Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian have topped this year’s Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards nominations for episodic, commercial or real-time projects with six nominations each, the organization said today. Meanwhile, in the feature-film categories, Alita: Battle AngelThe Lion King and Toy Story 4 are the titles to beat, with five nominations apiece.

Emily Swallow (left) and Pablo Pascal in <i>The Mandalorian</i>

Emily Swallow (left) and Pablo Pascal in The Mandalorian
Disney+

It’s worth noting that The Lion King and Toy Story 4 are not in competition against one another; while Toy Story 4 is cited in categories recognizing work in animated features, The Lion King is competing in photoreal feature categories. (That’s in keeping with Disney’s wishes that it not be considered an animated film for purposes of awards voting.)

VES members selected nominees in 25 different categories honoring outstanding visual effects for film, animation, television, commercials and video games — including a new category, Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project. Nominating events were hosted in Australia, the San Francisco Bay area, Germany, London, Los Angeles, Montréal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington.

Photoreal animated characters in <i>The Lion King</i>.

Photoreal animated characters in The Lion King.
Walt Disney Studios

The nominations seem to match fairly closely with the thinking of the motion picture academy, as all five of the main feature-film VFX nominations are also found on the Academy’s 10-film shortlist. Two more titles still up for VFX Oscar glory — 1917 and The Irishman — are named in the VES “supporting visual effects” category. Worth noting: last year’s Best VFX Oscar-winner, First Man, was a nominee in the VES supporting category.

Other films under consideration by the Academy show up in various other VES categories; only Cats didn’t make the cut for VES at all.

Will Smith in Gemini Man
Paramount Pictures

The VES Awards are scheduled to be presented on January 29 at a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to be hosted by Patton Oswalt. Also being handed out at the show are the VES Visionary Award, which will be given to director-producer-screenwriter Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, 2012), the VES Award for Creative Excellence, which will be presented to VFX supervisor Sheena Duggal, and the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, which will go to director-producer-screenwriter Martin Scorsese (The Irishman).

The complete list of nominees for the 18th Annual VES Awards follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Richard Hollander

Kevin Sherwood

Eric Saindon

Richard Baneham

Bob Trevino

AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Daniel DeLeeuw

Jen Underdahl

Russell Earl

Matt Aitken

Daniel Sudick

GEMINI MAN

Bill Westenhofer

Karen Murphy-Mundell

Guy Williams

Sheldon Stopsack

Mark Hawker

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Roger Guyett

Stacy Bissell

Patrick Tubach

Neal Scanlan

Dominic Tuohy

THE LION KING

Robert Legato

Tom Peitzman

Adam Valdez

Andrew R. Jones

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

1917

Guillaume Rocheron

Sona Pak

Greg Butler

Vijay Selvam

Dominic Tuohy

FORD V FERRARI

Olivier Dumont

Kathy Siegel

Dave Morley

Malte Sarnes

Mark Byers

JOKER

Edwin Rivera

Brice Parker

Mathew Giampa

Bryan Godwin

Jeff Brink

THE AERONAUTS

Louis Morin

Annie Godin

Christian Kaestner

Ara Khanikian

Mike Dawson

THE IRISHMAN

Pablo Helman

Mitch Ferm

Jill Brooks

Leandro Estebecorena

Jeff Brink

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2

Steve Goldberg

Peter Del Vecho

Mark Hammel

Michael Giaimo

KLAUS

Sergio Pablos

Matthew Teevan

Marcin Jakubowski

Szymon Biernacki

MISSING LINK

Brad Schiff

Travis KnightSteve Emerson

Benoit Dubuc

THE LEGO MOVIE 2

David Burgess

Tim Smith

Mark Theriault

John Rix

TOY STORY 4

Josh Cooley

Mark Nielsen

Bob Moyer

Gary Bruins

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

GAME OF THRONES; The Bells

Joe Bauer

Steve Kullback

Ted Rae

Mohsen Mousavi

Sam Conway

HIS DARK MATERIALS; The Fight to the Death

Russell Dodgson

James Whitlam

Shawn Hillier

Robert Harrington

LADY AND THE TRAMP

Robert Weaver

Christopher Raimo

Arslan Elver

Michael Cozens

Bruno Van Zeebroeck

LOST IN SPACE – Episode: Ninety-Seven

Jabbar Raisani

Terron Pratt

Niklas Jacobson

Juri Stanossek

Paul Benjamin

STRANGER THINGS – Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum

Paul Graff

Tom Ford

Michael Maher Jr.

