Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creating the film's visual effects since 1980.

History

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1929, presenting a plaque for "Best Engineering Effects" to the first Best Picture Oscar winner, the World War I flying drama Wings.

Producer David O. Selznick, then production head at RKO Studios, petitioned the Academy Board of Governors to recognize the work of animator Willis O'Brien for his groundbreaking work on 1933's King Kong. However, the Academy did not have a category to acknowledge its visual achievements at the time.

It was not until 1938 when a film was actually recognized for its effects work, when a "Special Achievement Award for Special Effects" was given to the Paramount film Spawn of the North. The following year, "Best Special Effects" became a recognized category, although on occasion the Academy has chosen to honor a single film outright rather than nominate two or more films. From 1939 to 1963, it was an award for a film's visual effects as well as audio effects, so it was often given to two persons, although some years only one or the other type of effect was recognized. For the 22nd Academy Awards, RKO was nominated for the work done on Mighty Joe Young (1949), and when they won, it was Willis H. O'Brien who went on stage to accept the statue. In 1964, it was given only for visual effects, and the following year the name of the category was changed to "Best Special Visual Effects".

Honorees for this award have been bestowed several times as a Special Achievement Academy Award. In 1977, the category was given its current name "Best Visual Effects." For decades, shortlisted finalists were selected by a steering committee. They are presently chosen by the visual effects branch executive committee. 1990 was the last year there were no official nominees. Back to the Future Part III, Dick Tracy, Ghost and Total Recall advanced to a second stage of voting, but only Total Recall received a requisite average and it was given a special achievement Oscar.

There have been three wholly animated films nominated in this category: The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993, Kubo and the Two Strings in 2016, and The Lion King in 2019. There have been three semi-animated films nominated, which also won: Mary Poppins in 1964, Bedknobs and Broomsticks in 1971, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988. In 2024, Godzilla Minus One became the first non-English-language film ever to win in the category.

Rules

In 1979, there were five films nominated. For most of the next three decades, there were three nominees a year, although at some times there were two and at others, a single film was given the award outright.

In 2007, it was decided that a list of no more than 15 eligible films would be chosen, from which a maximum of seven would be shortlisted for further consideration. A vote would then proceed, with a maximum of three nominees. Since 2010, there are ten shortlisted finalists which, using a form of range voting, produce five nominees. No more than four people may be nominated for a single film.

According to the official Academy Award rules, the criteria are:

(a) consideration of the contribution the visual effects make to the overall production and
(b) the artistry, skill and fidelity with which the visual illusions are achieved.

Filmmakers

A number of filmmakers have had their movies honored for their achievements in visual effects; i.e., six by director James Cameron (who began his career in Hollywood as an effects technician), five films produced by George Pal, five by director/producer George Lucas, four by directors Richard Fleischer, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, three by directors Robert Zemeckis, Christopher Nolan, and Denis Villeneuve, and two by directors Clarence Brown, Cecil B. DeMille, Mark Robson, Ridley Scott, Robert Stevenson.

Only two directors have won in the same category: Four time Best Director nominee Stanley Kubrick's only Oscar win for 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Japanese filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki's first Oscar win for 2023's Godzilla Minus One. The credits for 2001 list four effects contributors, including Douglas Trumbull. However, according to the rules of the Academy in effect at the time, only three persons could be nominated for their work on a single film, which would have resulted in the omission of either Trumbull, Tom Howard, Con Pederson or Wally Veevers. Ultimately, it was Kubrick's name that was submitted as a nominee in this category, resulting in his winning the award, which many consider a slight to the four men whose work contributed to the film's success.

Engineering Effects Award

The table below display the Oscar nominees for Best Engineering Effects.

  indicates competitive winner

  indicates non-competitive winner

1920s

Year	Film	Nominees
1927–28 (1st)	Wings	Roy Pomeroy
	Ralph Hammeras (photographic)
	Nugent Slaughter (photographic)

Special Effects Awards

The tables below display the Oscar nominees for Best Special Effects including the recipients of the Special Achievement Awards.

