The Visual Effects Society is handing out its 23rd annual VES Awards tonight at the Beverly Hilton, and Deadline is posting the winners as they are announced. Check out the list below.
Early on, the award for Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature went to Dune: Part Two, which came into the ceremony with a leading seven nominations and scored a VFX win at last week’s Critics Choice Awards. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel later became the night’s first double winner, picking up the VES Award for CG Cinematography.
Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two will battle for the marquee Photoreal Feature category later against Better Man, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Mufasa: The Lion King and Twisters. All except Better Man were among the Top 20 films of 2024 domestically and worldwide.
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Back in 2022, the first Dune led all films with four VES Awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
The VES Awards and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences haven’t followed the same script much during the past decade-plus, with only five of the Visual Effects Society’s marquee winners since 2013 going on to score the FX Oscar. That trend held last year, when VES bowed before The Creator, but the Academy Award was fed to Godzilla Minus Zero.
Tonight’s prize for Animated Feature Environment went to Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, which is hot off dominating the Annie Awards over the weekend.
20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus took the VES Award for Outstanding Model for its Renaissance Space Station.
RELATED: Visual Effects Society 2024 Honorees Include Brooke Breton & Four New Hall Of Famers
The team behind FX’s Emmy-laden series Shōgun took the first award of the night, for Outstanding Environment in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project. The Penguin waddled home with the prize for Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project. The rookie Disney+ series then made it two categories in a row, picking up the statuette for Compositing in an Episode to become the night’s first multiple winner from the small screen.
The special honorees at the 2025 VES Awards are Emmy-winning actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada (VES Award for Creative Excellence), Oscar-winning director and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki (VES Visionary Award) and VR/immersive technology pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie (VES Georges Méliès Award).
The evening — which recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in 25 categories spanning features, TV, animation, commercials, games and new media — opened with VES Exec Director Nancy Ward thanking the first responders who risked it all to say lives and property during the devastating Los Angeles wildfires last month. Cheers to that.
The Sklar Brothers are making their hosting debut for the event. Here are the winners at the 2025 VES Awards, followed by the remaining nominees:
Winners
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock
Karen Chang
Eugene Bondar
Miky Girón
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio
Johnny Han
Cory Candrilli
Alexandre Prod’homme
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak
Trevor Wide
Matt Middleton
Ben Shearman
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Pittura (entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam
Lassère Titouan
Vivenza Rémi
Marre Helloïs
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete
Oriel Frigo
Tomas Koutsky
Matteo Oliviero Dancy
OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser
Xin Steve Guo
Sandra Murta
Ben Wiggs
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg
Alyssa Finley
Jason Breneman
Alice Taylor
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
Star Wars Outlaws
Stephen Hawes
Lionel Le Dain
Benedikt Podlesnigg
Bogdan Draghici
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Greg McKneally
Antonia Vlasto
Ryan Knowles
Fabrice Fiteni
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein
Daniel Anton Fernandez
Marc James Austin
Christopher Anciaume
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake
He Jung Park
Woojin Choi
Shane Glading
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez
Phil Hannigan
Keith Malone
Francesco Corvino
Nominees
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man
Luke Millar
Andy Taylor
David Clayton
Keith Herft
Peter Stubbs
Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert
Brice Parker
Stephen James
Rhys Salcombe
Gerd Nefzer
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist
Julia Neighly
Paul Story
Danielle Immerman
Rodney Burke
Mufasa: The Lion King
Adam Valdez
Barry St. John
Audrey Ferrara
Daniel Fotheringham
Twisters
Ben Snow
Mark Soper
Florian Witzel
Susan Greenhow
Scott Fisher
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Blitz
Andrew Whitehurst
Sona Pak
Theo Demiris
Vincent Poitras
Hayley Williams
Civil War
David Simpson
Michelle Rose
Freddy Salazar
Chris Zeh
J.D. Schwalm
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Jason Neese
Armen Fetulagian
Jamie Neese
J.P. Jaramillo
Nosferatu
Angela Barson
Lisa Renney
David Scott
Dave Cook
Pavel Ságner
Young Woman and the Sea
