2023 Oscars: Best Visual Effects Predictions

The Oscar for Best Visual Effects is particularly tough to predict because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in three stages. The members of the executive committee of the branch cast preferential ballots to determine 20 films for further consideration. These are then winnowed down to 10 semi-finalists, which were announced on December 21, 2022. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2023 Oscars Best Visual Effects predictions.)

All members of the branch are invited to a virtual screening of excerpts from these 10 films in January at which potential nominees may discuss their work. Ballots are counted using a system of re-weighted range voting to determine the five nominees, which will be revealed on January 24. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed during the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on March 12.

When it comes to picking the winner of Best Visual Effects, you can’t go wrong with the film that is most reliant on effects to tell its story. Recent winners “Dune” (2022), “Tenet” (2021), “Blade Runner 2049” (2018), “The Jungle Book” (2017), “Gravity” (2014), “Life of Pi” (2013), “Avatar” (2010) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2009) would have been impossible to make without the advent of computer-generated effects. Titles that blend such CGI with old-school practical effects, such as “1917” (2020), “First Man” (2019), “Interstellar” (2015), “Hugo” (2012), and “Inception” (2011), have also prevailed in recent times.

UPDATED: December 21, 2022

Leading Contenders (alphabetical by title)
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Top Gun: Maverick”

Strong Contenders (alphabetical by title)
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
“Jurassic World: Dominion”
“Nope

Possible Contenders (alphabetical by title)
“Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore”
“Thirteen Lives”

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