1930s

Year	Film	Nominees
1938 (11th)	Spawn of the North	For outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production Spawn of the North. Special Effects by Gordon Jennings, assisted by Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts and Art Smith. Transparencies by Farciot Edouart, assisted by Loyal Griggs. Sound Effects by Loren Ryder, assisted by Harry Mills, Louis Mesenkop and Walter Oberst.
1939 (12th)	The Rains Came	Fred Sersen (photographic); E. H. Hansen (sound)
	Gone with the Wind	Jack Cosgrove (photographic); Fred Albin and Arthur Johns (sound)
	Only Angels Have Wings	Roy Davidson (photographic); Edwin C. Hahn (sound)
	The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex	Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	Topper Takes a Trip	Roy Seawright (photographic)
	Union Pacific	Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); Loren Ryder (sound)
	The Wizard of Oz	A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound)

1940s

Year	Film	Nominees
1940 (13th)	The Thief of Bagdad	Lawrence Butler (photographic); Jack Whitney (sound)
	The Blue Bird	Fred Sersen (photographic); E. H. Hansen (sound)
	Boom Town	A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound)
	The Boys from Syracuse	John P. Fulton (photographic); Bernard B. Brown and Joseph Lapis (sound)
	Dr. Cyclops	Gordon Jennings and Farciot Edouart (photographic)
	Foreign Correspondent	Paul Eagler (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound)
	The Invisible Man Returns	John P. Fulton (photographic); Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgcock (sound)
	The Long Voyage Home	R. T. Layton and R. O. Binger (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound)
	One Million B.C.	Roy Seawright (photographic); Elmer Raguse (sound)
	Rebecca	Jack Cosgrove (photographic); Arthur Johns (sound)
	The Sea Hawk	Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	Swiss Family Robinson	Vernon L. Walker (photographic); John O. Aalberg (sound)
	Typhoon	Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); Loren Ryder (sound)
	Women in War	Howard J. Lydecker, William Bradford, and Ellis J. Thackery (photographic); Herbert Norsch (sound)
1941 (14th)	I Wanted Wings	Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); Louis Mesenkop (sound)
	Aloma of the South Seas	Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); Louis Mesenkop (sound)
	Dive Bomber	Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	Flight Command	A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound)
	The Invisible Woman	John Fulton (photographic); John Hall (sound)
	The Sea Wolf	Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	That Hamilton Woman	Lawrence Butler (photographic); William H. Wilmarth (sound)
	Topper Returns	Roy Seawright (photographic); Elmer Raguse (sound)
	A Yank in the R.A.F.	Fred Sersen (photographic); E. H. Hansen (sound)
1942 (15th)	Reap the Wild Wind	Gordon Jennings, Farciot Edouart, and William Pereira (photographic); Louis Mesenkop (sound)
	The Black Swan	Fred Sersen (photographic); Roger Heman and George Leverett (sound)
	Desperate Journey	Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	Flying Tigers	Howard Lydecker (photographic); Daniel J. Bloomberg (sound)
	Invisible Agent	John Fulton (photographic); Bernard B. Brown (sound)
	Jungle Book	Lawrence Butler (photographic); William H. Wilmarth (sound)
	Mrs. Miniver	A. Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound)
	The Navy Comes Through	Vernon L. Walker (photographic); James G. Stewart (sound)
	One of Our Aircraft Is Missing	Ronald Neame (photographic); C. C. Stevens (sound)
	The Pride of the Yankees	Jack Cosgrove and Ray Binger (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound)
1943 (16th)	Crash Dive	Fred Sersen (photographic); Roger Heman (sound)
	Air Force	Hans Koenekamp and Rex Wimpy (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	Bombardier	Vernon L. Walker (photographic); James G. Stewart and Roy Granville (sound)
	The North Star	Clarence Slifer and R. O. Binger (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound)
	So Proudly We Hail!	Gordon Jennings and Farciot Edouart (photographic); George Dutton (sound)
	Stand By for Action	A. Arnold Gillespie and Donald Jahraus (photographic); Michael Steinore (sound)
1944 (17th)	Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo	A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus, and Warren Newcombe (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound)
	The Adventures of Mark Twain	Paul Detlefsen and John Crouse (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound)
	Days of Glory	Vernon L. Walker (photographic); James G. Stewart and Roy Granville (sound)
	Secret Command	David Allen, Ray Cory, and Robert Wright (photographic); Russell Malmgren and Harry Kusnick (sound)
	Since You Went Away	Jack Cosgrove (photographic); Arthur Johns (sound)
	The Story of Dr. Wassell	Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); George Dutton (sound)
	Wilson	Fred Sersen (photographic); Roger Heman (sound)
1945 (18th)	Wonder Man	John P. Fulton (photographic); Arthur Johns (sound)
	Captain Eddie	Fred Sersen and Sol Halperin (photographic); Roger Heman and Harry Leonard (sound)
	Spellbound	Jack Cosgrove (photographic)
	They Were Expendable	A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus, and Robert A. MacDonald (photographic); Michael Steinore (sound)
	A Thousand and One Nights	Lawrence W. Butler (photographic); Ray Bomba (sound)
1946 (19th)	Blithe Spirit	Thomas Howard (visual)
	A Stolen Life	William McGann (visual); Nathan Levinson (audible)
1947 (20th)	Green Dolphin Street	A. Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe (visual); Douglas Shearer and Michael Steinore (audible)
	Unconquered	Farciot Edouart, Devereux Jennings, Gordon Jennings, W. Wallace Kelley, and Paul Lerpae (visual); George Dutton (audible)
1948 (21st)	Portrait of Jennie	Paul Eagler, Joseph McMillan Johnson, Russell Shearman, and Clarence Slifer (visual); Charles Freeman, and James G. Stewart (audible)
	Deep Waters	Ralph Hammeras, Fred Sersen, and Edward Snyder (visual); Roger Heman (audible)
1949 (22nd)	Mighty Joe Young	RKO Productions
	Tulsa	Walter Wanger Pictures

