The Academy revealed the annual Oscar shortlists this morning and for 2025 the Visual Effects category once again held some surprises. As expected, “Dune: Part II,” “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” and “Twisters” made the cut. Something of a surprise was the inclusion of Alex Garland’s sadly forgotten “Civil War.”
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Other entries on the 10-film cut-down included “Wicked,” “Gladiator II,” “Better Man,” and “Alien: Romulus.” The Visual Effects Branch will now consider each remaining contender after the annual “Bake-Off” presentations on Saturday, January 11.
Overall, “Emilia Perez” led all films with six mentions in the 10 categories. “Wicked” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” earned 4 while “Dune: Part Two,” “Gladiator II,” “The Wild Robot,” “Alien: Romulus,” and “Blitz” earned 3 each. “Nosferatu,” “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “The Six Triple Eight,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Sing Sing,” “Better Man,” “Dahomey,” and “Challengers” earned 2 respectively.
This year’s complete list of finalists is as follows:
“Alien: Romulus”
“Better Man”
“Civil War”
“Deadpool & Wolverine”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Gladiator II”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
“Mufasa: The Lion King”
“Twisters”
“Wicked”
Additionally, the shortlisted films for Sound were revealed. These 10 contenders include “Dune: Part II,” “Gladiator II,” “Emilia Perez,” and “Blitz.” A complete rundown is as follows:
“Alien: Romulus”
“Blitz”
“A Complete Unknown”
“Deadpool & Wolverine”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Gladiator II”
“Joker: Folie à Deux”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”
The 97th Academy Awards nominee will be announced bright and early on Friday, January 17.
Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