Martin Pelletier

Andy Sowers

THE MANDALORIAN; The Child

Richard Bluff

Abbigail Keller

Jason Porter

Hayden Jones

Roy Cancinon

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

CHERNOBYL; 1:23:45

Max Dennison

Lindsay McFarlane

Clare Cheetham

Paul Jones

Claudius Christian Rauch

LIVING WITH YOURSELF; Nice Knowing You

Jay Worth

Jacqueline VandenBussche

Chris Wright

Tristan Zerafa

SEE; Godflame

Adrian de Wet

Eve Fizzinoglia

Matthew Welford

Pedro Sabrosa

Tom Blacklock

THE CROWN; Aberfan

Ben Turner

Reece Ewing

David Fleet

Jonathan Wood

VIKINGS; What Happens in the Cave

Dominic Remane

Mike Borrett

Ovidiu Cinazan

Tom Morrison

Paul Byrne

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project

Call of Duty Modern Warfare

Charles Chabert

Chris Parise

Attila Zalanyi

Patrick Hagar

Control

Janne Pulkkinen

Elmeri Raitanen

Matti Hämäläinen

James Tottman

Gears 5

Aryan Hanbeck

Laura Kippax

Greg Mitchell

Stu Maxwell

Myth: A Frozen Tale

Jeff Gipson

Nicholas Russell

Brittney Lee

Jose Luis Gomez Diaz

Vader Immortal: Episode I

Ben Snow

Mike Doran

Aaron McBride

Steve Henricks

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

Anthem Conviction

Viktor Muller

Lenka Likarova

Chris Harvey

Petr Marek

BMW Legend

Michael Gregory

Christian Downes

Tim Kafka

Toya Drechsler

Hennessy: The Seven Worlds

Carsten Keller

Selcuk Ergen

Kiril Mirkov

William Laban

PlayStation: Feel The Power of Pro

Sam Driscoll

Clare Melia

Gary Driver

Stefan Susemihl

Purdey’s: Hummingbird

Jules Janaud

Emma Cook

Matthew Thomas

Philip Child

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

Avengers: Damage Control

Michael Koperwas

Shereif Fattouh

Ian Bowie

Kishore Vijay

Curtis Hickman

Jurassic World: The Ride

Hayden Landis

Friend Wells

Heath Kraynak

Ellen Coss

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Asa Kalama

Rob Huebner

Khatsho Orfali

Susan Greenhow

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Jason Bayever

Patrick Kearney

Carol Norton

Bill George

Universal Sphere

James Healy

Morgan MacCuish

Ben West

Charlie Bayliss

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Alita

Michael Cozens

Mark Haenga

Olivier Lesaint

Dejan Momcilovic

AVENGERS: ENDGAME; Smart Hulk

Kevin Martel

Ebrahim Jahromi

Sven Jensen

Robert Allman

GEMINI MAN; Junior

Paul Story

Stuart Adcock

Emiliano Padovani

Marco Revelant

THE LION KING; Scar

Gabriel Arnold

James Hood

Julia Friedl

Daniel Fortheringham

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2; The Water Nøkk

Svetla Radivoeva

Marc Bryant

Richard E. Lehmann

Cameron Black

KLAUS; Jesper

Yoshimishi Tamura

Alfredo Cassano

Maxime Delalande

Jason Schwartzman

MISSING LINK; Susan

Rachelle Lambden

Brenda Baumgarten

Morgan Hay

Benoit Dubuc

TOY STORY 4; Bo Peep

Radford Hurn

Tanja Krampfert

George Nguyen

Becki Rocha Tower

Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project

LADY AND THE TRAMP; Tramp

Thiago Martins

Arslan Elver

Stanislas Paillereau

Martine Chartrand

STRANGER THINGS 3; Tom/Bruce Monster

Joseph Dubé-Arsenault

Antoine Barthod

Frederick Gagnon

Xavier Lafarge

THE MANDALORIAN; The Child; Mudhorn

Terry Bannon

Rudy Massar

Hugo Leygnac

