2026 Oscar Predictions: COSTUME DESIGN and PRODUCTION DESIGN (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 could make the cut for production design, a category the first film won an Oscar for and that The Way of Water was nominated for.
The Costume Designers Guild (CDG) nominations will be revealed on December 12 while the Art Directors Guild (ADG) nominees will be announced on January 7.
The only move this month in both categories is swapping Frankenstein and Wicked: For Good for the top spot.
Here are my 2026 Oscar nomination predictions in Costume Design and Production Design for November.
COSTUME DESIGN
| 1. Frankenstein — Kate Hawley (Netflix) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 2. Wicked: For Good — Paul Tazewell (Universal Pictures) ↓ | CCA shortlist |
| 3. Hamnet — Malgosia Turzanska (Focus Features) | CCA shortlist |
| 4. Sinners — Ruth E. Carter (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 5. Marty Supreme — Miyako Bellizzi (A24) | CCA shortlist |
| 6. Kiss of the Spider Woman — Colleen Atwood and Christine L. Cantella (Roadside Attractions) | CCA shortlist |
| 7. Hedda — Lindsay Pugh (Amazon MGM) | CCA shortlist |
| 8. One Battle After Another — Colleen Atwood (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 9. The Testament of Ann Lee — Malgorzata Karpiuk (Searchlight Pictures) | CCA shortlist |
| 10. Snow White — Sandy Powell (Walt Disney) |
| 11. The Phoenician Scheme — Melina Cananero (Focus Features) | |
| 12. The Fantastic Four: First Steps — Alexandra Byrne (Walt Disney) | CCA shortlist |
| 13. Nouvelle Vague — Pascaline Chavanne (Netflix) | |
| 14. Nuremberg — Bartholomew Cariss (Sony Pictures Classics) | |
| 15. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale — Anna Mary Scott Robbins (Focus Features) | |
| 16. Blue Moon — Consolata Boyle (Sony Pictures Classics) | |
| 17. Train Dreams — Malgosia Turzanska (Netflix) | |
| 18. The Secret Agent — Rita Azevedo (NEON) | CCA shortlist |
| 19. The History of Sound — Miyako Bellizzi (MUBI) | |
| 20. The Mastermind — Amy Roth (MUBI) |
Other contenders: Song Sung Blue — Ernesto Martinez (Focus Features) – CCA shortlist, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere — Kasia Walicka Maimone (20th Century Studios)
PRODUCTION DESIGN
| 1. Frankenstein — Tamara Deverell, set decoration: Shane Vieau (Netflix) ↑ | CCA shortlist |
| 2. Wicked: For Good — Nathan Crowley, set decoration: Lee Sandales (Universal Pictures) ↓ | CCA shortlist |
| 3. Sinners — Hannah Beachler, set decoration: Monique Champagne (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 4. Hamnet — Fiona Crombie, set decoration: Alice Felton (Focus Features) | CCA shortlist |
| 5. Marty Supreme — Jack Fisk, set decoration: Adam Willis (A24) | CCA shortlist |
| 6. Avatar: Fire and Ash — Dylan Cole and Ben Procter, set decoration: Vanessa Cole (20th Century Studios) | |
| 7. One Battle After Another — Florencia Martin, set decoration: Anthony Carlino (Warner Bros) | CCA shortlist |
| 8. The Phoenician Scheme — Adam Stockhausen, set decoration: Anna Pinnock (Focus Features) | |
| 9. The Testament of Ann Lee — Sam Bader, set decoration: Lauren Doss and Mercédesz Nagyváradi (Searchlight Pictures) | |
| 10. Nouvelle Vague — Katia Wyszkop (Netflix) |
| 11. Train Dreams — Alexandra Schaller, set decoration: Melissa Jusufi (Netflix) | |
| 12. Nuremberg — Eve Stewart (Sony Pictures Classics) | |
| 13. The Fantastic Four: First Steps — Kasra Farahani, set decoration: Jille Azis (Walt Disney) | CCA shortlist |
| 14. Hedda — Cara Bower, set decoration: Stella Fox (Amazon MGM) | CCA shortlist |
| 15. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale — Donal Woods, set decoration: Linda Wilson (Focus Features) | |
| 16. Kiss of the Spider Woman — Scott Chambliss, set decoration: Andrew Baseman (Roadside Attractions) | |
| 17. Blue Moon — Susie Cullen, set decoration: Kevin Downey, Elia Martinoli (Sony Pictures Classics) | |
| 18. The Secret Agent — Thales Junqueira (NEON) | |
| 19. The Mastermind — Anthony Gasparro, set decoration: Amy Beth Silver (MUBI) | |
| 20. The History of Sound — Deborah Jensen, set decoration: Toni Child, Mary Fellowes, Laura Latorre (MUBI) |
Other contenders: How to Train Your Dragon — Daniel Watkins, set decoration: Daniel Birt (Universal Pictures), Mickey 17 — Fiona Crombie, set decoration: Alice Felton (Warner Bros)
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.
- Golden Globe Awards Predictions – Motion Picture: Will it be One Award After Another or Will Voters be Sentimental? - January 8, 2026
- American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Nominations: ‘Frankenstein,’ Marty Supreme’ Make the Cut, ‘Hamnet’ Misses - January 8, 2026
- Oscars: 317 Films Eligible for 98th Academy Awards, 201 for Best Picture - January 8, 2026
Golden Globe Awards Predictions – Motion Picture: Will it be One Award After Another or Will Voters be Sentimental? 
American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Nominations: ‘Frankenstein,’ Marty Supreme’ Make the Cut, ‘Hamnet’ Misses 
Oscars: 317 Films Eligible for 98th Academy Awards, 201 for Best Picture 
DGA Awards: Directors Guild Nominates Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Guillermo del Toro, Josh Safdie, Chloé Zhao