Per the Academy’s press release:

10 films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 96th Academy Awards. All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Jan. 14, 2024. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar® consideration.

Each shortlist is determined by members of that corresponding branch, except for International Feature Film and Live Action Short Film. (Members from all branches are invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.)

The nominations for the 96th Oscars will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

WHY I CHOSE THOSE FIVE?

“Barbie” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” were two films I thought would make the final cut regarding the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category. Still, the category is a bit more challenging to project, with both films missing out.

“Maestro” and “Poor Things” feel like locks, as they are Best Picture nominee front-runners and turn their stars Bradley Cooper and Willem Dafoe into different-looking people with their prosthetic work. “Ferrari” and “Napoleon” are less in the Best Picture conversation. Still, in the case of “Ferrari,” they turn Adam Driver into the iconic Enzo Ferrari with the use of hair and makeup. Period pieces often make this category, so I think “Napoleon” could easily sneak in a nomination with its high-profile nature mixed with the period at play.

I have the final spot going to the film “Golda,” which no one is talking about. Every year in this category, a lesser-known film cuts through because of extraordinary makeup work. Turning Helen Mirren into Golda Meir with prosthetics puts it in the same category as some of the previously mentioned potential nominees. I can’t attest to the quality of the film, but sometimes all it takes is good work in the makeup and hair department for the Academy to overlook the quality.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer” will both be significant players at the Academy Awards, so it’s tough to count them out, but neither stands out in this category. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” and “Beau Is Afraid” were vital considerations. Still, their lack of support throughout the year makes it challenging to take a flyer on them getting a nomination.