2026 Oscar Predictions: MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING and VISUAL EFFECTS (November)
Critics Choice has announced its shortlists of contenders in 11 categories, including Makeup and Hairstyling and Visual Effects. There is a caveat with the list however, which allows for two write-ins for films that were not screened in time for the below the line committee to vote that goes right to the end of Critics Choice voting on December 2. Avatar: Fire and Ash screens on December 1 and is expected to make the cut.
Critics Choice Awards nominations will be announced December 5. Oscar shortlists will be announced on December 16. Makeup and Hair Stylists guild (MUAH) will reveal their nominations on December 29 while the Visual Effects Society (VES) nominations will come January 13.
Here are my 2026 Oscar nomination predictions for Makeup and Hairstyling and Visual Effects for November.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING (shortlist of 10)
| 1. Frankenstein (Netflix) | CCA shortlist |
| 2. Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures) | CCA shortlist |
| 3. Weapons (Warner Bros/New Line) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 4. Sinners (Warner Bros) ↓ | CCA shortlist |
| 5. The Smashing Machine (A24) | CCA shortlist |
| 6. One Battle After Another (Warner Bros) | |
| 7. 28 Years Later (Sony Pictures) | CCA shortlist |
| 8. Superman (Warner Bros) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 9. Bugonia (Focus Features) | CCA shortlist |
| 10. Hamnet (Focus Features) ↓ |
Other contenders: Christy (Black Bear) ↓, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Roadside Attractions) – CCA shortlist, Marty Supreme (A24)
VISUAL EFFECTS (shortlist of 10)
| 1. Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios) | |
| 2. F1: The Movie (Warner Bros/Apple Original Films) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 3. Frankenstein (Netflix) | CCA shortlist |
| 4. Superman (Warner Bros) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 5. Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures) ↓ | CCA shortlist |
| 6. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures) | CCA shortlist |
| 7. Sinners (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 8. Tron: Ares (Walt Disney) | CCA shortlist |
| 9. Jurassic World: Rebirth (Universal Pictures) | |
| 10. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Walt Disney/Marvel) | CCA shortlist |
Other contenders: How to Train Your Dragon (Universal Pictures) – CCA shortlist, Lilo & Stitch (Walt Disney), A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros), Predator: Badlands (20th Century Studios) – CCA shortlist, The Running Man (Paramount Pictures)
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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