Best Visual Effects

Dominic Tuohy, Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, 2019 winners

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most outstanding visual effects in film.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1928, 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 (1933).

But 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 usually it was given to two persons, although some years only one or the other type of effect was recognised. 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.

Between 1972 and 1977, there was no specific award for visual effects. As such work was awarded within the umbrella award called Special Achievement Academy Award. In 1977, a specific award category for visual effects was reintroduced with the current name, Best Visual Effects, although until 1995, visual effects could for some years continue to be given within the Special Achievement Academy Award instead. Which 1990 was the last year there was no official nominations, but instead a special achievement given.

Nominees & winners

• 1927/28: The category was named Best Engineering Effects

11th Academy Awards, 1938

Special Achievement Academy Award — Spawn of the North — Gordon Jennings, Farciot Edouart, Loyal Griggs

• 1939 - 1963: The category was named Best Special Effects

• 1964 - 1971: The category was named Best Special Visual Effects

1970s

45th Academy Awards, 1972

Special Achievement Academy Award — The Poseidon Adventure — L. B. Abbott, A. D. Flowers

• 1973: No award given.

47th Academy Awards, 1974

Special Achievement Academy Award — Earthquake — Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, Albert Whitlock

48th Academy Awards, 1975

Special Achievement Academy Award — The Hindenburg — Albert Whitlock, Glen Robinson

49th Academy Awards, 1976

Special Achievement Academy Award — King Kong (1976) — Carl Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, Frank Van der Veer

Logan's Run — L. B. Abbott, Glen Robinson, Matthew Yuricich

50th Academy Awards (1977)

Winner

Star Wars — John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, Robert Blalack

Nominees

Close Encounters of the Third Kind — Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, Matthew Yuricich, Gregory Jein, Richard Yuricich

51st Academy Awards, 1978

Special Achievement Academy Award — Superman — Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, Zoran Perisic

52nd Academy Awards (1979)

Winner

Alien — H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, Denys Ayling

Nominees

The Black Hole — Peter Ellenshaw, Art Cruickshank, Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee, Harrison Ellenshaw, Joe Hale

Moonraker — Derek Meddings, Paul Wilson, John Evans

1941 — William A. Fraker, A. D. Flowers, Gregory Jein

Star Trek - The Motion Picture — Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Richard Yuricich, Robert Swarthe, Dave Stewart, Grant McCune

1980s

53rd Academy Awards, 1980

Special Achievement Academy Award — The Empire Strikes Back — Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Bruce Nicholson

54th Academy Awards (1981)

Winner

Raiders of the Lost Ark — Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson, Joe Johnston

Nominees

Dragonslayer — Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Ken Ralston, Brian Johnson

55th Academy Awards (1982)

Winner

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial — Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren, Kenneth F. Smith

Nominees

Blade Runner — Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, David Dryer

Poltergeist — Richard Edlund, Michael Wood, Bruce Nicholson

56th Academy Awards, 1983

Special Achievement Academy Award — Return of the Jedi — Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, Phil Tippett

57th Academy Awards (1984)

Winner

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — Dennis Muren, Michael McAlister, Lorne Peterson, George Gibbs

Nominees

Ghostbusters — Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Mark Vargo, Chuck Gaspar

2010 — Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson, Mark Stetson

58th Academy Awards (1985)

Winner

Cocoon — Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar, David Berry

Nominees

Return to Oz — Will Vinton, Ian Wingrove, Zoran Perisic, Michael Lloyd

Young Sherlock Holmes — Dennis Muren, Kit West, John Ellis, David Allen

59th Academy Awards (1986)

Winner

Aliens — Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, Suzanne Benson

Nominees

Little Shop of Horrors — Lyle Conway, Bran Ferren, Martin Gutteridge

Poltergeist II: The Other Side — Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Garry Waller, William Neil

60th Academy Awards (1987)

Winner

Innerspace — Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

Nominees

Predator — Joel Hynek, Robert M. Greenberg, Richard Greenberg, Stan Winston

61st Academy Awards (1988)

Winner

Who Framed Roger Rabbit — Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, George Gibbs

