Best Makeup & Hairstyling. The oddest category at the Academy Awards, in that it only takes three nominees. It might be hard to narrow this one down…

The Nominees:

• Darkest Hour
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• I, Tonya

In the Hunt:

• Bright
• Ghost in the Shell
• Victoria and Abdul
• Wonder

 

What is listed above is technically the only films that could possibly be nominated, given that the category is already shortlisted.

Any of those bottom four could conceivably make it into the nominations. Still, it is unlikely that Ghost in the Shell or Bright will make it in there. Keep in mind, though, that Suicide Squad won the Oscar in this category last year. It isn’t necessarily the quality of the film that counts.

The makeup in Darkest Hour and Wonder are integral to the character representation. In I, Tonya, it is part of the conflict and larger thematic concerns.

But Guardians of the Galaxy, well…there’s a lot of it!

It’s difficult to truly center in on three films, but I would call it a safe bet to assume Darkest Hour and Guardians will make it in. Gary Oldman may be favored for Best Actor, but a large part of his performance is the makeup. And Guardians may be quantity over quality to an extent, but it takes a lot of effort to paint an entire room of people gold.

As for the third spot…well, it might be a toss up.