2021 Oscar Predictions: PRODUCTION DESIGN (October)
MULAN (Walt Disney Company)
There are enough elaborate period pieces and fantasy films to populate production design this year even as those summer tentpoles (and winter ones) disappeared.
Moving up this month are Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and News of the World, both into the top 5, and Mulan up to #2, all pushing Ammonite down into Other Contenders. Sony’s new Cinderella, which is set to bow in February, could make a play.
Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Production Design for October.
Green – moves up; Red – moves down; Blue – new entry this month
1. Mank (Netflix)
Donald Graham Burt (production designer), Jan Pascale (set decorator)
2. Mulan (Walt Disney Pictures)
Grant Major (production designer), Anne Kuljian (set decorator)
3. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Mark Ricker (production designer), Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton (set decorators)
4. News of the World (Universal Pictures)
David Crank (production designer), Elizabeth Keenan (set decorator)
5. The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Cristina Casali (production designer), Charlotte Dirickx (set decorator)
Other Contenders (alphabetical)
Ammonite (Neon)
Sarah Finlay (production designer), Sophie Hervieu (set decorator)
Cinderella (Sony Pictures)
Paul Kirby (production designer), Kathryn Pile (set decorators)
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Wynn Thomas (production designer), Jeanette Scott (set decorator)
Death on the Nile (20th Century Studios)
Jim Clay (production designer), Abi Groves (set designer)
Emma. (Focus Features)
Kave Quinn (production designer), Stella Fox (set decorations)
Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
Molly Hughes (production designer), Merissa Lombardo (set decorator)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros)
Sam Lisenco (production designer), Rebecca Brown (set decorator)
One Night in Miami… (Amazon Studios)
Page Buckner (production designer), Janessa Hitsman (set decorator)
Respect (MGM/UA)
Ina Mayhew (production designer), Sarah Carter (decorator)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Shane Valentino (production designer), Andrew Baseman (set decorator)
The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Paramount Pictures)
Daniel T. Dorrance (production designer), Pascale Deschênes (set decorator)
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.
- 2026 Cannes Film Festival Winners: Cristian Mingiu’s ‘Fjord’ Takes the Palme, Seventh Win in a Row for NEON - May 23, 2026
- Cannes 2026: Sandra Wollner’s ‘Everytime’ Wins Un Certain Regard Grand Prize - May 22, 2026
- ‘Coward’ Review: Belgian Soldiers Find Love in Lukas Dhont’s Hidden Romance Masterpiece [A] Cannes - May 21, 2026
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future 
‘The Beloved’ Review: Javier Bardem Makes a Meal Out of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Movie-Making Buffet [B] 
‘The Dreamed Adventure’ Review: Valeska Grisebach’s Observant Thriller Examines the Grey Zones of Morality [B+] 
‘Minotaur’ Review: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Timeless, Domestic Epic is an Unflinching Look at Putin’s Russia [A] Cannes