FINAL 2025 Oscar Predictions: COSTUME DESIGN and PRODUCTION DESIGN
With its total domination in both Costume Design and Production Design precursors, the sheer volume and size of the work by Paul Tazewell, Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales for Wicked should be able to conclude its sweep with easy wins here. If/when he wins, Tazewell will be the first African American male to win for costume design.
While there is small window for Conclave to spoil – it also earned Art Directors Guild and Set Decorators Society wins, albeit in different categories than Wicked – it’s really more of a crack offering a gentle breeze. It’s still wild to think that The Brutalist, a film about architecture and design, feels like a distant contender here but here we are. Just as with the PD precursors, Conclave and Nosferatu also won Costume Designers Guild awards, again in different categories from each other and Wicked.
Here are my final Oscar winner predictions in Costume Design and Production Design for the the 97th Academy Awards.
COSTUME DESIGN
| 1. Wicked Part I (Universal Pictures) Paul Tazewell | BAFTA, CCA, CDG |
| 2. Conclave (Focus Features) Lisy Christi | BAFTA, CCA, CDG |
| 3. Nosferatu (Focus Features) Linda Muir | BAFTA, CCA, CDG |
| 4. A Complete Unknown (Searchlight Pictures) Arianne Phillips | BAFTA |
| 5. Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures) Janty Yates and Dave Crossman | CCA, CDG |
PRODUCTION DESIGN
| 1. Wicked Part I (Universal Pictures) Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales | ADG, BAFTA, CCA, SDSA |
| 2. Conclave (Focus Features) Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter | ADG, BAFTA, CCA, SDSA |
| 3. The Brutalist (A24) Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia | ADG, BAFTA, CCA, SDSA |
| 4. Nosferatu (Focus Features) Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová | ADG, BAFTA, CCA, SDSA |
| 5. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros) Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau | ADG, BAFTA, CCA, SDSA |
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.
- ‘Jay Kelly,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Pluribus,’ ‘Task’ and More on AFI’s Top 10 Films and Television of 2025 Lists - December 4, 2025
- ‘Frankenstein’ to Receive Visionary Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards - December 4, 2025
- Robert Yeoman to be Honored with American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award - December 3, 2025
‘Jay Kelly,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Pluribus,’ ‘Task’ and More on AFI’s Top 10 Films and Television of 2025 Lists 
‘Frankenstein’ to Receive Visionary Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards 
Robert Yeoman to be Honored with American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award 
National Board of Review: ‘One Battle After Another’ Tops in Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor; Netflix Lands Four in Top 10