‘Oppenheimer’: Which craft Oscars might Christopher Nolan’s biopic vie for?

Christopher Nolan’s biopic “Oppenheimer” has already grossed over $270 million domestically, setting a number of records both for the filmmaker and in general. There’s been a lot of talk about its Oscar potential next year, so it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty in the below-the-line crafts categories where it is likely to get nominations, as well as its primary competition in those races.

The presence of “Dune: Part Two” — unless Warner Bros. moves it due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes — hangs over “Oppenheimer” like a dark Oscar cloud. The first “Dune” won six Oscars in early 2022, all in craft and technical categories, only missing out on two of its nominations there for Best Costume Design (which went to “Cruella“) and for Best Makeup and Hairstyling (which went to “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”). It’s fairly safe to presume that the finale of Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic will do just as well in those same categories.

In fact, “Oppenheimer” and “Dune: Part Two” could be going head-to-head in many key categories, although Warner also has “Barbie” now to push in a number of those same races, particularly for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design (the latter of which it’s likely to win).

Let’s consider each category for “Oppenheimer” and what it’s likely to face in its path towards Oscar night.

Cinematography

To shoot his latest magnum opus, Nolan reunited with DP Hoyte Van Hoytema, who previously earned an Oscar nomination in 2018 for his work filming Nolan’s previous WWII-set drama, “Dunkirk.” Whether you’re watching “Oppenheimer” in IMAX 70mm – the preferred viewing method since Van Hoytema shot using IMAX cameras – or just in 70mm, “Oppenheimer” is a big screen experience like no other. Although much of it takes place in a cramped interrogation room, the scenes where it breaks out into the wide vistas of New Mexico and the Los Alamos campus where scientists develop the first atomic bomb leave little question what Van Hoytema’s camera framing and lighting bring to the film. It regularly alternates between black-and-white and color, something that would normally be difficult to do, but all of it looks so good that the eye rarely notices the switches after a point. There’s little question Van Hoytema will receive his second Oscar nomination, though he’s going up against previous “Dune” winner Greig Fraser.

Production Design

Production designer Ruth De Jong came onto her first Nolan film after performing similar duties for Jordan Peele’s “Nope” (also shot by Van Hoytema). This is another crucial craft because it involved literally building the Los Alamos complex where the scientists developed the bomb, as well as showing its evolution over time. De Jong and her team also had to dress the locations in which Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr.’s Strauss are being interrogated. Although De Jong’s work is undeniable, this might be a tougher category for “Oppenheimer” to win since the academy often goes for more expansive and fantastical films here, which could allow “Dune” production designer Patrice Vermette to win his second Oscar.

Editing

Another craft that’s crucial to achieving Nolan’s vision was the editing by Jennifer Lame — her second time working with Nolan after 2020’s “Tenet” — especially keeping track of the two running storylines and building up the tension leading up to the Trinity test. Despite having worked on Best Picture-nominated movies before, her work on “Oppenheimer” is likely to be her first Oscar nomination. Interestingly, Lame previously edited a lot of “Barbie” co-writer Noah Baumbach’s movies, including the Oscar-nominated “Marriage Story” as well as many movies that Baumbach made with Greta Gerwig, such as “Frances Ha” and “Mistress America.”

Original Score

If there’s one category where “Oppenheimer” may have the best odds, it’s Best Original Score, because previous winner Ludwig Goransson (“Black Panther”) has delivered another fantastic set of compositions that drives the emotional tension throughout Nolan’s three-hour film. Even so, Goransson is going up against two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer and his “Dune: Part Two” score, which could be just as groundbreaking. Right now, it looks like it could be a photo finish.

Sound

The other category where “Oppenheimer” is very likely a frontrunner is Best Sound, a category that often goes to the loudest movie, which is quite achievable when you literally set off an atomic bomb in one of your movie’s pivotal scenes. There’s a faction of movie-lovers who always seem to take issue with the sound mix in all of Nolan’s movies, but the sound work in “Oppenheimer” is next level, even if you just take into account the moments leading up to and after the Trinity atomic bomb test. The use of sound and silence leading up to that explosion helped create one of the most breathtaking film moments of the year. In other words, Nolan’s sound team has made “Oppenheimer” as much a sonic experience as it is a visual one.

Costume Design

With any period piece, costume design is key, and dressing Cillian Murphy’s title character and those around him was important in establishing the authenticity of “Oppenheimer’s” period look. It was the work of costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, working with Nolan for the first time. While she’s never received an Oscar nomination for her work, she is a Primetime Emmy winner for “Behind the Candelabra” with two other nominations at those awards. Unfortunately for her, this category probably belongs to “Barbie,” and it will be hard for anyone else to make much of an impact.

Makeup and Hairstyling

With any biopic, makeup and hairstyling can play a large part in turning the actors into the known roles they’re playing, such as Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Baker in the aforementioned “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” or Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.” In both cases, the actors and the makeup/hairstyling won Oscars.

The teams put together by hair department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh and head of makeup and prosthetics Luisa Abel did a lot of sometimes imperceptible work turning the mostly male actors into their real-life counterparts, although not as many people may know what these original historical figures looked like. Because of that, this might be a tougher category to win for “Oppenheimer,” especially with other movies coming this season that have turned their actors into better-known subjects, such as the work used to turn Bradley Cooper into Leonard Bernstein for “Maestro.”

Visual Effects

Best Visual Effects is a category in which many of Nolan’s movies have thrived: his films “Inception” (2010), “Interstellar” (2014) and “Tenet” (2020) won that Oscar. Yet oddly, this is another craft category where “Oppenheimer” might have a tough time. That is partly because Nolan has spent a lot of time on the press circuit declaring that the movie didn’t use any CGI. It will have to put together an impressive VFX reel to convince academy members in the visual effects branch that it deserves to get nominated.

In the end, what it comes down to as far as the battle for craft Oscars between “Oppenheimer” and “Dune: Part Two” is whether Oscar voters will want to give the same awards to the conclusion of Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic or honor some new crafts people working with Nolan. “Oppenheimer” is not expected to have a candidate in the Best Original Song category, so that leaves all the potential acting, writing and directing nominations it could be vying for — and of course Best Picture. How many do you think the film will get?

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