Richard Briscoe
Carrie Rishel
Jeremy Robert
Stéphane Dittoo
Ivo Jivkov
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann
Mark Nielsen
Sudeep Rangaswamy
Bill Watral
Moana 2
Carlos Cabral
Tucker Gilmore
Ian Gooding
Gabriela Hernandez
The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders
Jeff Hermann
Jeff Budsberg
Jacob Hjort Jensen
Transformers One
Frazer Churchill
Fiona Chilton
Josh Cooley
Stephen King
Ultraman: Rising
Hayden Jones
Sean M. Murphy
Shannon Tindle
Mathieu Vig
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Fallout; The Head
Jay Worth
Andrea Knoll
Grant Everett
Joao Sita
Devin Maggio
House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold
Daði Einarsson
Tom Horton
Sven Martin
Wayne Stables
Mike Dawson
Shōgun; Anjin
Michael Cliett
Melody Mead
Philip Engström
Ed Bruce
Cameron Waldbauer
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 5
John Knoll
Pablo Molles
Jhon Alvarado
Jeff Capogreco
The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Eldest
Jason Smith
Tim Keene
Ann Podlozny
Ara Khanikian
Ryan Conder
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Expats: Home
Robert Bock
Glorivette Somoza
Charles Labbé
Tim Emeis
Lady in the Lake; It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous
Jay Worth
Eddie Bonin
Joe Wehmeyer
Eric Levin-Hatz
Mike Myers
Masters of the Air; Part Three; The Regensburg-Schweinfurt Mission
Stephen Rosenbaum
Bruce Franklin
Xavier Matia Bernasconi
David Andrews
Neil Corbould
The Penguin; Bliss
Johnny Han
Michelle Rose
Goran Pavles
Ed Bruce
Devin Maggio
The Tattooist of Auschwitz; Pilot
Simon Giles
Alan Church
David Schneider
James Hattsmith
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man; Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez
Andrea Merlo
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Eteuati Tema
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Noa
Rachael Dunk
Andrei Coval
John Sore
Niels Peter Kaagaard
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Raka
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Giorgio Lafratta
Tim Teramoto
Aidan Martin
Mufasa: The Lion King; Taka
Klaus Skovbo
Valentina Rosselli
Eli De Koninck
Amelie Talarmain
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Inside Out 2; Anxiety
Alexander Alvarado
Brianne Francisco
Amanda Wagner
Brenda Lin Zhang
The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini
Yukinori Inagaki
Owen Demers
Hyun Huh
Thelma The Unicorn; Vic Diamond
Guillaume Arantes
Adrien Montero
Anne-Claire Leroux
Gaspard Roche
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Gromit
Jo Fenton
Alison Evans
Andy Symanowski
Emanuel Nevado
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Secret Level; Armored Core: Asset Management; Mech Pilot
Zsolt Vida
Péter Krucsai
Ágnes Vona
Enric Nebleza Pañella
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred; Neyrelle
Chris Bostjanick
James Ma
Yeon-Ho Lee
Atsushi Ikarashi
Disney; Holidays 2024; Octopus
Alex Doyle
Philippe Moine
Lewis Pickston
Andrea Lacedelli
Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson
David Allan
Gustav Åhren
Niklas Wallén
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth
Sandy la Tourelle
Lisa Nolan
Christopher Phillips
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Burning Village, Rapids and Floods
Alex Nowotny
Claude Schitter
Frédéric Valleur
Kevin Kelm
Twisters
Matthew Hanger
Joakim Arnesson
Laurent Kermel
Zheng Yong Oh
Venom: The Last Dance; Water, Fire & Symbiote Effects
Xavi Martin Ramirez
Oscar Dahlen
Hedi Namar
Yuri Yang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda 4
Jinguang Huang
Zhao Wang
Hamid Shahsavari
Joshua LaBrot
Moana 2
Zoran Stojanoski
Jesse Erickson
Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi
Erin V. Ramos
The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
David Chow
Nyoung Kim
Ultraman: Rising
Goncalo Cabaca
Zheng Yong Oh
Nicholas Yoon Joo Kuang
Praveen Boppana
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla
Ioan Boieriu
David Stopford
Per Balay
Saysana Rintharamy
Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken
Heinrich Löwe
Charles Guerton
Timmy Lundin
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Pilot; Spaceship Hillside Takeoff
Travis Harkleroad
Xiaolong Peng
Marcella Brown
Mickael Riciotti
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Shadow and Flame; Balrog Fire and Collapsing Cliff
Koenraad Hofmeester
Miguel Perez Senent
Miguel Santana Da Silva
Billy Copley
Three Body Problem; Judgement Day
Yves D’Incau
Gavin Templer
Martin Chabannes
Eloi Andaluz Fullà
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Better Man
Mark McNicholl
Gordon Spencer de Haseth
Eva Snyder
Markus Reithoffer
Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard
Francesco Dell’Anna
Paul Chapman
Ryan Wing
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Joerg Bruemmer
Zachary Brake
Tim Walker
Kaustubh A. Patil
The Wild Robot
Sondra L. Verlander
Baptiste Van Opstal
Eszter Offertaler
Austin Casale
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell
Alex Grey
Kanishk Chouhan
Shubham Mehta
Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Ryan Knowles
Alex Gabucci
Jack Powell
Dan Yarcigi
Corcept; Marionette
Yongchan Kim
Arman Matin
Yoon Bae
Rajesh Kaushik
Disney; Holidays 2024
Christian Baker-Steele
Luke Warpus
Pritesh Kotian
Jack Harris
