Oscar Predictions: Best Production Design — Will ‘Wicked’ Finally Bring Home a Win for Six-Time Nominee Nathan Crowley?
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
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2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Production Design
Weekly Commentary (Updated Nov. 14, 2024): The legendary production designer Nathan Crowley has been nominated for six Oscars but has yet to win. His noms include “The Prestige” (2006), “The Dark Knight” (2008), “Interstellar” (2014), “Dunkirk” (2017), “First Man” (2018) and “Tenet” (2020). With the upcoming film adaptation of the stage musical “Wicked,” he may finally be able to bring home a statuette of his own.
More to come.
The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2. The full rankings are below. All movie listings, titles, and distributors are not final and are subject to change.
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Image Credit: Aidan Monaghan And the Predicted Nominees Are
Rank Performer & Film 1 “Wicked” (Universal Pictures) — Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales 2 “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — Arthur Max, Elli Griff 3 “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Zsuzsanna Sipos, Shane Vieau, Patrice Vermette 4 “Nosferatu” (Focus Features) — Beatrice Brentnerova, Paul Ghirardani, Craig Lathrop 5 “Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock Oscars: Best Production Design (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Image Credit: Hopper Stone/Columbia Pictures Next in Line
Rank Performer & Film 6 “The Brutalist” (A24) — Judy Becker 7 “Maria” (Netflix) — Tom Brown, Guy Hendrix Dyas, Sandro Piccarozzi 8 “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Emmanuelle Duplay, Sandra Castello 9 “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Jess Gonchor, Claudia Bonfe 10 “Conclave” (Focus Features) — Suzie Davies, Roberta Federico Oscars: Best Production Design (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Image Credit: Courtesy of A24 Other Contenders
Rank Performer & Film 11 “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — François Audouy, Regina Graves, Christopher J. Morris 12 “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.) — Colin Gibson, Sophie Nash, Katie Sharrock 13 “September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Julian R. Wagner 14 “Queer” (A24) — Stefano Baisi, Monica Sallustio, Lisa Scoppa 15 “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Chardae Adams, David J. Bomba, Patrick Cassidy 16 “Joker: Folie á Deux” (Warner Bros.) — Mark Friedberg, Karen O’Hara 17 “Civil War” (A24) — Mark Dillon, Caty Maxey 18 “Young Woman and the Sea” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Nora Takaca Ekberg, Panni Lutter 19 “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Mark Scruton, David Morison 20 “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate) — Beth Mickle, Bradley Rubin, Lisa K. Sessions Oscars: Best Production Design (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Eligible Titles (Best Production Design)
** This list is incomplete and not yet finalized. Not all films have distribution or release dates. All are subject to change.
- “Alien: Romulus” (20th Century Studios) — Naaman Marshall, Zsuzsanna Sipos
- “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow) — Piyusha Chalke, Shamim Khan, Yashasvi Sabharwal
- “Anora” (Neon) — Stephen Phelps, Christopher Phelps
- “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff Entertainment) — Aleksandra Marinkovich, Jaro Dick
- “Babygirl” (A24) — Stephen H. Carter
- “Back to Black” (Focus Features) — Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
- “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Mark Scruton, Lori Mazuer
- “Better Man” (Paramount Pictures) — Joel Chang, Lisa Brennan
- “Between the Temples” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “The Bikeriders” (Focus Features)
- “Bird” (Mubi)
- “Blink” (National Geographic)
- “Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM)
- “Blitz” (Apple Original Films)
- “Bob Marley: One Love” (Paramount Pictures)
- “The Book of Clarence” (Sony Pictures)
- “The Brutalist” (A24)
- “Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid!” (CNN Films)
- “Challengers” (Amazon MGM)
- “Civil War” (A24)
- “The Colors Within” (GKids)
- “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Conclave” (Focus Features)
- “The Count of Monte Cristo” (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
- “Daddio” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Daughters” (Netflix)
- “Day of the Fight” (Falling Forward Films)
- “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel Studios)
- “The Deliverance” (Netflix)
- “Despicable Me 4” (Illumination/Universal Pictures)
- “A Different Man” (A24)
- “Dìdi” (Focus Features)
- “Drive-Away Dolls” (Focus Features)
- “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.)
