The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
(AMPAS) for the best achievement in
visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...
. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creating the film's visual effects since
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
.
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
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
flying drama ''
Wings''.
Producer
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...
, 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
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
'' 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
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...
'' 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 Awar
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
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
(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
Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
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.
1920s
Special Effects Awards
The tables below display the Oscar nominees for Best Special Effects including the recipients of the Special Achievement Awards.
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
Visual Effects Awards
The tables below display the Oscar nominees for Best Visual Effects including the recipients of the Special Achievement Awards.
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
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.
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
*
Charles Gibson
*
Allen Hall
*
Byron Haskin
Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he ...
*
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
*
Dan DeLeeuw
*
George Dutton*
*
Stefen Fangmeier
*
Jonathan Fawkner
*
Scott R. Fisher
*
A. D. Flowers
*
Paul Franklin
*
Alex Funke
*
George Gibbs
*
Bryan Grill
*
E.H. Hansen*
*
Pablo Helman
*
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
*
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
*
Paul Corbould
*
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
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
*
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
*
Dave Shirk
*
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*
*
Trevor Wood
*
Tom Woodruff Jr.
*
Hoyt Yeatman
*
Matthew Yuricich
*
Habib Zargarpour
Franchises
Multiple awards
;3 Wins
*
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
* ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
''
; 2 Wins
* ''
Alien''
* ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
''
* ''
Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
''
* ''
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
''
* ''
King Kong''
Multiple nominations
;14 Nominations
*
MCU
;10 Nominations
* ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
''
;5 Nominations
* ''
Alien''
*
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
;4 Nominations
* ''
Planet of the Apes''
;3 Nominations
* ''
Avengers''
* ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''
* ''
Guardians of the Galaxy''
* ''
The Invisible Man''
* ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
''
*
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
* ''
King Kong''
* ''
Pirates of the Caribbean''
* ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
''
* ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''
*
Wizarding World
;2 Nominations
* ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
''
* ''
Blade Runner''
* ''
Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
''
* ''
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
''
Superlatives
For this Academy Award category, the following superlatives emerge:
* Most awards:
Dennis Muren 8 awards (resulting from 15 nominations)
* Most nominations:
Dennis Muren 15 nominations (resulting in 8 awards)
* Most nominations without a win:
Dan Sudick – 13 nominations
* Oldest winner:
L. B. Abbott (68 years, 288 days) – ''
Logan's Run'' (1976,
Special Achievement Award)
* Oldest nominee:
John Frazier (69 years, 115 days) – ''
The Lone Ranger'' (2013)
* Youngest winner:
Tatsuji Nojima (25 years, 149 days) – ''
Godzilla Minus One'' (2023)
* Youngest nominee: Tatsuji Nojima (25 years, 102 days) – ''Godzilla Minus One'' (2023)
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
Notes
References
{{Academy Award Best Visual Effects
Visual Effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...