Nominees

Die Hard — Richard Edlund, Al DiSarro, Brent Boates, Thaine Morris

Willow — Dennis Muren, Michael McAlister, Phil Tippett, Chris Evans

62nd Academy Awards (1989)

Winner

The Abyss — Ken Ralston, Michael Lantieri, John Bell, Steve Gawley

Nominees

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen — Richard Conway, Kent Houston

Back to the Future II — John Bruno, Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, Dennis Skotak

1990s

63rd Academy Awards, 1990

Special Achievement Academy Award — Total Recall — Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, Alex Funke

64th Academy Awards (1991)

Winner

Terminator 2: Judgment Day — Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren, Jr., Robert Skotak

Nominees

Backdraft — Mikael Salomon, Allen Hall, Clay Pinney, Scott Farrar

Hook — Eric Brevig, Harley Jessup, Mark Sullivan, Michael Lantieri

65th Academy Awards (1992)

Winner

Death Becomes Her — Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Doug Smythe, Tom Woodruff, Jr.

Nominees

Alien 3 — Richard Edlund, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff, Jr., George Gibbs

Batman Returns — Michael Fink, Craig Barron, John Bruno, Dennis Skotak

66th Academy Awards (1993)

Winner

Jurassic Park — Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, Michael Lantieri

Nominees

Cliffhanger — Neil Krepela, John Richardson, John Bruno, Pamela Easley

The Nightmare Before Christmas — Pete Kozachik, Eric Leighton, Ariel Velasco Shaw, Gordon Baker

67th Academy Awards (1994)

Winner

Forrest Gump — Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Allen Hall

Nominees

The Mask — Scott Squires, Steve Williams, Tom Bertino, Jon Farhat

True Lies — John Bruno, Thomas L. Fisher, Jacques Stroweis, Patrick McClung

68th Academy Awards (1995)

Winner

Babe — Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan, John Cox

Nominees

Apollo 13 — Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker, Matt Sweeney

69th Academy Awards (1996)

Winner

Independence Day — Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, Joseph Viskocil

Nominees

Dragonheart — Scott Squires, Phil Tippett, James Straus, Kit West

Twister — Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Habib Zargarpour, Henry La Bounta

70th Academy Awards (1997)

Winner

Titanic — Robert Legato, Mark Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher, Michael Kanferl

Nominees

The Lost World: Jurassic Park — Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Randal M. Dutra, Michael Lantieri

Starship Troopers — Phil Tippett, Scott E. Anderson, Alec Gillis, John Richardson

71st Academy Awards (1998)

Winner

What Dreams May Come — Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson, Kevin Mack

Nominees

Armageddon — Richard R. Hoover, Pat McClung, John Frazier

Mighty Joe Young — Rick Baker, Hoyt Yeatman, Allen Hall, Jim Mitchell

72nd Academy Awards (1999)

Winner

The Matrix — John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, Jon Thum

Nominees

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace — John Knoll, Dennis Muren, Scott Squires, Rob Coleman

Stuart Little — John Dykstra, Jerome Chen, Henry F. Anderson III, Eric Allard

2000s

73rd Academy Awards (2000)

Winner

Gladiator — John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, Rob Harvey

Nominees

Hollow Man — Scott E. Anderson, Craig Hayes, Scott Stokdyk, Stan Parks

The Perfect Storm — Stefen Fangmeier, Habib Zargarpour, John Frazier, Walt Conti

74th Academy Awards (2001)

Winner

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, Mark Stetson

Nominees

A.I. Artificial Intelligence — Dennis Muren, Scott Farrar, Stan Winston, Michael Lantieri

Pearl Harbor — Eric Brevig, John Frazier, Ed Hirsh, Ben Snow

75th Academy Awards (2002)

Winner

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke

Nominees

Spider-Man — John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones — Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, Ben Snow

76th Academy Awards (2003)

Winner

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke

Nominees

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World — Dan Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, Robert Stromberg

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl — John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, Terry Frazee

77th Academy Awards (2004)

Winner

Spider-Man 2 — John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier

Nominees

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, John Richardson, Bill George

I, Robot — John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash, Joe Letteri

78th Academy Awards (2005)