1950s

Year	Film	Nominees
1950 (23rd)	Destination Moon	George Pal Productions
	Samson and Delilah	Cecil B. DeMille Productions
1951 (24th)	When Worlds Collide	Paramount
1952 (25th)	Plymouth Adventure	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1953 (26th)	The War of the Worlds	Paramount Studio
1954 (27th)	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	John Hench, Joshua Meador and Walt Disney Studios
	Hell and High Water	20th Century-Fox Studio
	Them!	Warner Bros. Studio
1955 (28th)	The Bridges at Toko-Ri	Paramount Studio
	The Dam Busters	Associated British Picture Corporation, Ltd.
	The Rains of Ranchipur	20th Century-Fox Studio
1956 (29th)	The Ten Commandments	John P. Fulton
	Forbidden Planet	A. Arnold Gillespie, Irving G. Ries, and Wesley C. Miller
1957 (30th)	The Enemy Below	Walter Rossi (audible)
	The Spirit of St. Louis	Louis Lichtenfield (visual)
1958 (31st)	Tom Thumb	Tom Howard (visual)
	Torpedo Run	A. Arnold Gillespie (visual); Harold Humbrock (audible)
1959 (32nd)	Ben-Hur	A. Arnold Gillespie and Robert MacDonald (visual); Milo B. Lory (audible)
	Journey to the Center of the Earth	L.B. Abbott and James B. Gordon (visual); Carl Faulkner (audible)

1960s

Year	Film	Nominees
1960 (33rd)	The Time Machine	Gene Warren and Tim Baar (visual)
	The Last Voyage	Augie Lohman (visual)
1961 (34th)	The Guns of Navarone	Bill Warrington (visual); Vivian C. Greenham (audible)
	The Absent-Minded Professor	Robert A. Mattey and Eustace Lycett (visual)
1962 (35th)	The Longest Day	Robert MacDonald (visual); Jacques Maumont (audible)
	Mutiny on the Bounty	A. Arnold Gillespie (visual); Milo B. Lory (audible)

Visual Effects Awards

The tables below display the Oscar nominees for Best Visual Effects including the recipients of the Special Achievement Awards.

1960s

Year	Film	Nominees
1963 (36th)	Cleopatra	Emil Kosa Jr.
	The Birds	Ub Iwerks
1964 (37th)	Mary Poppins	Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett, and Hamilton Luske
	7 Faces of Dr. Lao	Jim Danforth
1965 (38th)	Thunderball	John Stears
	The Greatest Story Ever Told	Joseph McMillan Johnson
1966 (39th)	Fantastic Voyage	Art Cruickshank
	Hawaii	Linwood G. Dunn
1967 (40th)	Doctor Dolittle	L.B. Abbott
	Tobruk	Howard A. Anderson Jr. and Albert Whitlock
1968 (41st)	2001: A Space Odyssey	Stanley Kubrick
	Ice Station Zebra	Hal Millar and Joseph McMillan Johnson
1969 (42nd)	Marooned	Robbie Robertson
	Krakatoa, East of Java	Eugène Lourié and Alex Weldon

