VFX Oscar Shortlist: ‘The Jungle Book,’ ‘Rogue One’ and ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Make the Cut
The preliminary shortlist of VFX Oscar contenders has been narrowed to 20 by the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, with Disney’s hybrid frontrunner, “The Jungle Book,” joined by “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and the surprising “Kubo and the Two Strings,” the stop-motion animated feature from Laika, which is uncommon for the category.
READ MORE: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’: How Laika Made Their Innovative Moon Beast
Other highlights include six superhero movies from the Marvel and DC universes (including “Doctor Strange,” “Deadpool” and “Suicide Squad”), Denis Villeneuve’s alien contact thriller, “Arrival,” Steven Spielberg’s Roald Dahl adaptation, “The BFG,” “Star Trek Beyond” and Clint Eastwood’s “Sully.”
Two glaring omissions, however, were Juan Antonio Bayona’s critically-acclaimed “A Monster Calls” and David Lowery’s delightful “Pete’s Dragon” remake.
Later this month, the committee will select the 10 films that will advance to nominations voting, with the annual bake-off on Saturday, January 7th.
Nominations for the 89th Oscars will be announced on Tuesday, January 24 and the Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26th at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“Alice through the Looking Glass”
“Arrival”
“The BFG”
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Deadpool”
“Deepwater Horizon”
“Doctor Strange”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
“Independence Day: Resurgence”
“The Jungle Book”
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
“Passengers”
“Rogue One”
“Star Trek Beyond”
“Suicide Squad”
“Sully”
“Warcraft”
“X-Men: Apocalypse”
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