The Best Editing category at the Oscars is one of the most prescient categories currently in existence. It’s been more accurate than Best Director and that’s saying something. While a win isn’t necessary, films that are on the bubble can get a great boost from it. The American Cinema Editors is the guild representing the candidates nominated for Oscar’s editing category, so what happens here may be a boon to some contestants and less important to others.

These will be handed out on Friday evening. Here are our predictions in the categories presented by the ACE.

AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS AWARDS

Best Drama Editing

12 Years a Slave (RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Captain Phillips (RU:Wesley)
Gravity (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Her
Saving Mr. Banks

Wesley Lovell: Gravity is the film most prognosticators think will win the Oscar, meaning an ACE award should be a given. Captain Phillips is the most action heavy of the remaining offerings and might make a surprise showing. If 12 Years a Slave wins, the Oscar contest will take a very interesting turn.
Peter J. Patrick: Her is a threat, but this will most likely be a battle between the year’s two heavyweights, with Gravity edging out 12 Years a Slave.
Tripp Burton: The season-long battle between 12 Years a Slave and Gravity continues here, where the two films are probably the front runners for this award. I think that Gravity will probably win this fairly easily, as it seems to be winning easily at most of these technical precursors.

Best Comedy/Musical Editing

American Hustle (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
August: Osage County
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska (RU:Peter)
The Wolf of Wall Street (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: American Hustle‘s con artist storyline requires keen attention, making it the most likely to win this prize. The Wolf of Wall Street could win, but its 3-hour length may be prohibitive.
Peter J. Patrick: If anything other than American Hustle wins here, I’d be surprised, but both Nebraska and Inside Llewyn Davis are within reach.
Tripp Burton: American Hustle should win this award pretty handily, although the media-driven campaign of American Hustle vs. Wolf of Wall Street should prove an interesting dichotomy in the category. If American Hustle falters here, it will be another chance to award the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker.

Best Animation Editing

Despicable Me 2 (RU:Tripp)
Frozen (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Monsters University (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)

Wesley Lovell: Give it to the year’s top Animated Feature contender, though it’s possible one of the others could win for varying reasons.
Peter J. Patrick: There really is no runner-up here. Frozen will win for sure.
Tripp Burton: In the four years this award has been given, the winner has gone on to pick up the Animated Feature Oscar every time. That should bode well for Frozen.

Best Documentary Editing

20 Feet from Stardom (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Blackfish (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Tim’s Vermeer (RU:Peter)

Wesley Lovell: There are more competing elements at play in 20 Feet from Stardom than the other two films.
Peter J. Patrick: 20 Feet from Stardom looks like a safe bet on this one.
Tripp Burton: So far this season the Documentary awards have been pretty evenly spread out, but none of these films have picked up a major guild award yet. On its way to what I think, right now at least, will be an eventual Oscar win, I think 20 Feet from Stardom will finally pick up a precursor.