Oscar Predictions: Best Art Direction

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 10th. As a result, most of the corresponding guilds won’t have announced their picks by then, so I’m making predictions in advance without being able to take those into consideration. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in most of the major categories, saving some of the biggest categories for last.

Last year’s nominees: The Artist, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, War Horse

This year’s locks: Les Miserables, Life of Pi

Very likely: Anna Karenina, Lincoln, Argo

Possible: Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, Moonrise Kingdom

Unlikely: The Master, Snow White and the Huntsman, Prometheus

The rundown: This category is friendly to epics and fantasy films, with half of the “Harry Potter” films making an appearance over the last decade. That’s good news for Les Miserables, which will definitely place here if nowhere else. Life of Pi is set too, and the lavishly-decorated Anna Karenina is a solid bet. Lincoln and Argo are two Best Picture rivals that should place here, but they’re not guaranteed. Beasts of the Southern Wild or Moonrise Kingdom could pop up here with the right support, and The Hobbit and The Dark Knight Rises may be safer genre choices.

One possible crazy scenario: A surprise appearance by Django Unchained.

Forecasted winner: It should be Les Miserables.