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY; Pilot; Pogo

Aidan Martin

Craig Young

Olivier Beierlein

Laurent Herveic

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial

Apex Legends; Meltdown; Mirage

Chris Bayol

John Fielding

Derrick Sesson

Nole Murphy

Churchill; Churchie

Martino Madeddu

Philippe Moine

Clement Granjon

Jon Wood

Cyberpunk 2077; Dex

Jonas Ekman

Jonas Skoog

Marek Madej

Grzegorz Chojnacki

John Lewis; Excitable Edgar; Edgar

Tim van Hussen

Diarmid Harrison-Murray

Amir Bazzazi

Michael Diprose

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature

ALADDIN; Agrabah

Daniel Schmid

Falk Boje

Stanislaw Marek

Kevin George

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Iron City

John Stevenson-Galvin

Ryan Arcus

Mathias Larserud

Mark Tait

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN; Penn Station

John Bair

Vance Miller

Sebastian Romero

Steve Sullivan

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER; Pasaana Desert

Daniele Bigi

Steve Hardy

John Seru

Steven Denyer

THE LION KING; The Pridelands

Marco Rolandi

Luca Bonatti

Jules Bodenstein

Filippo Preti

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

FROZEN 2; Giants’ Gorge

Samy Segura

Jay V. Jackson

Justin Cram

Scott Townsend

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD; The Hidden World

Chris Grun

Ronnie Cleland

Ariel Chisholm

Philippe Brochu

MISSING LINK; Passage to India Jungle

Oliver Jones

Phil Brotherton

Nick Mariana

Ralph Procida

TOY STORY 4; Antiques Mall

Hosuk Chang

Andrew Finley

Alison Leaf

Philip Shoebottom

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

GAME OF THRONES; The Iron Throne; Red Keep Plaza

Carlos Patrick DeLeon

Alonso Bocanegra Martinez

Marcela Silva

Benjamin Ross

LOST IN SPACE; Precipice; The Trench

Philip Engström

Benjamin Bernon

Martin Bergquist

Xuan Prada

THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE; The Endless Forest

Sulé Bryan

Charles Chorein

Christian Waite

Martyn Hawkins

THE MANDALORIAN; Nevarro Town

Alex Murtaza

Yanick Gaudreau

Marco Tremblay

Maryse Bouchard

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Emile Ghorayeb

Simon Jung

Nick Epstein

Mike Perry

THE LION KING

Robert Legato

Caleb Deschanel

Ben Grossmann

AJ Sciutto

THE MANDALORIAN; The Prisoner; The Roost

Richard Bluff

Jason Porter

Landis Fields IV

Baz Idione

TOY STORY 4

Jean-Claude Kalache

Patrick Lin

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project

LOST IN SPACE; The Resolute

Xuan Prada

Jason Martin

Jonathan Vårdstedt

Eric Andersson

MISSING LINK; The Manchuria

Todd Alan Harvey

Dan Casey

Katy Hughes

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE; Rocket Train

Neil Taylor

Casi Blume

Ben McDougal

Chris Kuhn

THE MANDALORIAN; The Sin; The Razorcrest

Doug Chiang

Jay Machado

John Goodson

Landis Fields IV

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature

DUMBO; Bubble Elephants

Sam Hancock

Victor Glushchenko

Andrew Savchenko

Arthur Moody

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME; Molten Man

Adam Gailey

Jacob Santamaria

Jacob Clark

Stephanie Molk

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Don Wong

Thibault Gauriau

Goncalo Cababca

