Best Visual Effects Oscar Nominees 2012 List By Oscar Grouch  [16 more lists]

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is given each year to the film that not only demonstrates the most artistry and skill in creating special effects imagery, but also the film in which the effects make the greatest overall contribution to the production and storytelling. (In other words, the award is not just for making effects that look great, but effects that most greatly enhance the film itself.) Typically, 3 films are nominated, though some years provide exceptions. (In rare cases, the award has simply been skipped if not enough eligible films were released. Other times, only one film is "nominated" and is awarded during the Oscar show. In 1979, five films were nominated.)

The Visual Effects award is often lumped in with the other "technical awards" - such as the sound mixing and editing awards - and goes to blockbuster films and event movies that may not win in some of the main categories. For example, "Avatar," which was nominated for 9 Academy Awards in 2010 but won only three, including one for visual effects. The 2010 winner was the team behind "Inception."

In 2007, a rule change determined that 15 films would be "shortlisted" for consideration, and then no more than 7 would actually be nominated for the prize. In 2010, this was changed again in favor of a maximum of five final nominations. In 2012, the five nominees were announced on January 24. The 15 shortlisted films were "Captain America: The First Avenger," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "Hugo," "Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," "Real Steel," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "The Tree of Life" and "X-Men: First Class."