1970s

Year	Film	Nominees
1970 (43rd)	Tora! Tora! Tora!	A.D. Flowers and L.B. Abbott
	Patton	Alex Weldon
1971 (44th)	Bedknobs and Broomsticks	Alan Maley, Eustace Lycett, and Danny Lee
	When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth	Jim Danforth and Roger Dicken
1972 (45th)	The Poseidon Adventure	L.B. Abbott and A.D. Flowers
1974 (47th)	Earthquake	Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, and Albert Whitlock
1975 (48th)	The Hindenburg	Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson
1976 (49th)	King Kong	Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, and Frank Van der Veer
	Logan's Run	L.B. Abbott, Glen Robinson, and Matthew Yuricich
1977 (50th)	Star Wars	John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, and Robert Blalack
	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, Matthew Yuricich, Greg Jein, and Richard Yuricich
1978 (51st)	Superman	Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, and Zoran Perisic
1979 (52nd)	Alien	H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, and Dennis Ayling
	1941	William A. Fraker, A.D. Flowers, and Greg Jein
	The Black Hole	Peter Ellenshaw, Art Cruickshank, Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Joe Hale
	Moonraker	Derek Meddings, Paul Wilson, and John Evans
	Star Trek: The Motion Picture	Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Richard Yuricich, Robert Swarthe, David K. Stewart, and Grant McCune

1980s

Year	Film	Nominees
1980 (53rd)	The Empire Strikes Back	Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson
1981 (54th)	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson, and Joe Johnston
	Dragonslayer	Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Ken Ralston, and Brian Johnson
1982 (55th)	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren, and Kenneth F. Smith
	Blade Runner	Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, and David Dryer
	Poltergeist	Richard Edlund, Michael Wood, and Bruce Nicholson
1983 (56th)	Return of the Jedi	Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett
1984 (57th)	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson, and George Gibbs
	2010	Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson, and Mark Stetson
	Ghostbusters	Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Mark Vargo, and Chuck Gaspar
1985 (58th)	Cocoon	Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar, and David Berry
	Return to Oz	Will Vinton, Ian Wingrove, Zoran Perisic, and Michael Lloyd
	Young Sherlock Holmes	Dennis Muren, Kit West, John R. Ellis, and David W. Allen
1986 (59th)	Aliens	Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson
	Little Shop of Horrors	Lyle Conway, Bran Ferren, and Martin Gutteridge
	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Garry Waller, and Bill Neil
1987 (60th)	Innerspace	Dennis Muren, William George, Harley Jessup, and Kenneth F. Smith
	Predator	Joel Hynek, Robert M. Greenberg, Richard Greenberg, and Stan Winston
1988 (61st)	Who Framed Roger Rabbit	Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, and George Gibbs
	Die Hard	Richard Edlund, Al DiSarro, Brent Boates, and Thaine Morris
	Willow	Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Phil Tippett, and Chris Evans
1989 (62nd)	The Abyss	John Bruno, Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, and Dennis Skotak
	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	Richard Conway and Kent Houston
	Back to the Future Part II	Ken Ralston, Michael Lantieri, John Bell, and Steve Gawley

1990s

Year	Film	Nominees
1990 (63rd)	Total Recall	Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, and Alex Funke
1991 (64th)	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak
	Backdraft	Mikael Salomon, Allen Hall, Clay Pinney, and Scott Farrar
	Hook	Eric Brevig, Harley Jessup, Mark Sullivan, and Michael Lantieri
1992 (65th)	Death Becomes Her	Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Douglas Smythe, and Tom Woodruff Jr.
	Alien 3	Richard Edlund, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., and George Gibbs
	Batman Returns	Michael L. Fink, Craig Barron, John Bruno, and Dennis Skotak
1993 (66th)	Jurassic Park	Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri
	Cliffhanger	Neil Krepela, John Richardson, John Bruno, and Pamela Easley
	The Nightmare Before Christmas	Pete Kozachik, Eric Leighton, Ariel Velasco-Shaw, and Gordon Baker
1994 (67th)	Forrest Gump	Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, and Allen Hall
	The Mask	Scott Squires, Steve 'Spaz' Williams, Tom Bertino, and Jon Farhat
	True Lies	John Bruno, Thomas L. Fisher, Jacques Stroweis, and Patrick McClung
1995 (68th)	Babe	Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan, and John Cox
	Apollo 13	Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker, and Matt Sweeney
1996 (69th)	Independence Day	Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, and Joseph Viskocil
	Dragonheart	Scott Squires, Phil Tippett, James Straus, and Kit West
	Twister	Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Habib Zargarpour, and Henry LaBounta
1997 (70th)	Titanic	Robert Legato, Mark Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher, and Michael Kanfer
	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Randal M. Dutra, and Michael Lantieri
	Starship Troopers	Phil Tippett, Scott E. Anderson, Alec Gillis, and John Richardson
1998 (71st)	What Dreams May Come	Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson, and Kevin Mack
	Armageddon	Richard R. Hoover, Patrick McClung, and John Frazier
	Mighty Joe Young	Rick Baker, Hoyt Yeatman, Allen Hall, and Jim Mitchell
1999 (72nd)	The Matrix	John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum
	Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace	John Knoll, Dennis Muren, Scott Squires, and Rob Coleman
	Stuart Little	John Dykstra, Jerome Chen, Henry F. Anderson III, and Eric Allard

