Oscar / Best Visual Effects

The effect artists of a film are honored with the Oscar for the best visual effects . Until 1963, this prize was awarded for the best special effects , and since 1964 specifically for visual effects (parallel to the Best Sound Editing category ).

statistics
Most frequently honored visual effects artist	Dennis Muren (8 wins)
Most nominated visual effects artist	Dennis Muren (15 nominations)
Most frequently nominated visual effects artist without a win	Nathan Levinson (7 nominations)

In the table below, the winners are listed according to the year in which they were awarded.

1940-1950

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
1940	Fred Sersen Edmund H. Hansen	Night over India	Jack Cosgrove , Fred Albin and Arthur Johns for Gone With the Wind Roy Davidson and Edwin C. Hahn for SOS Fire on Board Farciot Edouart , Gordon Jennings and Loren L. Ryder for Union Pacific A. Arnold Gillespie and Douglas Shearer for The Magical Land Byron Haskin and Nathan Levinson for a Queen's favorite Roy Seawright for Topper Travels
1941	Lawrence W. Butler Jack Whitney	The thief of Baghdad	Jack Cosgrove and Arthur Johns for Rebecca Paul Eagler and Thomas T. Moulton for The Foreign Correspondent Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings for Dr. Cyclops Farciot Edouart , Gordon Jennings and Loren L. Ryder for The Hell of the South Seas John P. Fulton , Bernard B. Brown and Joe Lapis for The Boys from Syracuse John P. Fulton , Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgcock for The Invisible Returns A. Arnold Gillespie and Douglas Shearer for The Daredevil Byron Haskin and Nathan Levinson for The Lord of the Seven Seas R. T. Layton , Ray Binger and Thomas T. Moulton for The Long Road to Cardiff Howard Lydecker , William Bradford , Bud Thackery and Herbert Norsch for Women in War Roy Seawright and Elmer Raguse for Tumak, the Lord of the Jungle Fred Sersen and Edmund H. Hansen for The Blue Bird Vernon L. Walker and John Aalberg for The Isle of the Lost
1942	Farciot Edouart Gordon Jennings Louis Mesenkop	I Wanted Wings	Lawrence W. Butler and William H. Wilmarth for Lord Nelson's Last Love Farciot Edouart , Gordon Jennings and Louis Mesenkop for Aloma, the Daughter of the South Seas John P. Fulton and John D. Hall for The Invisible Woman A. Arnold Gillespie and Douglas Shearer for Flight Command Byron Haskin and Nathan Levinson for Der Seewolf Roy Seawright and Elmer Raguse for Topper 2 - Das Gespensterschloß Fred Sersen and Edmund H. Hansen for A Yank in the RAF
1943	Farciot Edouart Gordon Jennings William L. Pereira Louis Mesenkop	Pirates in the Caribbean Sea	Lawrence W. Butler and William H. Wilmarth for The Jungle Book Jack Cosgrove , Ray Binger and Thomas T. Moulton for The Great Throwing John P. Fulton and Bernard B. Brown for The Invisible Agent A. Arnold Gillespie , Warren Newcombe and Douglas Shearer for Mrs. Miniver Byron Haskin and Nathan Levinson for sabotage order Berlin Howard Lydecker and Daniel J. Bloomberg for company Tigersprung Ronald Neame and CC Stevens for One of Our Aircraft Is Missing Fred Sersen , Roger Heman senior and George Leverett for Der Bueräuber Vernon L. Walker and James G. Stewart for The Fleet Breaks Through
1944	Fred Sersen Roger Heman Sr.	Crash dive	Farciot Edouart , Gordon Jennings and George Dutton for Brave Women A. Arnold Gillespie , Donald Jahraus and Michael Steinore for Stand by for Action Hans F. Koenekamp , Rex Wimpy and Nathan Levinson for Air Force Clarence Slifer , Ray Binger and Thomas T. Moulton for The North Star Vernon L. Walker , James G. Stewart, and Roy Granville for Regardless of Loss
1945	A. Arnold Gillespie Donald from Warren Newcombe Douglas Shearer	Thirty seconds over Tokyo	Ray Cory , Robert Wright , Russell Malmgren and Harry Kusnick for Secret Command Jack Cosgrove and Arthur Johns for When you said goodbye Paul Detlefsen , John Crouse and Nathan Levinson for The Adventures of Mark Twain Farciot Edouart , Gordon Jennings and George Dutton for Dr. Wassell's Escape from Java Fred Sersen and Roger Heman Sr. for Wilson Vernon L. Walker , James G. Stewart and Roy Granville for Days of Glory
1946	John P. Fulton Arthur Johns	The miracle man	Lawrence W. Butler and Ray Bomba for 1001 Nights Jack Cosgrove for Ich kkampf um dich A. Arnold Gillespie , Donald Jahraus , Robert MacDonald and Michael Steinore for Schnellboats in front of Bataan Fred Sersen , Sol Halperin , Roger Heman senior and Harry M. Leonard for Die reckless adventures of Captain Eddie
1947	Tom Howard	Ghost comedy	William C. McGann and Nathan Levinson for The Big Lie
1948	A. Arnold Gillespie Warren Newcombe Douglas Shearer Michael Steinore	typhoon	Farciot Edouart , Devereaux Jennings , Gordon Jennings , W. Wallace Kelley , Paul K. Lerpae and George Dutton for The Undefeated
1949	Paul Eagler J. McMillan Johnson Russell Shearman Clarence Slifer Charles L. Freeman James G. Stewart	Jenny	Ralph Hammeras , Fred Sersen , Edward Snyder and Roger Heman senior for Deep Waters
1950	Merian C. Cooper Ernest B. Schoedsack	Panic about King Kong	Walter Wanger and Stuart Heisler for Tulsa

