on Tuesday, December 21. From that list, members of the Academy’s music branch will use a preferential ballot to come up with the five Oscar nominees unveiled on January 24, 2023.

Here are my 2023 Oscar predictions for the shortlist of Original Song for December.

Green – moves up ↑ Red – moves down ↓ Blue – new entry ♦

1. RRR – “Naatu Naatu” (Variance Films) ↑ – CCA, GG
2. Top Gun: Maverick – “Hold My Hand” (Paramount Pictures) – CCA, GG, HMMA
3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – “Lift Me Up” (Walt Disney/Marvel Studios) ↓ – CCA, GG, HMMA
4. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio – “Ciao Papa” (Netflix) ↑ – CCA, GG, HMMA
5. Tell It Like a Woman – “Applause” (Samuel Goldwyn Films) – HMMA
6. Where the Crawdads Sing – “Carolina” (Columbia Pictures) ↑ – CCA, GG, HMMA
7. Till – “Stand Up” (UAR/Orion Pictures) – HMMA
8. The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile – “Ready As I’ll Never Be” (Sony Pictures Classics) – HMMA
9. Turning Red – “Nobody Like U” (Walt Disney/Pixar) ↓ – HMMA
10. The Automat – “At the Automat” (A Slice of Pie Productions) – HMMA
11. Avatar: The Way of Water – “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” (20th Century Studios) ♦
12. White Noise – “new body rhumba” (Netflix) – CCA, HMMA
13. Everything Everywhere All At Once – “This is a Life” (A24) – HMMA
14. Wildcat – “A Sky I’ve Never Seen” (Amazon Studios)
15. Bones and All – “(You Made Me Feel Like) Home” (MGM/UAR)

Other contenders (alphabetical)

Avatar: The Way of Water – “Song Chord” (20th Century Studios) – HMMA
The Bad Guys – “Good Tonight” (Dreamworks Animation/Universal Pictures)
The Bob’s Burgers Movie – “Sunny Side Up Summer” (20th Century Studios) – HMMA
Bros – “Love Is Not Love” (Universal Pictures) – HMMA
Devotion – “Not Alone” (Sony Pictures)
Don’t Worry Darling – “With You All the Time” (Warner Bros)
A Jazzman’s Blues – “Paper Airplanes” (Netflix)
Let it Be Me – “Feels Like Me” (Greenwich Entertainment)
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile – “Carried Away” (Sony Pictures)
Lyle Lyle Crocodile – “Heartbeat” (Sony Pictures)
A Man Called Otto – “Till You’re Home” (Sony Pictures) – HMMA
Marry Me – “On My Way (Marry Me)” (Universal Pictures)
My Father’s Dragon – “Lift Your Wings” (Netflix) – HMMA
Minions: Rise of Gru – “Turn Up the Sunshine” (Universal Pictures) – HMMA
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – “La Vida es una” (Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation)
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me – “My Mind & Me” (Apple Original Films)
Spirited – “Do a Little Good” (Apple Original Films) – HMMA
The Voice of Dust and Ash – “Dust & Ash” (Matilda Productions) – HMMA
The Woman King – “Keep Rising” (Sony/TriStar Pictures) ↓