It was a moderately curious night time on the twenty third VES Awards, which had been handed out Tuesday on the Beverly Hilton.
The Visible Results Society knelt earlier than The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, handing it the marquee prize for Excellent Visible Results in a Photoreal Characteristic — however it was the lone win on six nominations for the tenth movie within the venerable franchise.
The larger winners with 4 apiece had been Dune: Half Two, which got here into the night time with a number one seven nominations, and The Wild Robotic, scorching off dominating the Annie Awards over the weekend.
That raises a query: Which movie has the within observe for the Oscar subsequent month?
Nicely, the VES Awards and the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences haven’t adopted the identical script a lot in the course of the previous decade-plus, with solely 5 of the Visible Results Society’s marquee winners since 2013 happening to attain the FX Oscar. That pattern held final yr, when VES bowed earlier than The Creator, however the Academy Award was fed to Godzilla Minus Zero.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Dune: Half Two will vie for the Oscar in opposition to Alien: Romulus, Higher Man and Depraved. The Wild Robotic is up for Animated Characteristic.
Two extra for the historical past buffs: Dune led the VES Awards in 2022, and Conflict for the Planet of the Apes received the Photoreal Characteristic class in 2018.
A24’s Civil Conflict triumphed within the Supporting VFX class, and Paramount’s Higher Man received for Character in a Photoreal Characteristic — that being the CGI chimp portraying Robbie Williams within the musical biopic. Not a foul night time for the apes general.
twentieth Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus took the VES Award for Excellent Mannequin for its Renaissance Area Station.
On the TV aspect, Disney+’s The Penguin and FX’s Sh?gun tied with three awards apiece after coming into the ceremony with 4 noms every to steer all TV packages.
The group behind FX’s Emmy-laden sequence Sh?gun took the primary trophy of the night time, for Excellent Surroundings in an Episode, Industrial, Recreation Cinematic or Actual-Time Undertaking and later picked up a Results Simulations win. It capped its large night time with the award for Excellent Visible Results in a Photoreal Episode.
The Penguin waddled dwelling with Supporting Visible Results. Earlier it received two classes in a row, selecting up the statuette for Compositing in an Episode earlier than successful for Particular (Sensible) Results in a Photoreal Undertaking.
The Coca-Cola business titled “The Heroes” additionally was a double winner Tuesday, selecting up trophies for Visible Results and Compositing & Lighting.
A number of Emmy-winning Sh?gun actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada acquired the VES Award for Artistic Excellence, a lifetime achievement award offered by one Keanu Reeves. He delighted the group of VFX professionals by saying, “Y’all do some wonderful shit right here.” The honoree then promised that Season 2 “would take it to the subsequent stage.”
The opposite particular honorees Tuesday night time had been VR/immersive know-how pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie (VES Georges Méliès Award) and Oscar-winning director and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki (VES Visionary Award).
The VES Awards — which acknowledges excellent visible results artistry and innovation in 25 classes spanning options, TV, animation, commercials, video games and new media — opened with Visible Impact Society Exec Director Nancy Ward thanking the primary responders who risked all of it to say lives and property in the course of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires final month. Cheers to that.
The Sklar Brothers made their internet hosting debut for the occasion.
Listed below are the winners on the 2025 VES Awards:
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREKingdom of the Planet of the ApesErik WinquistJulia NeighlyPaul StoryDanielle ImmermanRodney Burke
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild RobotChris SandersJeff HermannJeff BudsbergJacob Hjort Jensen
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODESh?gun; AnjinMichael CliettMelody MeadPhilip EngströmEd BruceCameron Waldbauer
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURECivil WarDavid SimpsonMichelle RoseFreddy SalazarChris ZehJ.D. Schwalm
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODEThe Penguin; BlissJohnny HanMichelle RoseGoran PavlesEd BruceDevin Maggio
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild Robotic; RozFabio LigniniYukinori InagakiOwen DemersHyun Huh
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECTRonja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen HarpyNicklas AnderssonDavid AllanGustav ÅhrenNiklas Wallén
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREBetter Man; Robbie WilliamsMilton RamirezAndrea MerloSeoungseok Charlie KimEteuati Tem
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREDune: Half Two; Atomic Explosions and WormridingNicholas PapworthSandy la TourelleLisa NolanChristopher Phillips
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild RobotDerek CheungMichael LosureDavid ChowNyoung Kim
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECTSh?gun; Damaged to the Fist; LandslideDominic TiedekenHeinrich LöweCharles GuertonTimmy Lundin
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATUREDune: Half Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Last BattleChristopher RickardFrancesco Dell’AnnaPaul ChapmanRyan Wing
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIALCoca-Cola; The HeroesRyan KnowlesAlex GabucciJack PowellDan Yarcigi
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODEThe Penguin; After HoursJonas StuckenbrockKaren ChangEugene BondarMiky Girón
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECTThe Penguin; Secure GunsDevin MaggioJohnny HanCory CandrilliAlexandre Prod’homme
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECTAlien: Romulus; Renaissance Area StationWaldemar BartkowiakTrevor WideMatt MiddletonBen Shearman
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECTPittura (entry from ARTFX – Faculties of Digital Arts)Lauriol AdamLassère TitouanVivenza RémiMarre Helloïs
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARDHere; Neural Efficiency ToolsetJo PlaeteOriel FrigoTomas KoutskyMatteo Oliviero Dancy
OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHYDune: Half Two; ArrakisGreig FraserXin Steve GuoSandra MurtaBen Wiggs
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECTD23; Actual-Time RocketEvan GoldbergAlyssa FinleyJason BrenemanAlice Taylor
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECTStar Wars OutlawsStephen HawesLionel Le DainBenedikt PodlesniggBogdan Draghici
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIALCoca-Cola; The HeroesGreg McKneallyAntonia VlastoRyan KnowlesFabrice Fiteni
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREDune: Half Two; The Arrakeen BasinDaniel RheinDaniel Anton FernandezMarc James AustinChristopher Anciaume
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild Robotic; The ForestJohn WakeHe Jung ParkWoojin ChoiShane Glading
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECTSh?gun; OsakaManuel MartinezPhil HanniganKeith MaloneFrancesco CorvinoPeter Stubbs