- “Elton John: Never Too Late” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
- “The End” (Neon)
- “Evil Does Not Exist” (Sideshow)
- “Exhibiting Forgiveness” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Ezra” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Fancy Dance” (Apple Original Films)
- “The Fire Inside” (Amazon MGM)
- “Firebrand” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
- “Frida” (Amazon MGM)
- “The Front Room” (A24)
- “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.)
- “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” (Warner Bros.)
- “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures)
- “The Greatest Hits” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Hard Truths” (Bleecker Street)
- “Here” (Sony Pictures)
- “Heretic” (A24)
- “His Three Daughters” (Netflix)
- “Hit Man” (Netflix)
- “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” (Warner Bros.)
- “I Am Celine Dion” (Amazon MGM)
- “I Saw the TV Glow” (A24)
- “I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “The Idea of You” (Amazon MGM)
- “IF” (Paramount Pictures)
- “The Imaginary” (Netflix)
- “In the Summers” (Music Box Films)
- “Inside Out 2” (Pixar)
- “It Ends With Us” (Sony Pictures)
- “Janet Planet” (A24)
- “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.)
- “Kinds of Kindness” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Studios)
- “Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “The Last Showgirl” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Lee” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Longlegs” (Neon)
- “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Warner Bros.)
- “Los Frikis” (Wayward/Range Releasing)
- “Love Lies Bleeding” (A24)
- “Maria” (Netflix)
- “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate)
- “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films)
- “Misericordia” (Janus Films)
- “Moana 2” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- “Monkey Man” (Universal Pictures)
- “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (StudioCanal)
- “Mothers’ Instinct” (Neon)
- “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- “My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM)
- “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM/Orion)
- “Nightbitch” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Nosferatu” (Focus Features)
- “Oh, Canada” (Kino Lorber)
- “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (A24)
- “One Life” (Bleecker Street)
- “The Order” (Vertical Entertainment)
- “The Outrun” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Parthenope” (A24)
- “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix)
- “Piece by Piece” (Focus Features)
- “Queer” (A24)
- “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” (Netflix)
- “Rez Ball” (Netflix)
- “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Rumours” (Bleecker Street)
- “Santosh” (Metrograph Pictures)
- “Sasquatch Sunset” (Bleecker Street)
- “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures)
- “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon)
- “September 5” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Shirley” (Netflix)
- “Sing Sing” (A24)
- “The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix)
- “Small Things Like These” (Lionsgate)
- “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Spellbound” (Netflix)
- “Stopmotion” (IFC/Shudder)
- “The Substance” (Mubi)
- “Suncoast” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros.)
- “That Christmas” (Netflix)
- “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures)
- “Transformers One” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Tuesday” (A24)
- “Twisters” (Universal Pictures)
- “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix)
- “Unstoppable” (Amazon MGM)
- “Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony Pictures)
- “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
- “We Grown Now” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “We Live in Time” (A24)
- “Wicked” (Universal Pictures)
- “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation)
- “Wildcat” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
- “Will & Harper” (Netflix)
- “Woman of the Hour” (Netflix)
- “Yintah” (Netflix)
- “Young Woman and the Sea” (Walt Disney Pictures)
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More Information (Best Production Design)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection 2024 category winner: “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) — James Price, Shona Heath, Zsuzsa Mihalek
2024-2025 Oscars Calendar and Timeline – Full awards season calendar here
- Eligibility period: Jan. 1, 2024 – Dec. 31, 2024
- General entry, best picture, RAISE submission deadline: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024
- Governors Awards: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024
- Preliminary voting begins Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Preliminary voting ends Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Shortlists Announcement: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
- Eligibility period ends: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
- Nominations voting begins Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Nominations voting ends Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Nominations Announcement: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025
- Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Monday, Feb. 10, 2025
- Final voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT
- Final voting ends: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT
- Scientific and Technical Awards: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025
- 97th Oscars: Sunday, March 2, 2025
Oscars Prediction Categories
— — Best Picture Director Actor in a Leading Role Actress in a Leading Role Actor in a Supporting Role Actress in a Supporting Role Original Screenplay Adapted Screenplay Animated Feature Production Design Cinematography Costume Design Film Editing Makeup and Hairstyling Sound Visual Effects Original Score Original Song Documentary Feature International Feature Animated Short Documentary Short Live Action Short Casting (coming in 2026) 2024 Oscar Predictions (Variety Awards Circuit) About the Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nineteen branches are represented within the nearly 11,000-person membership. The branches are actors, animators, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films, sound, visual effects and writers.
