Oscar Predictions: Best Costume Design

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Monday, March 15th. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in all categories.

Last year’s nominees: The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

My choices: Coming soon!

This year’s locks: Emma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank

Possible: The Personal History of David Copperfield, Promising Young Woman, One Night in Miami, Mulan, News of the World, Da 5 Bloods, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story, Ammonite, The Prom, Pinocchio

The rundown: This category has some solid frontrunners, and most of them are among the fifteen nominees recognized in three separate races – contemporary, period, and sci-fi/fantasy – by the Costume Designers’ Guild, with one other - The Personal History of David Copperfield looking strong too. Emma should be fine here even if it doesn’t score anywhere else, while Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Mank (read my interview here) should be safe too. I’m betting on Promising Young Woman to take the last spot, though it’s a risky choice given that the only contemporary non-musical to get nominated in recent memory was “The Devil Wears Prada.” It has plenty of competition, including One Night in Miami, Mulan, News of the World and Da 5 Bloods, with Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Ammonite, The Prom, and Pinocchio also possibilities.

For your consideration: Just like the production design, I was wowed by all of the costumes for I’m Your Woman, an Amazon release that doesn’t seem to be garnering much attention. Read that very worthwhile interview here.

Forecasted winner: I see this going to Emma or “The Personal History of David Copperfield.”