Prequels, sequels and other franchise films dominate the preliminary list of achievements eligible for a VFX Oscar this year, released today by the executive committee of the visual effects branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

A scene from Aquaman

Aquaman
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures; © 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment

Marvel Studios remains the company to beat, with no fewer than three titles in contention for VFX honors, including Ant-Man and the WaspAvengers: Infinity War and Black PantherAquaman will represent the DC universe in the VFX scrum.

A scene from Incredibles 2

Incredibles 2
Walt Disney Studios

The biggest surprise in the line-up may be the presence of Pixar film Incredibles 2; we couldn’t find any past examples of a CG-animated feature making it onto the preliminary list. Stop-motion animated Isle of Dogs is also under consideration this year, as was Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings two years ago.

<i>Bumblebee</i>

Bumblebee
Paramount Pictures

This list of films will be culled to a 10-film shortlist, all of which will be invited to the annual VFX bake-off, where Academy members see presentations from the VFX teams behind each film showing the work that went into each effort. That list will be further culled to a final five nominated films in time for the official announcement, which is scheduled for Tuesday, January 22.

Here’s the full list of 20 films, in alphabetical order.

Ant-Man and the Wasp
Aquaman
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Bumblebee
Christopher Robin
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
First Man
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Mary Poppins Returns
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mortal Engines
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Paddington 2
A Quiet Place
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
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Some VFX-rich box-office hits that didn’t make the cut include Pacific Rim Uprising, Rampage, Deadpool 2, The Meg and Venom.

AMPAS: www.oscars.org