2025 Oscar Predictions: Below the Line Categories Part 2 – MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING, SOUND, ORIGINAL SCORE, ORIGINAL SONG, VISUAL EFFECTS (October)

The Oscar shortlist for Makeup & Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song, Sound and Visual Effects (as well as feature and short film categories for animated, documentary and international features) will be revealed on December 17, 2024. Academy Awards nominations will be announced January 17, 2025 and the 97th Oscars will be held on March 2.

Precursor nominations for Makeup & Hairstyling (the MUAHs) are set for December 10, Original Score has several guilds (including the Society of Composers and Lyricists and Hollywood Music in Media Awards), for Sound we have the Cinema Audio Society noms on January 7 and the Motion Picture Sound Editors noms on January 6 and the Visual Effects Society will reveal their nominations on January 14.

Here are my 2025 Oscar shortlist predictions in Makeup & Hairstyling (10), Original Score (now 20), Original Song (15), Sound (10) and Visual Effects (10) for October.

Makeup & Hairstyling (10)

1. A Different Man (A24)
2. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros)
3. The Substance (MUBI)
4. Wicked Part I (Universal Pictures)
5. A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
6. Maria (Netflix)
7. Nosferatu (Focus Features)
8. Sasquatch Sunset (Bleecker Street)
9. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros)
10. The Animal Kingdom (Magnet Releasing)

Next up: The Apprentice (Briarcliff Entertainment), Emilia Pérez (Netflix), Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures), Hit Man (Netflix), Saturday Night (Sony Pictures)

Other contenders: Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios), Better Man (Paramount Pictures), Conclave (Focus Features), Deadpool and Wolverine (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios), The Fall Guy (Universal Studios), Firebrand (Roadside Attractions), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros), Here (Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures), Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros), The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions), Nightbitch (Searchlight Pictures), September 5 (Paramount Pictures)

Original Score (20)

1. Conclave — Volker Bertelmann (Focus Features)
2. Dune: Part II — Hans Zimmer (Warner Bros)
3. Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol, Camille (Netflix)
4. The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg (A24)
5. The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers (Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation)
6. Gladiator II — Harry Gregson-Williams (Paramount Pictures)
7. Challengers — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (Amazon MGM)
8. Blitz — Hans Zimmer (Apple Original Films)
9. Queer — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (A24)
10. Young Woman and the Sea — Amelia Warner (Walt Disney Pictures)
11. White Bird — Thomas Newman (Lionsgate)
12. Sing Sing — Bryce Dessner (A24)
13. The Room Next Door — Alberto Iglesias (Sony Pictures Classics)
14. Saturday Night — Jon Batiste (Sony Pictures)
15. Nickel Boys — Nicholas Monsour (Amazon MGM)
16. Flow — Gints Zilbalodis, Rihards Zalupe (Janus Films/Sideshow)
17. Here — Alan Silvestri (Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures)
18. Nosferatu — Robin Carolan (Focus Features)
19. The Piano Lesson — Alexandre Desplat (Netflix)
20. September 5 — Lorenz Dangel (Paramount Pictures)

Other contenders: Anora — Matthew Hearon-Smith (NEON), The Apprentice — Marti Dirkov (Briarcliff Entertainment), Civil War — Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow (A24), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga — Tom Holkenborg (Warner Bros), Inside Out 2 — Andrea Datzman (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios), Lee — Alexandre Desplat (Roadside Attractions), Memoir of a Snail — Elena Kats-Chernin, Moana 2 — Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foaʻi (Walt Disney Pictures), Mufasa: The Lion King — Dave Metzger (Walt Disney Pictures), The Substance — Raffertie (MUBI)

Original Song (15)

1. “El Mal” by Clement Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard from Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
2. “The Journey” by Diane Warren from The Six Triple Eight (Netflix)
3. “Kiss the Sky” by Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack & Ali Tamposi from The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation)
4. “Like a Bird” by Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel & Adrian Quesada from Sing Sing (A24)
5. “Piece by Piece” by Pharrell Williams from Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
6. “Never Too Late” by Elton John & Brandi Carlile from Elton John: Never Too Late (Walt Disney Pictures)
7. “Winter Coat” by Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, and Taura Stinson from Blitz (Apple Original Films)
8. “Mi Camino” by Clement Ducol and Camille from Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
9. “Forbidden Road” by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler & Sacha Skarbek from Better Man (Paramount Pictures)
10. “Harper and Will Go West” by Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig & Josh Greenbaum from Will & Harper (Netflix)
11. “I Always Wanted a Brother” by TBD from Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures)
12. “Sick In The Head” by Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí, Adrian Louis Richard Mcleod, and Toddla T from Kneecap (Sony Pictures Classics)
13. “Compress/Regress” by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino from Challengers (Amazon MGM)
14. “Claw Machine” by Haley Dahl from I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
15. “We’re Back” by TBD from Moana 2 (Walt Disney Pictures)

Next up: “Beautiful That Way” by Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, and Andrew Wyatt from The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions); “Vaster Than Empires” by William Burroughs, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross from Queer (A24); “Release” by Dot Da Genius, Elijah Fox, and Saleka from Trap (Warner Bros); “Even When I’m Not” by Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi, and Isaiah Tejada from The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation)

