The Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is particularly tough to predict early on because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in two stages. First, upwards of 15 members of the branch who attend special screenings cast preferential ballots with the top 10 vote-getters moving on to the second stage (it was a lucky seven till 2021). Those members from the first stage and any other members who either attend screenings of excerpts from these semi-finalists or attest that they have seen them cast preferential ballots and the top five films are nominated; that is up from three in years past. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscars Best Makeup and Hairstyling predictions.).
As a result of being well-received at these screenings, titles that had not been part of the conversation in the first few months of awards season end up as nominees. For example, the Swedish films “A Man Called Ove” (2015) and “The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared” (2016) bumped out films with much higher profiles — “Deadpool” and “Black Mass” respectively.
The award for Best Makeup was introduced in 1981, following an outcry over the lack of recognition with a special award for Christopher Tucker‘s groundbreaking work on “The Elephant Man” (1980). That first award in 1982 was given to none other than the legendary Rick Baker, who holds the record for most nominations and most wins in this category. He won a whopping seven times out of 11 nominations. His winning movies were “An American Werewolf in London” in 1982, “Harry and the Hendersons” in 1988, “Ed Wood” in 1995 (shared with Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng), “The Nutty Professor” in 1997 (shared with David LeRoy Anderson), “Men in Black” in 1999 (shared with Anderson again), “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in 2001 (shared with Gail Ryan), and “The Wolfman” in 2011 (shared with Dave Elsey).
Hairstylists began sharing the award with makeup artists in 1993 when “Mrs. Doubtfire” won. However, the category didn’t change its name to reflect this until 2013.
Prior to 2023, when the team that turned Brendan Fraser into “The Whale” prevailed, there had been five winners in a row that showcased the skills of artisans who transformed well-known movie stars into famous real-life folks: “Darkest Hour” (2018) – Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill; “Vice” (2019) – Christian Bale into Dick Cheney; “Bombshell” (2020) – Charlize Theron into Megyn Kelly; “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (2021) – Viola Davis into Gertrude “Ma” Rainey; and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (2022) – Jessica Chastain into Tammy Faye Bakker.
Reviewing the list of other recent winners reveals the various types of makeup and hairstyling that appeal to academy voters: prosthetics (“The Wolfman” in 2011, “Star Trek” in 2010, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2009, “Pan’s Labyrinth” in 2007, “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Event” in 2005, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2004 and “LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring” in 2002), dirt and grime (“Mad Max: Fury Road” in 2016, “Les Misérables” in 2014 and “Braveheart” in 1996) and wigs (“Poor Things” in 2024, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” in 2015, “The Iron Lady” in 2012 and “Elizabeth” in 1999).
Please note: To read full descriptions of each film, check out our 2025 Oscars Best Picture predictions.
UPDATED: July 23, 2024
LEADING CONTENDERS
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.)
“Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.)
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros./Universal)
“Here” (Sony Pictures)
“Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.)
“Nosferatu” (Focus Features/Universal)
“Wicked” (Universal)
STRONG CONTENDERS
“Blitz” (Apple Original Films)
“A Different Man” (A24)
“Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures)
“Maria” (TBC)
“Sasquatch Sunset” (Bleecker Street)
“SNL 1975” (Sony Pictures)
POSSIBLE CONTENDERS
“Emilia Pérez” (Pathé)
“Horizon: An American Saga” (Warner Bros.)
“Megalopolis” (Lionsgate)
“Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM Studios)
“Nightbitch” (Searchlight)
“The Piano Lesson” (Netflix)
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