James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” has received 10 nominations for the Visual Effects Society Awards, the organization announced on Tuesday. In the top category, honoring photorealistic features, the third “Avatar” film’s competition includes “F1,” “Jurassic Park Rebirth,” “The Lost Bus” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Though “Fire and Ash” comfortably leads the nominations from VES, the film scored fewer total noms than the original “Avatar,” which received 11, and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the all-time nomination leader at 14.
Notably, two films on the Oscars’ visual effects shortlist – “Frankenstein” and “The Electric State” – were shut out entirely by VES. The other eight titles on the shortlist received at least one nomination here: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” received 10, “The Lost Bus” and “Superman” scored four, “F1” and “Tron: Ares” got two, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” “Sinners” and “Wicked: For Good” received one.
Among animated films, “KPop Demon Hunters,” “Elio” and “Zootopia 2” are tied with five nominations each. On the television side, “Stranger Things,” “The Last of Us” and “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” lead with four nominations apiece.
The VES Awards span 25 categories across film, television, animation, commercials, games, special venue projects, emerging technology and student work. Nominees were selected by VES members worldwide during the Society’s Global Nomination Event, which included 46 in-person and 14 virtual judging panels across seven global regions.
Previously announced honorees include Jerry Bruckheimer, who will receive the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, and Wētā Workshop co-founder Sir Richard Taylor, recipient of the VES Visionary Award.
The awards ceremony will take place Feb. 25, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. The full list of VES Award nominees:
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 SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
“Dongji Rescue”
Tim Crosbie; Celeste Chen; Christian Sjöstedt; Lea Benjovitz
“A House of Dynamite”
Chris Harvey; Dione Wood; Jon Mitchell; Matthew Lane
“Warfare”
Simon Stanley-Clamp; Kaley Edwards; Andrew Kinnear; Samir Ansari; Ryan Conder
“Sinners”
Michael Ralla; James Alexander; Nick Marshall; Espen Nordahl; Donnie Dean
“After the Hunt”
Fabio Cerrito; Virginia Cefaly; Marco Fiorani Parenzi; Maura Manfredi
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 SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
“Man vs Baby,” “Chapter One”
Rob Duncan; Ashlee Turner; Jean-Nicolas Costa; Adrian Eugene Daniel Williams
“The Residence,” “The Fall of the House of Usher”
Seth Hill; Tesa Kubicek; John Nelson; Gabriel Vargas
“The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” “Costa Da Morte”
Jao M’Changama; Justine Paynat-Sautivet; Sébastien Voisin; Xavier Allard; Pau Costa Moeller
“Severance,” “Hello, Ms. Cobel”
Eric Leven; Sean Findley; Brian Holligan; Radost Ridlen
“Death By Lightning,” “The Man from Ohio”
Rainer Gombos; Steve Kullback; Marko Ljubez; David Ramos
OUTSTANDING VISUAL ARTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
“Ghost of Yōtei”
Jason Connell; Matt Vainio; Joanna Wang; Jasmin Patry
“Death Stranding 2: On the Beach”
Hideo Kojima; Yoji Shinkawa; Shota Hirasawa
“Doom: The Dark Ages”
Todd Boyce; Andrew Willis; Ian Malerich; Derek Best
“South of Midnight”
Ian Mac Gregor; Yasmeen Leclerc; Petro Kosariekov; Connor Bugni
“Battlefield 6”
Chris Bayol; Sean Tomek; Skye White; Jacob Bergman
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Coors Light, “Slow Monday”
Bruno Fukumothi; Ella Glazer; David Fleet; Martino Madeddu
BMW, “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus”
Tom Raynor; Helen Tang; Jack Harris; Alex Kulikov
Virgin Media, “Trunk Trucker”
Sebastian Caldwell; Larisa Covaciu; Ben Cronin; Alex Grey
Columbia Sportswear, “Engineered for Whatever”
Kamen Markov; Alexia Paterson; David Lochhead; Henrique Campanha
“Battlefield 6,” “It’s Good to Be Back”
Michael Ralla; James Alexander; Brian Creasey; Luca Pelegatta
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
“The Wizard of Oz at Sphere”
Ben Grossmann; Tamara Watts Kent; Dr. Irfan Essa; Matt Dougan; Glenn Derry
“Zootopia: Better Zoogether!”
Rich Enders; Kirk Bodyfelt; Darin Hollings; Darren Simpson
“Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment”
Alan Woods; Maximilian McNair MacEwan; Jason Fox; Iris Chailloux
“Disney Tales of Magic”
Tim Lutkin; Patrick Aigouy; Adrien Mourey; Lydia Caplan
“Stranger Things: Escape the Dark”
Julien Héry; Antoine Sitruk; Simon Lecavalier; Martin Hesselink
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
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Bridgehead Industrial City
Ziad Shureih; Stefano Oggeri; Jaume Creus Costabella; Hugo Debat-Burkarth
“F1: The Movie,” Modern Race and POV Footage
Hugo Gauvreau; Chris Davies; Raushan Raj; Amaury Rospars
“Superman,” Fights and Metropolis City Destruction
Can Chang; Nicolas Caillier; Bryan Smeall; Elona Musha
“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” The Wind Traders, Bridgehead, Rivers and Ocean
Alex Klaricich; Gianfranco Sgura; Brad Floyd; Ari Ross
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
“The Residence,” “Pilot”
Spencer Hecox; Gunnar Heiss; Alexander Greenberg; Eric Schoellnast
“Stranger Things,” “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up,” The Abyss and Vecna’s Face
Ben Roberts; Rachel E. Herbert; Don Bradford; Ken Lam
“The Last of Us,” “Through the Valley,” A Storm of Ice, Fire and Flesh
Tobias Wiesner; Mark Julien; Owen Longstaff; Brendan Naylor
“Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age”
Puff Pisanwalerd; Jean-Baptiste Noyau; Marion Nove-Josserand; Sue Nelson
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Disney, “Best Christmas Ever”
Hudson Martins; Luke Warpus; Jinhui Wang; Alex Miller
BMW, “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus”
Alex Kulikov; Jack Harris; Adam Chabane; Nicola Borsari
Virgin Media, “Trunk Trucker”
Alex Grey; Sebastian Caldwell; Nicola Borsari; Giacomo Cavaletti
Genesis, “No Old Ideas”
Greg McKneally; Christian Block; Alberto Pizzocchero; Alessandro Granella
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
“Gen V,” “Bags”
Hudson Kenny; Curtis Carlson; John Koyama; Bruno Larizza
“Andor,” “Who Are You?”
Luke Murphy; Dean Ford; Jody Eltham; Darrell Guyon
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