1951-1960

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
1951	Lee Zavitz	Moon terminus	Paul K. Lerpae , Gordon Jennings and Devereaux Jennings for Samson and Delilah
1952	Gordon Jennings	Judgment Day
1953	-	Ship without a home
1954	Gordon Jennings	Battle of the worlds
1955	John Hench Joshua Meador	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Ray Kellogg for Inferno Warner Bros. for Formicula
1956	John P. Fulton	The Toko-Ri bridges	George Blackwell and Gilbert Taylor for May 1943 - The Demolition of the Dams Ray Kellogg for The Great Rain
1957	John P. Fulton	The Ten Commandments	A. Arnold Gillespie , Irving G. Ries and Wesley C. Miller for Alert in Space
1958	Walter Rossi	Duel in the Atlantic	Louis Lichtenfield for Lindbergh - My flight over the ocean
1959	Tom Howard	Little Thumbnail	A. Arnold Gillespie and Harold Humbrock for Torpedo Go!
1960	A. Arnold Gillespie Robert MacDonald Milo B. Lory	Ben Hur	LB Abbott , James B. Gordon and Carlton W. Faulkner for Journey to the Center of the Earth

1961-1970

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
1961	Gene Warren Tim Baar	The time machine	Augie Lohman for Descent into Hell
1962	Bill Warrington Chris Greenham	The Navarone cannons	Robert A. Mattey and Eustace Lycett for The Flying Timpani
1963	Robert MacDonald Jacques Maumont	The longest day	A. Arnold Gillespie and Milo B. Lory for Mutiny on the Bounty
1964	Emil Kosa junior	Cleopatra	Ub Iwerks for The Birds
1965	Peter Ellenshaw Hamilton Luske Eustace Lycett	Mary Poppins	Jim Danforth for The Mysterious Dr. Lao
1966	John Stears	Fireball	J. McMillan Johnson for The Greatest Story Of All Time
1967	Art Cruickshank	The fantastic journey	Linwood G. Dunn for Hawaii
1968	LB Abbott	Doctor Dolittle	Howard A. Anderson and Albert Whitlock for Tobruk
1969	Stanley Kubrick	2001: A Space Odyssey	Hal Millar and J. McMillan Johnson for Zebra Ice Station
1970	Robie Robinson	Lost in space	Eugène Lourié and Alex Weldon for Krakatoa - The Greatest Adventure of the Last Century

