Editing was crucial to the success of some of the films in this category. In others, it was less crucial, and I feel that hurts the chances of these films.

Mad Max: Fury Road is the clear favorite in this race, as the editing creates a maddening world of nonstop action. But, as in many of the technical categories of this year’s Oscars, Mad Max faces stiff competition from late-year addition Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Add to this the briskly paced editing of The Big Short, and we’ve got a race.

Nominees:

• The Big Short
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Spotlight
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Will Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Could Win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Dark Horse: The Big Short

You can find my full list of Oscar predictions here.

As always, thanks for reading!

—Alex Brannan (@TheAlexBrannan)