Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES | vesglobal.org), the visual effects industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for its 24th Annual VES Awards, encompassing 25 categories across film, television, special venue projects, technological innovation, student projects and more. The 2026 awards ceremony will be held on February 25 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
From 20th Century Studios and Lightstorm Entertainment, Avatar: Fire and Ash is this year’s most-nominated project with 10 nominations, including in the key category of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
Among animated contenders, there is a three-way tie for top nominations, with Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters, Disney and Pixar’s Elio, and Disney’s Zootopia 2 each receiving five nominations.
Netflix’s Stranger Things, HBO’s The Last of Us and Apple TV+ and BBC Studios’ Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age are tied atop the episodic field, with four nominations each.
Nominees were selected by VES members worldwide over the weekend via the Society’s Global Nomination Event, which hosted 46 in-person and 14 virtual judging panels. The 60 peer-led judging panels in seven worldwide regions – Asia, Europe, India, Oceania, and three in North America – show the Society’s global reach and engagement.
“Visual effects artists and producers are at the forefront of cinematic artistry and technological innovation, whether their work is being seen on the big screen in a movie theater, on the device in your pocket, or in a special venue setting,” said VES Board Chair Kim Davidson. “We’re thrilled to celebrate all of this year’s nominees, and we’re grateful to our member volunteers from around the world who make our rigorous peer review process possible.”
Diana Colella, Executive Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, sponsor of the VES Student Award, commented, “The next generation of creators is advancing visual storytelling through bold ideas, emotional depth, and technical craft. This year’s student film submissions showcase the creative vision and incredible skill of up-and-coming filmmakers and visual effects artists. Congratulations to all of the student nominees.”
As previously announced, comedy duo Randy and Jason Sklar (the Sklar Brothers) will return to host the 24th Annual VES Awards for the second consecutive year. This year’s special honorees will include acclaimed film producer Jerry Bruckheimer receiving the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, and Wētā Workshop co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Sir Richard Taylor receiving the VES Visionary Award.
Select category nominations listed below. Find the full list of nominees on the VES website here.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
F1: The Movie
Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Keith Alfred Dawson
Jurassic World: Rebirth
David Vickery, Carlos Ciudad, Steve Aplin, Charmaine Chan, Neil Corbould VES
The Lost Bus
Charlie Noble, Gavin Round, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen, Brandon K. McLaughlin
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Richard Baneham, Peter Litvack, Eric Saindon, Nicky Muir, Steve Ingram
How to Train Your Dragon
Christian Manz, Christopher Raimo, Glen McIntosh, Glenn Melenhorst, Terry Palmer
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature
The Bad Guys 2
Pierre Perifel, Damon Ross, Matt Baer, Benjamin Willis
KPop Demon Hunters
Joshua Beveridge, Jacky Priddle, Benjamin Hendricks, Clara Chan
Zootopia 2
Gregory Smith, Laurie Au, Marlon West, Shweta Viswanathan
In Your Dreams
Sacha Kapijimpanga, Carey Smith, Nicola Lavender, Steve Pilcher
Elio
Claudia Chung Sanii, Mary Alice Drumm, Harley Jessup, Dave Quirus
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Andor; “Who Are You?”
Mohen Leo, TJ Falls, Scott Pritchard, Olivier Beaulieu, Luke Murphy
It: Welcome to Derry; “Winter Fire”
Daryl Sawchuk, Steve Dellerson, Pier Lefebvre, Steven Tether, Darcy Callaghan
The Last of Us; “Through the Valley”
Alex Wang, Fiona Campbell Westgate, Nick Epstein, Philip Engström, Joel Whist
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age; “The Big Freeze”
Russell Dodgson, Tracey Gibbons, Francois Dumoulin, Gavin McKenzie
Stranger Things; “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up”
Betsy Paterson, Tessa Roehl, Michael Maher Jr., Martin Hill
Outstanding Character in a Photoreal Feature
A Minecraft Movie; Queen Malgosha
Kevin Estey, Fabio Leporelli, Matteo Stirati, Nick Grace
Lilo & Stitch; Stitch
Matthew Shumway, Claus Pedersen, Xiying Zhai, Enrique Mateo-Sagasta
Superman; Krypto the Superdog
Loic Mireault, Martine Chartrand, Marianne Morency, Matthias Schoenegger
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Varang: Leader of the Ash Clan
Stephen Clee, Stuart Adcock, Keven Norris, Joseph Kim
Outstanding Character in an Animated Feature
Elio; Ooooo the Liquid Supercomputer
Catherine Luo, Anna-Christine Lykkegaard, Ferdi Scheepers, Julian Teo
Elio; Glordon
Marco Burbano, Edgar Rodriguez, Ben Rush, Patrick Yu Wang
Zootopia 2; Gary De’Snake
Adam Green, Jennifer Stratton, Christoffer Pedersen, Jesse Erickson
KPop Demon Hunters; Rumi
Sophia (Seung Hee) Lee, Andrea Centeno, Marc Souliere, Joshua Beveridge
