The obvious money is on Oppenheimer here: The film is incredibly strong overall, and voters in this category love big, loud, ambitious work. Indeed, Christopher Nolan’s films have swept the sound category multiple times already, in Inception and Dunkirk. There’s simply too much in Oppenheimer’s favor to logically predict against it, and so I won’t. And yet! I’m compelled by the candidacy of The Zone of Interest. In its campaign, A24 has brilliantly emphasized the sound design of Jonathan Glazer’s chilling portrait of everyday Nazi life, with banal scenes of family squabbles and garden tours taking place against the harrowing soundscape of the terror at Auschwitz happening just next door. Very occasionally, voters here recognize relatively crafty, conceptual sound edits and mixes, as with Sound of Metal a few years ago. Given the admiration for this best-picture nominee, it’ll surely receive support for its only below-the-line nomination. Whether that’s enough to take down a juggernaut very much remains to be seen. —D.C.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, and Neil Corbould; The Creator
PREDICTED WINNER: Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima; Godzilla Minus One
Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams, and Theo Bialek; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland, and Neil Corbould; Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco, and Neil Corbould; Napoleon
The British special effects supervisor Neil Corbould is already the category’s big winner, nominated for his work on three different nominees (and with two Oscars already at home). And as part of the team nominated for The Creator, he’s already been victorious this season, with that film taking home five prizes from the Visual Effects Society Awards. But the innovative, low-budget The Creator is the least seen of all five nominees, and we imagine there will be a swell of affection for another of this season’s low-budget underdogs. A surprise hit in the US, Godzilla Minus One carried on the legacy of the iconic monster with a budget of less than $15 million, and earned notice from critics around the country. With Oppenheimer not even nominated, this category is tricky to predict, but why not side with a beloved monster when you can? —K.R.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
PREDICTED WINNER: Sarah Greenwood, production design; Katie Spencer, set decoration; Barbie
Jack Fisk, production design; Adam Willis, set decoration; Killers of the Flower Moon
Arthur Max, production design; Elli Griff, set decoration; Napoleon
Ruth De Jong, production design; Claire Kaufman, set decoration; Oppenheimer
James Price and Shona Heath, production design; Zsuzsa Mihalek, set decoration; Poor Things
Despite the fact that the Art Directors Guild gave Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Saltburn its top awards in the period, fantasy, and contemporary feature film categories, Barbie is the very deserving winner here. Plus, the entire Academy votes for this category, and the Greta Gerwig–directed film has plenty of fans there. Of the five nominated productions, Barbie stands out. That audiences were so fully transported into the very colorful and nostalgic universe of the world’s most famous dolls—complete with very familiar Barbie Dream Houses, cars, and other memorable set pieces—is a huge testament to Greenwood and Spencer’s creativity and craftsmanship. Sure there are beautiful landscapes and construction in Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer; sweeping battlefronts and French architecture in Napoleon; and vivid, imaginative European flair in Poor Things, but was anything more delicious than that Mojo Dojo Casa House reveal? It inspired a whole interior decoration trend on TikTok, so let’s give the designers behind it some Oscar gold. —K.W.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
PREDICTED WINNER: “What Was I Made For?,” Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Barbie
“I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie
“The Fire Inside,” Diane Warren, Flamin’ Hot
“It Never Went Away,” Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson, American Symphony
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Scott George, Killers of the Flower Moon