2000s

Year	Film	Nominees
2000 (73rd)	Gladiator	John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, and Rob Harvey
	Hollow Man	Scott E. Anderson, Craig Hayes, Scott Stokdyk, and Stan Parks
	The Perfect Storm	Stefen Fangmeier, Habib Zargarpour, John Frazier, and Walt Conti
2001 (74th)	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson
	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Dennis Muren, Scott Farrar, Stan Winston, and Michael Lantieri
	Pearl Harbor	Eric Brevig, John Frazier, Ed Hirsh, and Ben Snow
2002 (75th)	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke
	Spider-Man	John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier
	Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones	Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, and Ben Snow
2003 (76th)	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke
	Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World	Dan Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, and Robert Stromberg
	Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl	John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Terry Frazee
2004 (77th)	Spider-Man 2	John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier
	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, John Richardson, and William George
	I, Robot	John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash, and Joe Letteri
2005 (78th)	King Kong	Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, and Richard Taylor
	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, and Scott Farrar
	War of the Worlds	Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randal M. Dutra, and Dan Sudick
2006 (79th)	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall
	Poseidon	Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chas Jarrett, and John Frazier
	Superman Returns	Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover, and Jon Thum
2007 (80th)	The Golden Compass	Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, and Trevor Wood
	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and John Frazier
	Transformers	Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, and John Frazier
2008 (81st)	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, and Craig Barron
	The Dark Knight	Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, and Paul Franklin
	Iron Man	John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, and Shane Mahan
2009 (82nd)	Avatar	Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones
	District 9	Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, and Matt Aitken
	Star Trek	Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, and Burt Dalton

2010s

Year	Film	Nominees
2010 (83rd)	Inception	Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb
	Alice in Wonderland	Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, and Sean Phillips
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, and Nicolas Aithadi
	Hereafter	Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky, and Joe Farrell
	Iron Man 2	Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, and Dan Sudick
2011 (84th)	Hugo	Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, and John Richardson
	Real Steel	Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor, and Swen Gillberg
	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett
	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew E. Butler, and John Frazier
2012 (85th)	Life of Pi	Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott
	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, and R. Christopher White
	Marvel's The Avengers	Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, and Dan Sudick
	Prometheus	Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, and Martin Hill
	Snow White and the Huntsman	Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould, and Michael Dawson
2013 (86th)	Gravity	Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould
	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, and Eric Reynolds
	Iron Man 3	Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, and Dan Sudick
	The Lone Ranger	Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, and John Frazier
	Star Trek Into Darkness	Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, and Burt Dalton
2014 (87th)	Interstellar	Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott R. Fisher
	Captain America: The Winter Soldier	Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, and Dan Sudick
	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, and Erik Winquist
	Guardians of the Galaxy	Stéphane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, and Paul Corbould
	X-Men: Days of Future Past	Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie, and Cameron Waldbauer
2015 (88th)	Ex Machina	Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, and Andrew Whitehurst
	Mad Max: Fury Road	Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams, and Tom Wood
	The Martian	Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence, Richard Stammers, and Steven Warner
	The Revenant	Richard McBride, Matt Shumway, Jason Smith, and Cameron Waldbauer
	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, and Neal Scanlan
2016 (89th)	The Jungle Book	Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon
	Deepwater Horizon	Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington, and Burt Dalton
	Doctor Strange	Stéphane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, and Paul Corbould
	Kubo and the Two Strings	Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean, and Brad Schiff
	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel, and Neil Corbould
2017 (90th)	Blade Runner 2049	John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, and Dan Sudick
	Kong: Skull Island	Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, and Mike Meinardus
	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan, and Chris Corbould
	War for the Planet of the Apes	Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon, and Joel Whist
2018 (91st)	First Man	Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, and J. D. Schwalm
	Avengers: Infinity War	Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl, and Dan Sudick
	Christopher Robin	Chris Lawrence, Mike Eames, Theo Jones, and Chris Corbould
	Ready Player One	Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler, and David Shirk
	Solo: A Star Wars Story	Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, and Dominic Tuohy
2019 (92nd)	1917	Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, and Dominic Tuohy
	Avengers: Endgame	Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, and Dan Sudick
	The Irishman	Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, and Stephane Grabli
	The Lion King	Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Elliot Newman
	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, and Dominic Tuohy