Other contenders:

• “Leash” by Sky Ferreira & Jorge Elbrecht from Babygirl (A24)
• “A Country Dance” by Joanna Sternberg from Between the Temples (Sony Pictures Classics)
• “JEEZU” by Jeymes Samuel, Doja Cat and Kodak Black from The Book of Clarence (Sony Pictures)
• “I Want You Forever” by Jeymes Samuel, D’Angelo, Jay-Z from The Book of Clarence (Sony Pictures)
• “Dare to Be” by Andrea Bocelli, Gene Back, Giovanni Caccomo & Courtney Rodriguez from Dare to Be (Angel Studios)
• “Gretchen’s Song” by Simon Waskow from Cuckoo (NEON)
• “Double Life” by Pharrell Williams from Despicable Me 4 (Illumination/Universal Pictures)
• “Stop Talking” by Joshua Cain, Jesse Johnson, Justin Pierre, Matthew Taylor, and Tony Thaxton from Dìdi (Focus Features)
• “Bricks” by Jherek Bischoff and Andra Day from Exhibiting Forgiveness (Roadside Attractions)
• “Ezra” by Adrienne Ackerman from Ezra (Roadside Attractions)
• “In Time” by Rodrigo Amarante from His Three Daughters (Netflix)
• “Starburned and Unkissed” by A. G. Cook and Caroline Polachek from I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
• “The Idea of You” by Savan Kotecha, Albin Nedler & Carl Falk from The Idea of You (Amazon MGM)
• “Nothing’s Impossible” by Ian Axel & Chad King from The Imaginary (Netflix)
• “Folie à Deux” by Lady Gaga from Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros)
• “Not My Fault” by Alexander 23, Nell Benjamin, Jasper Harris, Megan Thee Stallion, Reneé Rapp, Jeff Richmond, Ryan Tedder, and Billy Walsh from Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures)
• “Beyond” by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear from Moana 2 (Walt Disney Pictures)
• “Ngomso” by TBD from Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures)
• “Summer Blue” by Nate Heller from Nightbitch  (Searchlight Pictures)
• “For Real” by Pharrell Williams from Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
• “Huele a Fraude” by Stefa Marin Alarcon, Robert Ouyang Rusli, and Julio Torres from Problemista (A24)
• “The Creatures of Nature” by Josh Lambert, Yvonne Lambert, Toto Miranda, and David Zellner from Sasquatch Sunset (Bleecker Street)
• “Why I’m Here” by Samara Joy and P.J. Morton from Shirley (Netflix)
• “TBD” from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount Pictures)
• “TBD” from Spellbound (Netflix) 
• “Under the Tree” by Ed Sheeran from That Christmas
• “TBD” from The End (NEON)
• “If I Fall” by Brian ‘Are We Dreaming’ Tyler, Quavious ‘Quavo’ Keyate Marshall, Tyrone ‘Ty Dolla $ign’ Griffin Jr. & Nicholas James McGuinn from Transformers One (Paramount Pictures)
• “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” by Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs & Jonathan Singleton from Twisters (Universal Pictures/Warner Bros)
• “Out of Oklahoma” by Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick & Shane McAnally from Twisters (Universal Pictures/Warner Bros)

Sound (10)

1. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros)
2. Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)
3. Civil War (A24)
4. A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures)
5. Twisters (Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros)
6. Maria (Netflix)
7. Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
8. Better Man (Paramount Pictures)
9. Blitz (Apple Original Films)
10. Wicked Part I (Universal Pictures)

Next up: The Brutalist (A24), Challengers (Amazon MGM), Conclave (Focus Features), A Quiet Place: Day One (Paramount Pictures), The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation)

Other contenders: Alien Romulus (20th Century Studios), Anora (NEON), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros), Deadpool and Wolverine (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios), The Fall Guy (Universal Pictures), Flow (Janus Films/Sideshow), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros), Here (Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures), Hit Man (Netflix), Inside Out 2 (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios), Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros), Megalopolis (Lionsgate), Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures), The Piano Lesson (Netflix), The Seed of the Sacred Fig (NEON), The Substance (MUBI), Transformers One (Paramount Pictures)

Visual Effects (10)

1. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros)
2. Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)
3. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Studios)
4. Better Man (Paramount Pictures)
5. Here (Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures)
6. Twisters (Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros)
7. Wicked Part I (Universal Pictures)
8. Blitz (Apple Original Films)
9. Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios)
10. The Wild Robot (Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation)

Next up: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros), Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (Warner Bros), Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures), A Quiet Place: Day One (Paramount Pictures), Young Woman and the Sea (Walt Disney Pictures)

Other contenders: Argylle (Apple Original Films), Civil War (A24), A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures), Deadpool and Wolverine (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios), The Fall Guy (Universal Pictures), Flow (Janus Films/Sideshow), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros), Inside Out 2 (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios), Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros), Megalopolis (Lionsgate), Nightbitch (Searchlight Pictures), Nosferatu (Focus Features), The Substance (MUBI), Transformers One (Paramount Pictures)

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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.

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