2016 Oscar Predictions: PRODUCTION DESIGN

The 1950s play heavy in this year’s battle for the Production Design Oscar with three films set in the period all aiming for that trophy. Steven Spielberg’s Cold War drama Bridge of Spies leads the charge but the female-led dramas Carol and Brooklyn both have a strong case for a nomination. All three films stand to grab a hefty haul of mentions on Oscar nomination morning.

Then we travel to space where The Martian and Star Wars: The Force Awakens lie. In recent years space-based dramas have done well here, both Gravity and Interstellar were nominated here. Looking at previous Star Wars films finds that the first three in the initial trilogy were all nominated. The second set of three did not fare as well. But this is a new era of Star Wars, with real, physical sets that harken back to the early days of the series. But is there room for two space movies in a list of five?

The Danish Girl gives us 1920s Copenhagen and should make an impact here as well as the other ‘coffee table’ awards and Cinderella, a shoe-in for costumes, could very well be the fantasy piece that rounds out a top 5.

Not on the list that maybe should be? Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant. Both films should end up being major players in the tech race as well as the top categories so I’m thinking that one or both find their way in. What about The Hateful Eight or Room? These two closed-quarters films might not seem like the type of movies that get a nomination like this but much has been made of these two sets and they’re contenders.

You can track the Gold Rush Gang’s predictions for Production Design here.

• Author
• Recent Posts

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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• 2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November) - November 21, 2024
• 2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards - November 21, 2024
• Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives - November 21, 2024