It's Only July, and These 3 Movies Are Already Fighting Over the Same Oscar-2026

And in a category most viewers still don't understand — basically, "everything you hear in a movie" — we've already got three early frontrunners, all of them loud, expensive, and engineered to impress the Academy's Sound branch.

Let's break it down.

Joseph Kosinski's F1

Brad Pitt's Formula 1 movie doesn't hit theaters until 2025, but it's already being floated as the one to beat. Why?

• It's a racing movie, and racing movies are ear candy to Oscar voters (see Ford v Ferrari, Speed, Drive).
• Sound design is being led by Gary Rizzo of Skywalker Sound, who's already won two Oscars (Inception, Dunkirk) and arguably got robbed for Oppenheimer.
• Kosinski's last film, Top Gun: Maverick, won this exact category.

In short: fast cars, prestige crew, and the same audio guy who makes nuclear explosions sound elegant. It checks every box.

Alex Garland and Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later

Yes, it's a horror sequel. Yes, it still has Oscar buzz — because the sound work is apparently that good.

• The mix of roaring infected, ambient dread, and music by Young Fathers has already drawn early praise.
• Sound designer Johnnie Burn, fresh off an Oscar win for The Zone of Interest, handled the chaos.
• Horror rarely gets technical Oscars, but this might be one of the exceptions — especially with a name like Boyle on the credits.

It may also compete in categories like Hair & Makeup, but if anything sticks, it'll be the sonic nightmare fuel.

Alex Garland's Warfare

Garland again — this time co-directing a military epic that practically screams, "Hey Academy, remember 1917?"

• War movies are catnip for the Sound branch. The Hurt Locker, Dunkirk, Hacksaw Ridge, Black Hawk Down — all winners.
• The team includes Howard Bargroff and Ben Barker, known for Devs. Not household names, but the work reportedly speaks for itself.
• The film is loud, chaotic, and built to overwhelm. Just the way Oscar voters like it.

Whether the Academy recognizes the crew is another question — but if they listen to the mix, it's hard to ignore.

Other potential spoilers:

• Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (because if Speed can win two Sound Oscars, why not this?)
• Jurassic World Rebirth, which wants to recapture Jurassic Park's 1994 win for dino roars, but no sequel since has even been nominated.

Oscar Sound History Reminder:

• Speed won two Oscars.
• Pearl Harbor won for Sound.
• Furiosa won nothing.
• The Bourne Ultimatum cleaned up in 2007.

So yeah — quality, franchise status, and realism don't matter as much as volume and precision. It's July, and the engines are already revving. Whether it's roaring monsters, shrieking zombies, or Brad Pitt in a helmet, the Sound Oscar is officially up for grabs.