2020s

Year	Film	Nominees
2020 (93rd)	Tenet	Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, and Scott Fisher
	Love and Monsters	Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt, and Brian Cox
	The Midnight Sky	Matt Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, Max Solomon, and David Watkins
	Mulan	Sean Andrew Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, and Steve Ingram
	The One and Only Ivan	Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, and Santiago Colomo Martínez
2021 (94th)	Dune	Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer
	Free Guy	Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, and Dan Sudick
	No Time to Die	Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner, and Chris Corbould
	Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings	Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker, and Dan Oliver
	Spider-Man: No Way Home	Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein, and Dan Sudick
2022 (95th)	Avatar: The Way of Water	Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett
	All Quiet on the Western Front	Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank, and Kamil Jafar
	The Batman	Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, and Dominic Tuohy
	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White, and Dan Sudick
	Top Gun: Maverick	Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Scott R. Fisher
2023 (96th)	Godzilla Minus One	Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima
	The Creator	Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	Stéphane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
	Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One	Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
	Napoleon	Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
2024 (97th)	Dune: Part Two	Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
	Alien: Romulus	Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan
	Better Man	Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs
	Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes	Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke
	Wicked	Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould

Shortlisted finalists

Finalists for Best Visual Effects are selected by the Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee. Beginning with a long list of up to 20 titles, the committee then advances ten films to the shortlist. Prior to the 83rd Academy Awards, only fifteen films were long-listed, and only seven films were shortlisted. The full membership of the Visual Effects Branch is invited to view excerpts and is provided with supporting information at a "bake-off" where balloting determines the five nominees. These are the additional films that presented at the bake-off.

Year	Finalists	Ref
1984	Dune, Gremlins, The Last Starfighter, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
1993	Addams Family Values, Alive, Hocus Pocus, Super Mario Bros.
1994	The Hudsucker Proxy, Interview with the Vampire, The Lion King, Speed
1995	Batman Forever, Casper, Jumanji, The Indian in the Cupboard, Waterworld
1996	Mars Attacks!, Mission: Impossible, The Nutty Professor, Star Trek: First Contact
1997	Batman & Robin, Contact, The Fifth Element, Men in Black
1998	Babe: Pig in the City, Godzilla, Small Soldiers, The Truman Show
1999	The Mummy, Sleepy Hollow, Wild Wild West, The World Is Not Enough
2000	Cast Away, Dinosaur, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, X-Men
2001	Black Hawk Down, Cats & Dogs, The Fast and the Furious, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Jurassic Park III
2002	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Minority Report, Men in Black II, xXx
2003	Hulk, Peter Pan, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, X2: X-Men United
2004	The Aviator, The Day After Tomorrow, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2005	Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
2006	Casino Royale, Eragon, Night at the Museum, X-Men: The Last Stand
2007	First Round: Beowulf, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Live Free or Die Hard, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Ratatouille, Spider-Man 3, Sunshine, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Second Round: The Bourne Ultimatum, Evan Almighty, I Am Legend, 300
2008	Australia, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
2009	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2012
2010	First Round: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Clash of the Titans, The Last Airbender, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Shutter Island, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Unstoppable Second Round: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Tron: Legacy
2011	First Round: Cowboys & Aliens, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Sucker Punch, Super 8, Thor Second Round: Captain America: The First Avenger, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Tree of Life, X-Men: First Class
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man, Cloud Atlas, The Dark Knight Rises, John Carter, Skyfall
2013	Elysium, Oblivion, Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World, World War Z
2014	Godzilla, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Maleficent, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Transformers: Age of Extinction
2015	First Round: Bridge of Spies, Chappie, Everest, Furious 7, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, In the Heart of the Sea, Jupiter Ascending, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Spectre, Terminator Genisys Second Round: Ant-Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, Tomorrowland, The Walk
2016	First Round: Alice Through the Looking Glass, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadpool, Independence Day: Resurgence, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Star Trek Beyond, Suicide Squad, Sully, Warcraft, X-Men: Apocalypse Second Round: Arrival, The BFG, Captain America: Civil War, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Passengers
2017	First Round: Beauty and the Beast, Ghost in the Shell, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Justice League, Life, Logan, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder Woman Second Round: Alien: Covenant, Dunkirk, Okja, The Shape of Water, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
2018	First Round: Aquaman, Bumblebee, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Mortal Engines, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Paddington 2, A Quiet Place Second Round: Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Panther, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Mary Poppins Returns, Welcome to Marwen
2019	First Round: Ad Astra, The Aeronauts, Aladdin, Dumbo, Hobbs & Shaw, Ford v Ferrari, Jumanji: The Next Level, Men in Black: International, Midway, Spider-Man: Far From Home Second Round: Alita: Battle Angel, Captain Marvel, Cats, Gemini Man, Terminator: Dark Fate
2020	Birds of Prey, Bloodshot, Mank, Soul, Welcome to Chechnya
2021	Black Widow, Eternals, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Matrix Resurrections
2022	Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jurassic World Dominion, Nope, Thirteen Lives
2023	First Round: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Barbie, The Boys in the Boat, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Marvels, Nyad, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Wonka Second Round: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Poor Things, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, Society of the Snow, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2024	First Round: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Fall Guy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Here, A Quiet Place: Day One, Spaceman, The Substance Second Round: Civil War, Deadpool & Wolverine, Gladiator II, Mufasa: The Lion King, Twisters
2025	First Round: Captain America: Brave New World, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch, Mickey 17, A Minecraft Movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Predator: Badlands, The Running Man, Thunderbolts* Second Round: Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Electric State, F1, Frankenstein, Jurassic World: Rebirth, The Lost Bus, Sinners, Superman, Tron: Ares, Wicked: For Good

