‘Dunkirk,’ ‘Okja,’ ‘The Shape of Water’ Among 10 Films in the Hunt for the Visual Effects Oscar
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 90th Academy Awards®.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“Alien: Covenant”
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Dunkirk”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”
“Kong: Skull Island”
“Okja”
“The Shape of Water”
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”
“War for the Planet of the Apes”
The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 6, 2018. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar®consideration.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
The 90th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 6:30 p.m. ET/ 3:30 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: We Need to Talk About ‘Marty’ - January 30, 2026
- 2026 Sundance Film Festival: ‘Josephine’ Wins Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award - January 30, 2026
- Midnight Critics Circle (MCC) Awards: ‘Marty Supreme’ Wins Best Picture - January 28, 2026
Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: We Need to Talk About ‘Marty’ 
2026 Sundance Film Festival: ‘Josephine’ Wins Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 137 – ‘Je Tu Il Elle’ (Chantal Akerman, 1974) 
Midnight Critics Circle (MCC) Awards: ‘Marty Supreme’ Wins Best Picture