If you want to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design, it’s best to pick a project for which you can create frilly dresses from a bygone era. Since its introduction at the 1948 Academy Awards, this category has favored period pictures, including last year’s winner “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Voters love to reward the creative forces behind such films, especially those that are about the aristocracy including recent champs “Marie Antoinette” (2007), “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2008), “The Duchess” (2009), “The Young Victoria” (2010), and “Anna Karenina” (2013). (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Costume Design.)

By the way, none of those films even competed for Best Picture. Indeed, only 20 of the most recent 72 Best Picture champs also won this award. Among these was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004). Fantasy films such as this often boast Oscar-winning costumes, including 2019 winner “Black Panther,” and recent...