2021 Oscar Predictions: MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING (December)

Jumping into the top 5 this month are moves from Bill & Ted Face the Music (this branch lovvves old man makeup) and a debut from the new Pinocchio, which is set for a Christmas Day bow.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom moves up to #2 and it’s really a stealth contender for the win. What seems simple upfront (wigs and grease paint makeup) is more complicated when you dive down into it, as the makeup branch will do. Chief hair designer Mia Neal made strand by strand horse hair wigs, just as the real Ma wore back in the day.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm drops to #6 but it’s still a major contender that could easily take out the wooden boy. The category expands to a top 10 this month, making room for the stylings of Mulan (probably closer to being a top 5 player than I’m giving it), News of the World, The Personal History of David Copperfield and The United States vs Billie Holiday but this is a category that gives far more attention to the makeup portion than it does hair.

Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Makeup and Hairstyling for December.

Green – moves up; Red – moves down; Blue – new entry this month

1. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (Warner Bros)
Nominees TBD

2. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Nominees TBD

3. Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix) (Netflix)
Nominees TBD

4. Bill & Ted Face the Music (Orion Pictures)
Nominees TBD

5. Pinocchio (Roadside Attractions)
Nominees TBD

6. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
Nominees TBD

7. Mulan (Disney+)
Nominees TBD

8. News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Nominees TBD

9. The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Nominees TBD

10. The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Paramount Pictures)

Nominees TBD

Other Contenders (alphabetical by film)

Ammonite (Neon)
Nominees TBD

Mank (Netflix)
Nominees TBD

The Prom (Netflix)
Nominees TBD

The Witches (HBO Max)
Nominees TBD

Wonder Woman 1984 (HBO Max/Warner Bros)
Nominees TBD

Pinocchio image courtesy of Greta de Lazzaris/Roadside Attractions

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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