We’re looking at each individual category for the Oscars and what our thoughts are going into the final stretch. We’ll adjust our thoughts based on the precursor associated with this category, Art Directors Guild. Below are our predictions in Best Production Design.

Best Production Design

Winner Predictions

• The Brutalist
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Nosferatu
• Wicked (WL P) [New] (PP O) (TL O)

Runner-Up Predictions

• Conclave (PP P) [New]
• Nosferatu (WL P) [New] (TL P) [New]

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Wesley Lovell: The early precursors suggested Wicked wasn’t terribly strong in this category. However, the BAFTA win has certainly bolstered its chances. The Brutalist seemed like the kind of film (like There Will Be Blood or Lincoln) that could win despite its recent period. Yet, the vast and inventive sets of Wicked have proven stronger than expected especially since Nosferatu beat Brutalist at the ADG.
Pete Patrick: Wicked will probably win this.  If there is an upset, it could go to any of the other four nominees.  I pick Conclave as the likeliest among them
Thomas La Tourrette: The guild awarded three of these films with awards, which does not necessarily help predict how the Oscar will go. With neither the fine work of Dune: Part Two nor The Brutalist winning a guild award, their chances of winning an Oscar were severely dimmed. Conclave won the award for best contemporary art direction, but the winners of the fantasy or period art direction are more likely to go on to claim Oscar gold. Nosferatu may not have been a totally successful film, but the sets were impressive. It could pull off an upset, but I think that the colorful work from Wicked stands the best chance of winning the Oscar. Nosferatu is very detailed and eerie, setting scenes in small towns and abandoned castles, but the work of Wicked created a totally new world of bright, intricate and surprisingly coherent buildings and things like locomotives that all seemed to belong in that world. No film that is nominated is undeserving of being there, but Wicked stands taller than all the rest with its innovative work.

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