Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
OSCARS | EMMYS | GRAMMYS | TONYS
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Original Score
Society of the Snow
Courtesy of Netflix
Weekly Commentary (Updated Dec. 10, 2023): Mica Levi (they/them pronouns) could return to the Oscar ceremony seven years after their first nom for “Jackie” (2016). Levi got a huge boost after winning LAFCA, which brought special recognition for sound designer Johnnie Burn.
In the expanded era (post-2009), six LAFCA music/score picks moved on to Oscar nominations, with only two winners among those – “The Social Network” (2010) from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and “La La Land” (2016) by Justin Hurwitz.
The Music Branch is always unpredictable and we don’t know where the group will land.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
The submission deadline for general categories is Nov. 15, 2023. The preliminary shortlist for eight categories is from Dec. 14-18, with the results announcement dropping on Dec. 21. The Oscar nomination period will run from Jan. 11-16, 2024, with the official nominees named on Jan. 23.
The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10.
***The list below is not final and will be updated throughout the awards season.
And the Predicted Nominees Are:
- Kris Bowers — “Origin” (Neon)
- Laura Karpman — “American Fiction” (MGM)
- Joe Hisaishi — “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids)
- Anthony Willis— “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios)
- Jerskin Fendrix — “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Other Top-Tier Possibilities
- Thomas Newman – “Elemental” (Pixar)
- Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen — “Past Lives” (A24)
- Hans Zimmer — “The Creator” (20th Century Studios)
- Alexandre Desplat — “The Boys in the Boat” (MGM)
- John Williams — “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Kris Bowers — “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros.)
- Daniel Pemberton — “Ferrari” (Neon)
- Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross — “The Killer” (Netflix)
- Martin Phipps — “Napoleon” (Apple Original Films/Sony Pictures)
- Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch — “All of Us Strangers” (Searchlight Pictures)
Also In Contention
- Alexandre Desplat — “Nyad” (Netflix)
- David Metzger — “Wish” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Hans Zimmer — “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate)
- Laura Karpman — “The Marvels” (Marvel Studios)
- Branford Marsalis — “Rustin” (Netflix)
- Richard Reed Parry — “The Iron Claw” (A24)
- Will Bates — “Dumb Money” (Sony Pictures)
- Hildur Guðnadóttir — “A Haunting in Venice” (20th Century Studios)
- Philip Glass, Paul Leonard-Morgan — “The Pigeon Tunnel” (Apple Original Films)
- Marcelo Zarvos — “Flamin’ Hot” (Hulu/Searchlight Pictures)
All Eligible Titles (Alphabetized by Studio)**
- “A Haunting in Venice” (20th Century Studios) — Hildur Guðnadóttir
- “The Creator” (20th Century Studios) — Hans Zimmer
- “Beau is Afraid” (A24) — Bobby Krlic
- “The Iron Claw” (A24) — Richard Reed Parry
- “Past Lives” (A24) — Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen
- “Priscilla” (A24) — Phoenix
- “The Zone of Interest” (A24) — Mica Levi
- “The Burial” (Amazon MGM Studios) — Michael Abels
- “Cassandro” (Amazon MGM Studios) — Marcelo Zarvos
- “Foe” (Amazon MGM Studios) — Park Jiha, Oliver Coates, Agnes Obel
- “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios) — Anthony Willis
- “Fingernails” (Apple Original Films) — Christopher Stracey
- “Flora and Son” (Apple Original Films) — Gary Clark, John Carney
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures) — Robbie Robertson
- “Napoleon” (Apple Original Films/Sony Pictures) — Martin Phipps
- “The Pigeon Tunnel” (Apple Original Films) — Philip Glass, Paul Leonard-Morgan
- “Golda” (Bleecker Street) — Dascha Dauenhauer
- “My Love Affair with Marriage” (8 Above) — Kristian Sensini
- “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids) — Joe Hisaishi
- “Flamin’ Hot” (Hulu/Searchlight Pictures) — Marcelo Zarvos
- “BlackBerry” (IFC Films) — Jay McCarrol
- “Migration” (Illumination) — John Powell
- “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Illumination) — Brian Tyler
- “Story Ave” (Kino Lorber) — Pierre Charles
- “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate) — Hans Zimmer
- “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (Lionsgate) — James Newton Howard
- “Joy Ride” (Lionsgate) — Nathan Matthew David
- “Kokomo City” (Magnolia Pictures) — D. Smith
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Marvel Studios) — John Murphy
- “The Marvels” (Marvel Studios) — Laura Karpman
- “American Fiction” (MGM) — Laura Karpman
- “Bottoms” (MGM/Orion) — Charli XCX, Leo Birenberg
- “The Boys in the Boat” (MGM) — Alexandre Desplat
- “Creed III” (MGM) — Joseph Shirley
- “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” (MGM) — Chris Benstead
- “The Mission” (National Geographic) — Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
- “Eileen” (Neon) — Richard Reed Parry
- “American Symphony” (Netflix) – Jon Batiste
- “The Deepest Breath” (Netflix) – Nainita Desai
- “Fair Play” (Netflix) — Brian McOmber
- “The Killer” (Netflix) — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
- “Leave the World Behind” (Netflix) — Mac Quayle
- “Nyad” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat
- “Rebel Moon” (Netflix) — Tom Holkenborg
- “Rustin” (Netflix) — Branford Marsalis
- “Society of the Snow” (Netflix) — Michael Giacchino
- “Origin” (Neon) — Kris Bowers
- “Dungeons & Dragons” (Paramount Pictures) — Lorne Balfe
- “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Paramount Pictures) — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
- “Elemental” (Pixar) — Thomas Newman
- “Somewhere in Queens” (Roadside Attractions) — Mark Orton
- “All of Us Strangers” (Searchlight Pictures) — Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
- “Chevalier” (Searchlight Pictures) — Kris Bowers
- “Next Goal Wins” (Searchlight Pictures) — Michael Giacchino
- “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) — Jerskin Fendrix
- “Dumb Money” (Sony Pictures) — Will Bates
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures) — Daniel Pemberton
- “A Little Prayer” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Greg Danner
- “The Teachers Lounge” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Marvin Miller
- “Ferrari” (Neon) — Daniel Pemberton
- “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures) — Ludwig Göransson
- “She Came to Me” (Vertical Entertainment) — Bryce Dessner
- “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) — Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
- “Blue Beetle” (Warner Bros.) — Bobby Krlic
- “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros.) — Kris Bowers
- “Wonka” (Warner Bros.) — Joby Talbot
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (Walt Disney Pictures) — John Williams
- “The Little Mermaid” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Alan Menken
- “Wish” (Walt Disney Pictures) — David Metzger
2022 category winner: “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix) — Volker Bertelmann
** indicates an unconfirmed release date in 2023 or could campaign in the lead or supporting categories. All release dates are subject to change.
Oscars Predictions Categories
BEST PICTURE | DIRECTOR | BEST ACTOR | BEST ACTRESS | SUPPORTING ACTOR | SUPPORTING ACTRESS | ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY | ADAPTED SCREENPLAY | ANIMATED FEATURE | PRODUCTION DESIGN | CINEMATOGRAPHY | COSTUME DESIGN | FILM EDITING | MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING | SOUND | VISUAL EFFECTS | ORIGINAL SCORE | ORIGINAL SONG | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE | INTERNATIONAL FEATURE | ANIMATED SHORT | DOCUMENTARY SHORT | LIVE ACTION SHORT
About the Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Seventeen branches are represented within the nearly 10,000-person membership. The branches are actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.