1971-1980

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
1971	AD Flowers L. B. Abbott	Torah! Torah! Torah!	Alex Weldon for Patton - Rebel in Uniform
1972	Alan Maley Eustace Lycett Danny Lee	The daring witch in her flying bed	Jim Danforth and Roger Dicken for When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
1973	Prize not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to LB Abbott and AD Flowers for the visual effects in Poseidon's Hell's Ride
1974	Prize not awarded in this category
1975	Prize not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Frank Brendel , Glen Robinson and Albert Whitlock for the visual effects in earthquakes
1976	Prize not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson for the visual effects in Die Hindenburg
1977	Prize not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Carlo Rambaldi , Glen Robinson and Frank Van der Veer for the visual effects in King Kong and to LB Abbott , Glen Robinson and Matthew Yuricich for the visual effects in Escape to the 23rd Century
1978	John Stears John Dykstra Richard Edlund Grant McCune Robert Blalack	war of stars	Roy Arbogast , Douglas Trumbull , Matthew Yuricich , Gregory Jein and Richard Yuricich for Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1979	Prize not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Les Bowie , Colin Chilvers , Denys Coop , Roy Field , Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic for the visual effects in Superman
1980	Hansruedi Giger Carlo Rambaldi Brian Johnson Nick Allder Dennis Ayling	Alien - The creepy creature from a strange world	Peter Ellenshaw , Art Cruickshank , Eustace Lycett , Danny Lee , Harrison Ellenshaw and Joe Hale for The Black Hole William A. Fraker , AD Flowers and Gregory Jein for 1941 - Where Do You Go to Hollywood Derek Meddings , Paul Wilson and John Evans for James Bond 007 - Moonraker - Top Secret Douglas Trumbull , John Dykstra , Richard Yuricich , Robert Swarthe , David K. Stewart and Grant McCune for Star Trek: The Movie

1981-1990

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
1981	Price not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Brian Johnson , Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Bruce Nicholson visual effects in The Empire Strikes Back ( The Empire Strikes Back )
1982	Richard Edlund Kit West Bruce Nicholson Joe Johnston	Hunter of the lost treasure	Dennis Muren , Phil Tippett , Ken Ralston and Brian Johnson for The Dragon Slayer
1983	Carlo Rambaldi Dennis Muren Kenneth Smith	ET - The Alien	Richard Edlund , Michael Wood and Bruce Nicholson for Poltergeist Douglas Trumbull , Richard Yuricich and David Dryer for Blade Runner
1984	Price not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett visual effects in Return of the Jedi (Return of the Jedi)
1985	Dennis Muren Michael J. McAlister Lorne Peterson George Gibbs	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	Richard Edlund , John Bruno , Mark Vargo and Chuck Gaspar for Ghostbusters Richard Edlund , Neil Krepela , George Jenson and Mark Stetson for 2010: The Year We Contact Us
1986	Ken Ralston Ralph McQuarrie Scott Farrar David Berry	Cocoon	Dennis Muren , Kit West , John Ellis and David Allen for The Secret of the Hidden Temple Will Vinton , Ian Wingrove , Zoran Perisic and Michael Lloyd for Oz - A Fantastic World
1987	Robert Skotak Stan Winston John Richardson Suzanne M. Benson	Aliens - The Return	Lyle Conway , Bran Ferren and Martin Gutteridge for Der kleine Horrorladen Richard Edlund , John Bruno , Garry Waller and Bill Neil for Poltergeist II - The Other Side
1988	Dennis Muren Bill George Harley Jessup Kenneth Smith	The journey into the self	Joel Hynek , Robert M. Greenberg , Richard Greenberg (effects artist) and Stan Winston for Predator
1989	Ken Ralston Richard Williams Ed Jones George Gibbs	Wrong game with Roger Rabbit	Richard Edlund , Al Di Sarro , Brent Boates and Thaine Morris for Die Hard Dennis Muren , Michael J. McAlister , Phil Tippett and Christopher Evans for Willow
1990	Hoyt Yeatman Dennis Muren John Bruno Dennis Skotak	Abyss - abyss of death	Richard Conway and Kent Houston for The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen Ken Ralston , Michael Lantieri , John Bell and Steve Gawley for Back to the Future II