Winner

King Kong (2005) — Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor

Nominees

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar

War of the Worlds (2005) — Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randal M. Dutra, Daniel Sudick

79th Academy Awards (2006)

Winner

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest — John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, Allen Hall

Nominees

Poseidon — Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chas Jarrett, John Frazier

Superman Returns — Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover, Jon Thum

80th Academy Awards (2007)

Winner

The Golden Compass — Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood

Nominees

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End — John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, John Frazier

Transformers — Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, John Frazier

81st Academy Awards (2008)

Winner

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron

Nominees

The Dark Knight — Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin

Iron Man — John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan

82nd Academy Awards (2009)

Winner

Avatar — Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones

Nominees

District 9 — Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken

Star Trek — Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

2010s

83rd Academy Awards (2010)

Winner

Inception — Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb

Nominees

Alice in Wonderland (2010) — Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, Sean Phillips

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 — Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi

Hereafter — Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky, Joe Farrell

Iron Man 2 — Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, Daniel Sudick

84th Academy Awards (2011)

Winner

Hugo — Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning

Nominees

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 — Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, John Richardson

Real Steel — Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor, Swen Gillberg

Rise of the Planet of the Apes — Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, Daniel Barrett

Transformers: Dark of the Moon — Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler, John Frazier

85th Academy Awards (2012)

Winner

Life of Pi — Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer, Donald R. Elliott

Nominees

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White

Marvel's The Avengers — Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick

Prometheus — Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, Martin Hill

Snow White and the Huntsman — Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson

86th Academy Awards (2013)

Winner

Gravity — Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould

Nominees

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug — Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds

Iron Man 3 — Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, Dan Sudick

The Lone Ranger — Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier

Star Trek Into Darkness — Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton

87th Academy Awards (2014)

Winner

Interstellar — Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher

Nominees

Captain America: The Winter Soldier — Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, Dan Sudick

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Erik Winquist

Guardians of the Galaxy — Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould

X-Men: Days of Future Past — Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie, Cameron Waldbauer

88th Academy Awards (2015)

Winner

Ex Machina — Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett

Nominees

Mad Max: Fury Road — Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams

The Martian — Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence, Steven Warner

The Revenant — Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith, Cameron Waldbauer

Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould

89th Academy Awards (2016)

Winner

The Jungle Book — Robert Leggto, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Dan Lemmon

Nominees

Deepwater Horizon — Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington, Burt Dalton

Doctor Strange — Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, Paul Corbould

{{{nominee3}}}

Kubo and the Two Strings — Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean, Brad Schiff

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — John Knoll, Moehn Leo, Hal Hickel, Neil Corbould

90th Academy Awards (2017)

Winner

Blade Runner 2049 — John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover

Nominees

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick

Kong: Skull Island — Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus

Star Wars: The Last Jedi — Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould

War for the Planet of the Apes — Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon, Joel Whist

91st Academy Awards (2018)

Winner

First Man — Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, J.D. Schwalm

Nominees

Avengers: Infinity War — Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl, Dan Sudick

Christopher Robin — Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones, Chris Corbould

Ready Player One — Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler, David Shirk

Solo: A Star Wars Story — Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy

92nd Academy Awards (2019)

Winner

1917 — Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, Dominic Tuohy

Nominees

Avengers: Endgame — Dan DeLeeuw, Matt Aitken, Russell Earl, Dan Sudick

The Irishman — Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Nelson Sepulveda

The Lion King (2019) — Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Elliot Newman

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy

2020s

93rd Academy Awards (2020)

Winner

Tenet — Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher

Nominees

Love and Monsters — Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camailleri, Matt Everitt, Brian Cox

The Midnight Sky — Matthew Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, Max Solomon, David Watkins

Mulan — Sean Andrew Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, Steve Ingram

The One and Only Ivan — Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, Santiago Colomo Martinez

94th Academy Awards (2021)

Winner

Dune: Part One — Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer

Nominees

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

95th Academy Awards (2022)

Winner

Avatar: The Way of Water — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Nominees

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

96th Academy Awards (2023)

Winner

Godzilla Minus One — Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima

Nominees

The Creator — Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, and Neil Corbould

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — Stephane 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

Related Categories

• Best Special Effects
• Best Special Visual Effects