Off the top of your head, you can probably guess some of the 20 nominees for the Visual Effects category of the 88th Academy Awards. Marvel's got a pair of heavy hitters in the mix with both the team-up movie Avengers: Age of Ultron and the pint-sized anti-hero Ant-Man making the list; Disney's Tomorrowland and upcoming box-office juggernaut Star Wars: The Force Awakens also appear. Then again, the year's biggest picture - Universal's Jurassic World - is primed to take a bite out of the competition in this particular category.

Less flashy films including Bridge of Spies, In the Heart of the Sea, The Martian, and The Walk contrast with the wild visual feasts of Furious Seven, Jupiter Ascending, and Terminator: Genisys. And while I love seeing Ex Machina represented - a film of modest box office performance especially compared to these other films on the list - I'll likely be pulling for George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road in this category. Let us know your thoughts on the deserving winner after checking out the full list of nominees below.


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LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 20 films are in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 88th Academy Awards®.

 

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Ant-Man”

“Avengers: Age of Ultron”

“Bridge of Spies”

“Chappie”

“Everest”

“Ex Machina”

“Furious Seven”

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”

“In the Heart of the Sea”

“Jupiter Ascending”

“Jurassic World”

“Mad Max: Fury Road”

“The Martian”

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”

“The Revenant”

“Spectre”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

“Terminator Genisys”

“Tomorrowland”

“The Walk”

 

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The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary shortlist.  This year, in the Visual Effects category, the number of eligible films initially shortlisted for further consideration was increased to a maximum of 20 titles.  The number of films that will be shortlisted for nominations voting remains at 10, which will be announced later this month.

 

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

 

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.


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