1991-2000

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
1991	Prize not awarded in this category - Special Achievement Award to Eric Brevig , Rob Bottin , Tim McGovern and Alex Funke for the visual effects in Total Recall
1992	Dennis Muren Stan Winston Gene Warren Jr. Robert Skotak	Terminator 2 - Day of Reckoning	Eric Brevig , Harley Jessup , Mark Sullivan and Michael Lantieri for Hook Mikael Salomon , Allen Hall , Clay Pinney and Scott Farrar for Backdraft - Men Who Go Through Fire
1993	Ken Ralston Doug Chiang Douglas Smythe Tom Woodruff Jr.	Death suits her well	Richard Edlund , Alec Gillis , Tom Woodruff Jr. and George Gibbs for Alien³ Michael L. Fink , Craig Barron , John Bruno and Dennis Skotak for Batman's return
1994	Dennis Muren Stan Winston Phil Tippett Michael Lantieri	Jurassic Park	Pete Kozachik , Eric Leighton , Ariel Velasco-Shaw and Gordon Baker for Nightmare Before Christmas Neil Krepela , John Richardson , John Bruno and Pamela Easley for Cliffhanger - Only the Strong Survive
1995	Ken Ralston George Murphy Stephen Rosenbaum Allen Hall	Forrest Gump	John Bruno , Thomas L. Fisher , Jacques Stroweis and Pat McClung for True Lies Scott Squires , Steve "Spaz" Williams , Tom Bertino and Jon Farhat for The Mask
1996	Scott E. Anderson Charles Gibson Neal Scanlan John Cox	A pig named Babe	Robert Legato , Michael Kanfer , Leslie Ekker and Matt Sweeney for Apollo 13
1997	Volker Engel Douglas Smith Clay Pinney Joe Viskocil	Independence Day	Stefen Fangmeier , John Frazier , Habib Zargarpour and Henry LaBounta for Twister Scott Squires , Phil Tippett , James Straus and Kit West for Dragonheart
1998	Robert Legato Mark A. Lasoff Thomas L. Fisher Michael Kanfer	Titanic	Dennis Muren , Stan Winston , Randy Dutra, and Michael Lantieri for Forgotten World: Jurassic Park Phil Tippett , Scott E. Anderson , Alec Gillis, and John Richardson for Starship Troopers
1999	Joel Hynek Nicholas Brooks Stuart Robertson Kevin Scott Mack	Beyond the horizon	Rick Baker , Hoyt Yeatman , Allen Hall and Jim Mitchell for My Great Friend Joe Richard R. Hoover , Pat McClung and John Frazier for Armageddon
2000	John Gaeta Janek Sirrs Steve Courtley Jon Thum	matrix	John Dykstra , Jerome Chen , Henry Anderson and Eric Allard for Stuart Little John Knoll , Dennis Muren , Scott Squires and Rob Coleman for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

2001-2010

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
2001	John Nelson Neil Corbould Tim Burke Rob Harvey	gladiator	Scott E. Anderson , Craig Hayes , Scott Stokdyk and Stan Parks for Hollow Man Stefen Fangmeier , Habib Zargarpour , John Frazier and Walt Conti for The Storm
2002	Jim Rygiel Randall William Cook Richard Taylor Mark Stetson	The Lord of the Rings: The Companions	Eric Brevig , John Frazier , Edward Hirsh and Ben Snow for Pearl Harbor Dennis Muren , Scott Farrar , Stan Winston and Michael Lantieri for AI - Artificial Intelligence
2003	Jim Rygiel Joe Letteri Randall William Cook Alex Funke	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Rob Coleman , Pablo Helman , John Knoll and Ben Snow for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones John Dykstra , Scott Stokdyk , Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier for Spider-Man
2004	Jim Rygiel Joe Letteri Randall William Cook Alex Funke	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	John Knoll , Hal T. Hickel , Charles Gibson and Terry D. Frazee for Pirates of the Caribbean Daniel Sudick , Stefen Fangmeier , Nathan McGuinness and Robert Stromberg for Master & Commander - Until the End of the World
2005	John Dykstra Scott Stokdyk Anthony LaMolinara John Frazier	Spider-Man 2	Tim Burke , Roger Guyett , Bill George and John Richardson for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban John Nelson , Andrew R. Jones , Erik Nash and Joe Letteri for I, Robot
2006	Joe Letteri Brian Van't Hul Christian Rivers Richard Taylor	King Kong	Dennis Muren , Pablo Helman , Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudick for War of the Worlds Dean Wright , Bill Westenhofer , Jim Berney and Scott Farrar for The Chronicles of Narnia: The King of Narnia
2007	John Knoll Hal T. Hickel Charles Gibson Allen Hall	Pirates of the Caribbean 2	Boyd Shermis , Kim Libreri , Chas Jarrett and John Frazier for Poseidon Mark Stetson , Richard R. Hoover , Neil Corbould and Jon Thum for Superman Returns
2008	Michael L. Fink Bill Westenhofer Ben Morris Trevor Wood	The Golden Compass	John Knoll , Hal T. Hickel , Charles Gibson and John Frazier for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Scott Farrar , Scott Benza , Russell Earl and John Frazier for Transformers
2009	Eric Barba Steve Preeg Burt Dalton Craig Barron	The strange case of Benjamin Button	Nick Davis , Chris Corbould , Timothy Webber and Paul J. Franklin for The Dark Knight John Nelson , Ben Snow , Daniel Sudick and Shane Mahan for Iron Man
2010	Joe Letteri Stephen Rosenbaum Richard Baneham Andrew R. Jones	Avatar - Departure for Pandora	Dan Kaufman , Peter Muyzers , Robert Habros and Matt Aitken for District 9 Roger Guyett , Russell Earl , Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton for Star Trek

