Nominations for the 98th Oscars will be announced in 24 categories on Thursday, January 22nd. The race for Best Visual Effects has already been narrowed down from twenty finalists to ten films on the shortlist, with buzzy entries like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and Marvel Cinematic Universe entries The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts* missing the cut. Half the remaining films will be nominated – read below for a breakdown of the contenders and the race:
The shortlist:
Avatar: Fire and Ash
The Electric State
F1
Frankenstein
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Superman
Tron: Ares
Wicked: For Good
Six of these films are related to past projects in some way or another. Both Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water won this prize, and there’s little to no reason to expect that the third entry won’t always win. Though there have been many cinematic iterations of Frankenstein, none have received a mention in this category, with several past adaptations earning citations instead for sound and makeup. While the first Jurassic Park won this prize and its sequel The Lost World earned a nomination, the next four films in the franchise all made the shortlist but didn’t end up getting a nomination. The very first Superman won a Special Achievement Award back in 1978, and since then, only Superman Returns has been nominated, while Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made the twenty-wide longlist in 2016, as did Justice League the year after. Tron: Legacy made the shortlist in 2010 but didn’t ultimately get nominated. Wicked was nominated just last year. Best Picture contenders don’t always fare well in this race even if they’re celebrated in other technical races, as Sinners director Ryan Coogler can attest to when Black Panther earned a Best Picture nomination but didn’t even get nominated here despite making the shortlist. Among the nominations for the Visual Effects Society Awards, Avatar: Fire and Ash leads with ten. From the shortlist, only The Electric State didn’t receive any mentions.
Predicted nominees:
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Superman
Wicked: For Good