Artists with multiple awards

8 awards

• Dennis Muren

5 awards

• Gordon Jennings
• Ken Ralston
• Joe Letteri

4 awards

• L.B. Abbott
• Richard Edlund
• Paul Lambert
• Glen Robinson

3 awards

• Randall William Cook
• Farciot Edouart
• John P. Fulton
• Alex Funke
• A. Arnold Gillespie
• Andrew Lockley
• Louis Mesenkop
• Gerd Nefzer
• Carlo Rambaldi
• Jim Rygiel
• Stan Winston
• Robert Legato

2 awards

• Richard Baneham
• Neil Corbould
• John Dykstra
• Scott R. Fisher
• A.D. Flowers
• Paul Franklin
• Charles Gibson
• George Gibbs
• Allen Hall
• Thomas Howard
• Ian Hunter
• Brian Johnson
• Andrew R. Jones
• Eustace Lycett
• Robert MacDonald
• Tristan Myles
• John Nelson
• Warren Newcombe
• Bruce Nicholson
• Guillaume Rocheron
• Stephen Rosenbaum
• Loren L. Ryder
• Fred Sersen
• Douglas Shearer
• Robert Skotak
• Kenneth F. Smith
• John Stears
• Richard Taylor
• Phil Tippett
• Bill Westenhofer
• Albert Whitlock

Artists with multiple nominations

15 nominations

• Dennis Muren

13 nominations

• Dan Sudick

12 nominations

• A. Arnold Gillespie

11 nominations

• John Frazier
• Joe Letteri

10 nominations

• Richard Edlund
• Farciot Edouart
• Gordon Jennings

8 nominations

• Neil Corbould
• Ken Ralston
• Fred Sersen

7 nominations

• Nathan Levinson*

6 nominations

• John Bruno
• Chris Corbould
• Russell Earl
• Scott Farrar
• Roger Guyett
• John Knoll
• Douglas Shearer*
• John Richardson
• Phil Tippett
• Stan Winston

5 nominations

• L.B. Abbott
• Jack Cosgrove
• John Dykstra
• John P. Fulton
• Roger Heman
• Michael Lantieri
• Robert Legato
• Dan Lemmon
• Neal Scanlan

4 nominations

• Daniel Barrett
• Tim Burke
• Lawrence Butler
• Burt Dalton
• Jonathan Fawkner
• Charles Gibson
• Allen Hall
• Byron Haskin
• Pablo Helman
• Hal Hickel
• Arthur Johns*
• Paul Lambert
• Chris Lawrence
• Eustace Lycett
• Louis Mesenkop
• Thomas T. Moulton*
• John Nelson
• Glen Robinson
• Ben Snow
• James G. Stewart*
• Patrick Tubach
• Dominic Tuohy
• Vernon L. Walker
• Guy Williams

