Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Sound

The competition: Greyhound (Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders, and David Wyman), Mank (Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, and Drew Kunin), News of the World (Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, and John Pritchett), Soul (Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott, and David Parker), and Sound of Metal (Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, and Phillip Bladh)

Previous winners: Sound: 1917, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dunkirk, Hacksaw Ridge, Mad Max: Fury Road, Whiplash, Gravity / Sound Editing: Ford v Ferrari, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dunkirk, Arrival, Mad Max: Fury Road, American Sniper, Gravity
My winner: Coming soon
The facts: Minkler has twelve previous nominations and three wins, for “Dreamgirls” in 2006, “Chicago” in 2002, and “Black Hawk Down” in 2001. Borders contended in 2013 for “Lone Survivor.” Double nominee Klyce has seven previous nominations, including bids both for three other David Fincher collaborations, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Double nominee Parker, who has nine previous bids, also worked on those three films, and he won in 2007 for “The Bourne Ultimatum” and in 1996 for “The English Patient.” Kunin was nominated for “Bridge of Spies” in 2015 and “Life of Pi” in 2012. Tarney was nominated for “1917” last year, for “The Martian” in 2015, and “Captain Phillips” in 2013. Smith also worked on “Captain Phillips.” Pritchett was nominated for “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and for “Road to Perdition” in 2002.

This category combines Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing into one. All five of these films were nominees at the Cinema Audio Society Awards and all earned bids at the Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards. At the former, “Soul” won the animated prize, and “Sound of Metal” took the live action award. At the latter, “Soul” also took the animated prize and “Greyhound” was the only winner among this bunch. “Sound of Metal” won the corresponding BAFTA prize, where all but “Mank” were in contention. 

Who should win: I would go with either “Greyhound” or “Sound of Metal.” You can check out my articles on each film's talented team of artisans.
Who will win: This feels like a safe win for Sound of Metal since “Greyhound” isn’t nominated in any other category.