Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

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.

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. 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

To date, 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.^[3] In 2024, Godzilla Minus One became the first non-English-language film ever to win in the category.^[4]

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.^[5] No more than four people may be nominated for a single film.^[6]

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.

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 and Christopher Nolan, and two by directors Clarence Brown, Cecil B. DeMille, Mark Robson, Ridley Scott, Robert Stevenson and Denis Villeneuve.

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.^[4][7] 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.^[8]

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

1920s

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

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

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

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.^[12] Prior to the 83rd Academy Awards, only fifteen films were long-listed, and only seven films were shortlisted.^[13] 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.

Multiple awards

Multiple nominations

For this Academy Award category, the following superlatives emerge:^[52]

• Most awards: Dennis Muren – 8 awards (resulting from 15 nominations)
• Most nominations: Dennis Muren – 15 nominations (resulting in 8 awards)

• Saturn Award for Best Special Effects
• BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Visual Effects