Oscar Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 15th. 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: Bad Grandpa, Dallas Buyers Club, The Lone Ranger

This year’s locks: None

Very likely: Foxcatcher

Possible: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Theory of Everything, Maleficent, Noah, The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The rundown: There’s less mystery to this category since the field has already been narrowed down to seven contenders, three of which will be nominated. That doesn’t mean it’s immune to surprises, with nominees like “Norbit” and “Il Divo,” and other sure things like “Hugo,” “Lincoln,” and “American Hustle” snubbed in the past. A film I would have thought to be a sure thing here, “Into the Woods,” didn’t make the list of finalists, so it’s really anybody’s guess. I think that disguising Steve Carell should earn Foxcatcher the frontrunner spot, and the only other film that falls somewhat into the same category is The Theory of Everything, which gets to age Eddie Redmayne and change his character’s condition. Honoring the eclectically-decorated ensemble of The Grand Budapest Hotel would be nice, and I feel like the creativity of costuming in Guardians of the Galaxy will earn it a place. I’m not too sold on the three genres pics in this category - Maleficent, Noah, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - which I think could all come up empty-handed on nominations morning.

Forecasted winner: If it gets nominated, Foxcatcher.