3 nominations

• Scott E. Anderson
• Scott Benza
• R.O. Binger
• Eric Brevig
• Bernard B. Brown*
• Stéphane Ceretti
• Randall William Cook
• Paul Corbould
• Dan DeLeeuw
• George Dutton*
• Stefen Fangmeier
• Scott R. Fisher
• A.D. Flowers
• Paul Franklin
• Alex Funke
• George Gibbs
• Bryan Grill
• E.H. Hansen*
• Richard R. Hoover
• Donald Jahraus
• Joseph McMillan Johnson
• Andrew R. Jones
• Anders Langlands
• Andrew Lockley
• Robert MacDonald
• Erik Nash
• Gerd Nefzer
• Warren Newcombe
• Bruce Nicholson
• Carlo Rambaldi
• Stephen Rosenbaum
• Loren Ryder*
• Jim Rygiel
• Eric Saindon
• Roy Seawright
• Dave Shirk
• Janek Sirrs
• Scott Squires
• Richard Stammers
• Michael Steinore*
• Mark Stetson
• Scott Stokdyk
• Christopher Townsend
• Douglas Trumbull
• Bill Westenhofer
• Albert Whitlock
• Richard Yuricich

2 nominations

• Nicolas Aithadi
• Matt Aitken
• Richard Baneham
• Craig Barron
• Greg Butler
• Matthew E. Butler
• David Clayton
• Simone Coco
• Rob Coleman
• Art Cruickshank
• Jim Danforth
• Nick Davis
• Randal M. Dutra
• Paul Eagler
• Peter Ellenshaw
• Joe Farrell
• Michael L. Fink
• Thomas L. Fisher
• Bill George
• Swen Gillberg
• Alec Gillis
• Roy Granville*
• Ben Grossmann
• Craig Hammack
• Ralph Hammeras
• Charley Henley
• Thomas Howard
• Ian Hunter
• Joel Hynek
• Andrew Jackson
• Greg Jein
• Harley Jessup
• Brian Johnson
• Michael Kanfer
• Neil Krepela

• Anthony LaMolinara
• Danny Lee
• Milo B. Lory*
• Howard Lydecker
• Derek Meddings
• Michael J. McAlister
• Patrick McClung
• Grant McCune
• Ben Morris
• Tristan Myles
• Gerd Nefzer
• Dan Oliver
• Zoran Perisic
• Clay Pinney
• Kelly Port
• Elmer Raguse*
• Guillaume Rocheron
• Robert Skotak
• Robert Skotak
• Clarence Slifer
• Kenneth F. Smith
• John Stears
• Richard Taylor
• Jon Thum
• Adam Valdez
• Cameron Waldbauer
• Tim Webber
• Alex Weldon
• Kit West
• Jeff White
• R. Christopher White
• William H. Wilmarth*
• Erik Winquist
• Trevor Wood
• Tom Woodruff Jr.
• Hoyt Yeatman
• Matthew Yuricich
• Habib Zargarpour

Franchises

Multiple awards

3 Wins

• Middle-earth
• Star Wars

2 Wins

• Alien
• Avatar
• Dune
• Indiana Jones
• King Kong

Multiple nominations

14 Nominations

• Marvel Cinematic Universe

10 Nominations

• Star Wars

5 Nominations

• Alien
• Middle-earth

4 Nominations

• Planet of the Apes

3 Nominations

• Avengers
• Batman
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• The Invisible Man
• Iron Man
• James Bond
• King Kong
• Oz
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Spider-Man
• Star Trek
• Wizarding World

2 Nominations

• Avatar
• Blade Runner
• Dune
• Indiana Jones
• Jurassic Park
• Poltergeist
• The Poseidon Adventure
• A Space Odyssey
• Superman
• Transformers

Superlatives

For this Academy Award category, the following superlatives emerge:

• Most awards: Dennis Muren Template:Ndash 8 awards (resulting from 15 nominations)
• Most nominations: Dennis Muren Template:Ndash 15 nominations (resulting in 8 awards)
• Most nominations without a win: Dan Sudick – 13 nominations

Age superlatives:

Record	Recipient	Film	Age	Note
Oldest winner	L.B. Abbott	Logan's Run	68 years, 288 days	Special Achievement Award
Oldest nominee	John Frazier	The Lone Ranger	69 years, 115 days
Youngest winner	Tatsuji Nojima	Godzilla Minus One	25 years, 149 days
Youngest nominee			25 years, 102 days

See also

• Saturn Award for Best Special Effects
• BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Visual Effects
• List of Academy Award–nominated films
• Visual Effects Society Awards