2011-2020

year	Award winners	for the movie	Nominations
2011	Paul Franklin Chris Corbould Andrew Lockley Peter Bebb	Inception	Ken Ralston , David Schaub , Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips for Alice in Wonderland Tim Burke , John Richardson , Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 Michael Owens , Bryan Grill , Stephan Trojansky and Joe Farrell for Hereafter - Life After Janek Sirrs , Ben Snow , Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick for Iron Man 2
2012	Robert Legato Joss Williams Ben Grossmann Alex Henning	Hugo Cabret	Tim Burke , David Vickery , Greg Butler and John Richardson for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Scott Farrar , Scott Benza , Matthew Butler and John Frazier for Transformers 3 Joe Letteri , Dan Lemmon , R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett for Planet of the Apes: Prevolution Erik Nash , John Rosengrant , Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg for Real Steel
2013	Bill Westenhofer Guillaume Rocheron Erik-Jan De Boer Donald R. Elliott	Life of Pi: Shipwreck with Tiger	Joe Letteri , Eric Saindon , David Clayton, and R. Christopher White for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Janek Sirrs , Jeff White , Guy Williams and Daniel Sudick for Marvel's The Avengers Richard Stammers , Trevor Wood , Charley Henley and Martin Hill for Prometheus Cedric Nicolas-Troyan , Philip Brennan , Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson for Snow White and the Huntsman
2014	Tim Webber Chris Lawrence Dave Shirk Neil Corbould	Gravity	Joe Letteri , Eric Saindon , David Clayton and Eric Reynolds for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Christopher Townsend , Guy Williams , Erik Nash and Daniel Sudick for Iron Man 3 Tim Alexander , Gary Brozenich , Edson Williams and John Frazier for Lone Ranger Roger Guyett , Patrick Tubach , Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton for Star Trek Into Darkness
2015	Paul Franklin Andrew Lockley Ian Hunter Scott Fisher	Interstellar	Dan DeLeeuw , Russell Earl , Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick for The Return of the First Avenger Joe Letteri , Dan Lemmon , Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist for Planet of the Apes: Revolution Stéphane Ceretti , Nicolas Aithadi , Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould for Guardians of the Galaxy Richard Stammers , Lou Pecora , Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer for X-Men: Future is Past
2016	Mark Williams Ardington Sara Bennett Paul Norris Andrew Whitehurst	Ex machina	Andrew Jackson , Dan Oliver , Andy Williams and Tom Wood for Mad Max: Fury Road Anders Langlands , Chris Lawrence , Richard Stammers and Steven Warner for Der Martianer - Saving Mark Watney Richard McBride , Matt Shumway , Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer for The Revenant - Returning Chris Corbould , Roger Guyett , Paul Kavanagh and Neal Scanlan for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2017	Robert Legato Adam Valdez Andrew R. Jones Dan Lemmon	The Jungle Book	Craig Hammack , Jason Snell , Jason Billington and Burt Dalton for Deepwater Horizon Stéphane Ceretti , Richard Bluff , Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould for Doctor Strange Steve Emerson , Oliver Jones , Brian McLean and Brad Schiff for Kubo - The Brave Samurai John Knoll , Mohen Leo , Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2018	John Nelson Paul Lambert Richard R. Hoover Gerd Nefzer	Blade Runner 2049	Christopher Townsend , Guy Williams , Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Stephen Rosenbaum , Jeff White , Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus for Kong: Skull Island Ben Morris , Mike Mulholland , Chris Corbould and Neal Scanlan for Star Wars: The Last Jedi Joe Letteri , Dan Lemmon , Daniel Barrett, and Joel Whist for Planet of the Apes: Survival
2019	Paul Lambert Ian Hunter Tristan Myles J.D. Schwalm	Departure to the moon	Dan DeLeeuw , Kelly Port , Russell Earl and Daniel Sudick for Avengers: Infinity War Christopher Lawrence , Michael Eames , Theo Jones and Chris Corbould for Christopher Robin Roger Guyett , Grady Cofer , Matthew E. Butler and Dave Shirk for Ready Player One Rob Bredow , Patrick Tubach , Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy for Solo: A Star Wars Story
2020	Guillaume Rocheron Greg Butler Dominic Tuohy	1917	Dan DeLeeuw , Russell Earl , Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick for Avengers: Endgame Pablo Helman , Leandro Estebecorena , Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli for The Irishman Robert Legato , Adam Valdez , Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman for The Lion King Roger Guyett , Neal Scanlan , Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker