2024 Oscar Predictions: SOUND (October)

Vroom vroom, bitches.

While we may not have any jets breaking the sound barrier this year, we do have one of the sound branch’s other favorites here: race cars.

Michael Mann’s Ferrari should be an easy call for the shortlist, especially with two-time Oscar winning re-recording mixer Andy Nelson behind it, a double nominee last season. As with most below the line categories this season, Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon feel locked in near the top and the sound design behind Maestro should make the cut as well. Last year’s TÁR, also about a composer (albeit a fictional one) didn’t make the shortlist, which gives me a little bit of pause, but again, backed by a wealth of Oscar winners and nominees, it should be safe.

Like with Original Score, in the era of sound being split into two categories (editing and mixing), animated films very often found nominations here in either or even both categories, hitting a high point in the 2000s. Only one animated film has made it since the merge three years ago (2020’s Soul) and the 2010s were a barren wasteland for them, with the sound editing nomination 2010’s Toy Story 3 as the only representation for an animated film in the sound categories. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse could make the shortlist cut this year. Last season’s animated feature winner, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio did but then failed to earn a sound nod.

Very curious to see if the eclectic but essential soundscape of The Zone of Interest can get noticed, I think it could. And can buzz build for Christmas release The Color Purple in time? There’s a healthy Oscar pedigree behind it as well, including winner Paul Massey (Bohemian Rhapsody).

The Oscar shortlists will be revealed on December 21, 2023. Oscar nominations will be announced on January 23, 2024 and the 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10.

Here are my 2024 Oscar predictions for the 10-film shortlist in Sound for October 2023.

1. Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
2. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
3. Maestro (Netflix)
4. Ferrari (NEON)
5. The Color Purple (Warner Bros)
6. The Zone of Interest (A24)
7. Napoleon (Apple Original Films/Sony Pictures)
8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
9. The Creator (20th Century Studios)
10. American Symphony (Netflix)

Next up: Barbie (Warner Bros), Elemental (Pixar), Gran Turismo (Sony Pictures), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Walt Disney), Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures), Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)

Other contenders: Air (Amazon Studios), The Bikeriders (20th Century Studios), John Wick Chapter 4 (Lionsgate), The Killer (Netflix), The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney), Wish (Walt Disney), Wonka (Warner Bros)