The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 20 films that are in contention for this year’s Best Visual Effects Oscar race, narrowing down the field. Those that didn’t make the cut include Sony Pictures’ Venom and 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool 2, as well as Netflix’s Andy Serkis-directed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. But aside from these absences, there are no genuine “snubs” to be found.
Unsurprisingly, all three of Marvel Studios’ superhero movies made the cut, as did Disney’s Solo: A Star Wars Story and the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns. Perhaps more surprisingly, the animated films Incredibles 2 and Isle of Dogs were nominated, with Incredibles 2 marking the first time a CG-animated feature has made it this far in the Visual Effects Oscar race. The stop-motion animated Kubo and the Two Strings previously landed an Oscar nod in this category.
Aside from the obvious contenders like Infinity War and Black Panther, I’d personally love to see the nuanced character work in Paddington 2 get recognized, or the seamless integration in Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One is pretty stunning as well.
Check out the full shortlist below. These contenders will be further narrowed down after “bakeoff” presentations are granted, at which point we’ll be down to 10 contenders. Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on January 22, 2019.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Aquaman
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Bumblebee
Christopher Robin
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
First Man
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Mary Poppins Returns
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mortal Engines
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Paddington 2
A Quiet Place
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
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