With the Academy’s nominations announcement drawing closer by the day, it’s time to lay it all on the line with my final Oscar nomination predictions. And, with BAFTA nominations coming five days after the Academy’s announcement, we’re flying without that typical precursor stat. At least we have their longlists for some reference.
We’ve got six films that all scored nominations from the Art Directors Guild, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Set Designers Society of America, plus landed on the BAFTA longlist: Frankenstein, Wicked: For Good, Sinners, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. You’d expect to see the final five Oscar nominees come from this group, but can anything else break in?
Both Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water earned Best Production Design nods, so it’s plausible Avatar: Fire and Ash sneaks in here. It’s rare to see contemporary production design acknowledged, so that works against One Battle After Another. But, given it’s such a strong contender overall, it could sweep and land here as well.
I think the real battle is between Marty Supreme and The Fantastic Four: First Steps for that fifth spot. The latter isn’t competitive in any other categories, and we haven’t seen a solo Best Production Design nominee in almost ten years. The former is a contender across the board, and that will work in its favour here.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN PREDICTIONS:
1. Frankenstein (Netflix) – ADG, BAFTA longlist, CCA, SDSA
Tamara Deverell (production design), set decoration: Shane Vieau (set decoration)
2. Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures) – ADG, BAFTA longlist, CCA, SDSA
Nathan Crowley (production design), Lee Sandales (set decoration)
3. Sinners (Warner Bros.) – ADG, BAFTA longlist, CCA, SDSA
Hannah Beachler (production design), Monique Champagne (set decoration)
4. Hamnet (Focus Features) – ADG, BAFTA longlist, CCA, SDSA
Fiona Crombie (production design), Alice Felton (set decoration)
5. Marty Supreme (A24) – ADG, BAFTA longlist, CCA, SDSA
Jack Fisk (production design), Adam Willis (set decoration)
Alternate: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Disney) – ADG, BAFTA longlist, CCA, SDSA
Kasra Farahani (production design), Jille Azis (set decoration)