Francois-Maxence Desplanques

THE LION KING

David Schneider

Samantha Hiscock

Andy Feery

Kostas Strevlos

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature

ABOMINABLE

Alex Timchenko

Domin Lee

Michael Losure

Eric Warren

FROZEN 2

Erin V. Ramos

Scott Townsend

Thomas Wickes

Rattanin Sirinaruemarn

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD; Water and Waterfalls

Derek Cheung

Baptiste Van Opstal

Youxi Woo

Jason Mayer

TOY STORY 4

Alexis Angelidis

Amit Baadkar

Lyon Liew

Michael Lorenzen

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

GAME OF THRONES; The Bells

Marcel Kern

Paul Fuller

Ryo Sakaguchi

Thomas Hartmann

Hennessy: The Seven Worlds

Selcuk Ergen

Radu Ciubotariu

Andreu Lucio

Vincent Ullmann

LOST IN SPACE; Precipice; Water Planet

Juri Bryan

Hugo Medda

Kristian Olsson

John Perrigo

STRANGER THINGS 3; Melting Tom/Bruce

Nathan Arbuckle

Christian Gaumond

James Dong

Aleksandr Starkov

THE MANDALORIAN; The Child; Mudhorn

Xavier Martin Ramirez

Ian Baxter

Fabio Siino

Andrea Rosa

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Adam Bradley

Carlo Scaduto

Hirofumi Takeda

Ben Roberts

AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Tim Walker

Blake Winder

Tobias Wiesner

Joerg Bruemmer

CAPTAIN MARVEL; Young Nick Fury

Trent Claus

David Moreno Hernandez

Jeremiah Sweeney

Yuki Uehara

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Jeff Sutherland

John Galloway

Sam Bassett

Charles Lai

THE IRISHMAN

Nelson Sepulveda

Vincent Papaix

Benjamin O’Brien

Christopher Doerhoff

Outstanding Compositing in an Episode

GAME OF THRONES; The Bells

Sean Heuston

Scott Joseph

James Elster

Corinne Teo

GAME OF THRONES; The Long Night; Dragon Ground Battle

Mark Richardson

Darren Christie

Nathan Abbott

Owen Longstaff

STRANGER THINGS 3; Starcourt Mall Battle

Simon Lehembre

Andrew Kowbell

Karim El-Masry

Miklos Mesterhazy

WATCHMEN; Pilot; Looking Glass

Nathaniel Larouche

Iyi Tubi

Perunika Yorgova

Mitchell Beaton

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial

BMW Legend

Toya Drechsler

Vivek Tekale

Guillaume Weiss

Alexander Kulikov

Feeding America; I Am Hunger in America

Dan Giraldo

Marcelo Pasqualino

Alexander Koester

Hennessy; The Seven Worlds

Rod Norman

Guillaume Weiss

Alexander Kulikov

Alessandro Granella

PlayStation: Feel the Power of Pro

Gary Driver

Stefan Susemihl

Greg Spencer

Theajo Dharan

Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project

ALADDIN; Magic Carpet

Mark Holt

Jay Mallet

Will Wyatt

Dickon Mitchell

GAME OF THRONES; The Bells

Sam Conway

Terry Palmer

Laurence Harvey

Alastair Vardy

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

Neil Corbould

David Brighton

Ray Ferguson

Keith Dawson

THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE; She Knows All the Secrets

Sean Mathiesen

Jon Savage

Toby Froud

Phil Harvey

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

DOWNFALL

Matias Heker

Stephen Moroz

Bradley Cocksedge

LOVE AND FIFTY MEGATONS

Denis Krez

Josephine Roß

Paulo Scatena

Lukas Löffler

OEIL POUR OEIL

Alan Guimont

Thomas Boileau

Malcom Hunt

Robin Courtoise

THE BEAUTY

Marc Angele

Aleksandra Todorovic

Pascal Schelbli

Noel Winzen