The top 20 visual effects Oscar finalists have been notified that they have advanced to the next round of voting. With Oscar shortlist voting opening in eight categories on Thursday, December 14, Variety has learned exclusively that the visual effects finalists include Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire” and the only animated feature contender, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”. The Academy declined to confirm the final list of 20 films.
The 20 films will advance to the next round of voting, which will take place from 14 to 18 December. Ten films will be named on 21 December, along with nine other categories. The five nominees will be determined after voting from 11 to 16 January, with the nominees in all categories announced on 23 January.
The finalists are packed with IP and big-budget superhero spectacles, including three from Marvel Studios – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “The Marvels”, as well as three titles from Warner Bros. – “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”, “Barbie” and “Wonka”.
Disney, Marvel’s parent company, also picked up two additional mentions with Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” from 20th Century Studios and James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” from Walt Disney Studios.
Paramount Pictures nabbed three of its own – “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” “Mission: Impossible – The Line” and “Transformers: Rise of the Creatures.
Netflix also scored a trifecta of nominations with the swimming biopic “Nyad”, the survival biopic “Society of the Snow” and the upcoming Snyder film “Rebel Moon”.
Surprises included George Clooney’s sports drama “The Boys in the Boat” from Amazon MGM and the recently released “Godzilla: Minus One” from Toho.
Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” was one of two titles for Apple, which distributed the crime epic with Paramount. The other was Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, which Apple released in partnership with Sony.
Speaking of Sony, the most inspired choice in the lineup is the inclusion of animated feature “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which hopes to join the ranks of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) and “Kubo and the Two Strings” (2016) as the only animated films ever nominated in the visual effects category.
Searchlight Pictures got a huge boost with the inclusion of “Poor Things”, helped by the film’s gorgeous visuals and strong performances from Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo.
As expected, there were a handful of snubs, with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” the most prominent, despite the film’s heavy use of practical effects. Other notable omissions include Blue Beetle, The Little Mermaid, The Flash, Meg 2, Ferrari and Shazam! Fury of the Gods”.
The 96th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday 10 March.