Outstanding Character in an Episodic, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project
It: Welcome to Derry; “The Thing in the Dark;” The Pickle Monster
Philip Harris-Genois, Pierric Danjou, Chloe Ostiguy, Jonathan Bourdua
It: Welcome to Derry; “Winter Fire;” Pennywise
Théo Perronard, Yan Morin-Dubuisson, Yan Detang, Jonathan Fleming-Bock
Stranger Things; “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up;” Mindflayer
James Moore, Layne Howe, Shawn Warawa, Yoshihiro Harimoto
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age; Female Smilodon
Alvise Avati, Marc-André Coulombe, Youen Leclerc, Andrea De Martis
Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature
Tron: Ares; Dillinger’s Grid City
Jared Michael, Noor Valibhoy, Cody Gramstad, Stefan Litterini
The Lost Bus; The Wildfires of Roe Road
Jamie Haydock, Francesco Ferraresi, Sergei Konorev, Frederick Vallee
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Bridgehead Industrial City
Gianluca Pizzaia, Steve Bevins, Dziga Kaiser, Zsolt Máté
The Lost Bus; Feather River Canyon by the Pulga Bridge
David Schulz, Mareike Loges, Björn Markgraf, Philipp Hafellner
The Gorge; The Bodyweb
Daniel James Cox, Yosuke Inomata, Clint Rea, Gabriel Pires
Outstanding Environment in an Animated Feature
Zootopia 2; Marsh Market
Limei Z. Hshieh, Alexander Nicholas Whang, Joshua Fry, Ryan DeYoung
Elio; The Communiverse
Steve Arguello, Christopher M. Burrows, Andy Lin, Laura Murphy
KPop Demon Hunters; Seoul
Rafael Lescano, Gunsik Kim, Tyquane Wright, Hee-Chel Nam
The Bad Guys 2; Cairo City
John J. Lee, Greg Hettinger, Mikael Genachte-Le Bail, Mayumi Shimokawa
Outstanding Environment in an Episodic, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project
Foundation; “A Song for the End of Everything;” Clarion Station
Sylvain Lesaint, Ilyes Boutemeur, Blake Dewoody, Benjamin Rojek
Andor; “Welcome to the Rebellion;” The Senate District
John O’Connell, Falk Boje, Hasan Ilhan, Kevin George
The Last of Us; Post-Apocalyptic Seattle
Romain Simonnet, Abraham Ibanez, David Desplat, Minguk Lee
The Residence; “Dial M for Murder;” The White House Exterior
Gabriel Vargas, Eric Schoellnast, Andrew Wilkins, Omer Gurkan
Outstanding CG Cinematography
Zootopia 2
Tyler Kupferer, Daniel Rice, Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Steve Deane, AJ Briones, Zachary Brake, Andrew Moffett
Tron: Ares
Jhon Alvarado, Michael Beaulieu, Jayden Beveridge, Hayley Kim
KPop Demon Hunters
Benjamin Hendricks, Gary H. Lee, Randolph Lizarda, Linh Mai Nguyen Chan
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Mickey 17; The Niflheim Spaceship
Bikas Panigrahi, Nikolai Razuev, Ajinkya Nitin Phokmare, Manoj Vijay Kamble
Wicked: For Good; Bison
Marco Chau, Giorgio Pennisi,Sowmya Ramakumar, Balazs Meszaros
Avatar: Fire and Ash; The Windtraders’ Gondola
Michael Smale, Sam Sharplin, Joe W. Churchill, Jacqi Dillon
Superman; The Fortress of Solitude
Crystal Bretz, Martin Pelissier, Klaudio Ladavac, Conner Wessinger
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Simulating Pandora
Nicholas Illingworth, Sarah C. Farmer, James Robinson, Ryan Bowden
Superman; Metropolis City Destruction
Rick Hankins, Marcel Kern, Eric Hollands, Masoud Aziminajjar
The Lost Bus; Escape from Hell
Billy Copley, Mathieu Chardonnet, Chetan Patkar, David Schott
Together
Darcy George, Andrew Dunkerley, Ray Leung, Steve Oakley
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
In Your Dreams
Stephanie McNair, Dmitiry Kolesnik, Stephen Paschke, David Sellares
The Bad Guys 2
Michael Losure, Landon Gray, Zachary Glynn, Steve Avoujageli
Zootopia 2
Sujil Sukumaran, Stuart Griese, Zoran Stojanoski, Paul Carman
KPop Demon Hunters
Filippo Maccari, Nikolaos Finizio, Daniel La Chapelle, Srdjan Milosevic
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project
Battlefield 6
Björn Åkerstedt, Anders Egleus, Kasra Kalami, Craig Moroney
The Last of Us; “Through the Valley;” The Infected Horde
Duarte Victorino, Claudio Gonzalez, Andre Castelao, Igor Bondar
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age; The Big Freeze
Edward Ferrysienanda, Kevin Christensen, Guy Schuleman, Kevin Tarpinian
Stranger Things; “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up;” Assault on the Mindflayer
Michael Chrobak, Brandon James Fleet, Yasunobu Arahori, Hoi Ying Fung
Emerging Technology Award
Win or Lose; Detached Facial Features
David Munier, Ana Gabriela Lacaze, Jonathan Page, Anna-Christine Lykkegaard
Mickey 17; REVIZE
John Bastian, Ben Ward, Thomas Rowntree, Robert Beveridge
Avatar: Fire and Ash; BodyOpt
Christoph Sprenger, Tobias Mack, Florian Fernandez, Niall Ryan
Elio; Real-Time High Fidelity Animation System Using Signed Distance Functions
Andrew Butts, Trent Crow, Anna-Christine Lykkegaard, Catherine Luo
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Kora Fire Toolset
Alexey Dmitrievich Stomakhin, John Edholm, Murali Ramachari, Aleksandr Isakov
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Au Delà des Mots
Antoine Barbannaud, Leandro Leijnen, Timothé Vergught, Mathis De Sauvecanne
Flying From War
Ciara Borgards
Two Kings
Eliot Hervier Blondel, Mathieu Keraudran, Adrian Delmotte, Jonas Lopez Del Castillo
Azimuth
Thomas Teisseire, Cassandre Cinier, Martin Bluy, Mathis Giraudeau
A Sparrow’s Song
Tobias Eckerlin, Vincent Maurer, Elias Weber, Lilli-Luisa Heckmann
