VES Awards: ‘Dune: Part Two’ Leads With Four Wins; Three For ‘Wild Robot’; ‘The Penguin’ & ‘Shōgun’ Lead TV – Updating Live

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The Visual Effects Society is handing out its 23rd annual VES Awards tonight at the Beverly Hilton, and Deadline is posting the winners as they are announced. Check out the list below.

As we head into the homestretch, Dune: Part Two is leading the film field. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel, which came into the ceremony with a leading seven nominations and scored a VFX win at last week’s Critics Choice Awards, has four wins: Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature, CG Cinematography, Effects Simulations and Compositing & Lighting.

Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two will battle for the marquee Photoreal Feature category later against Better Man, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Mufasa: The Lion King and Twisters. All except Better Man were among the Top 20 films of 2024 domestically and worldwide.

Back in 2022, the first Dune led all films with four VES Awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.

The VES Awards and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences haven’t followed the same script much during the past decade-plus, with only five of the Visual Effects Society’s marquee winners since 2013 going on to score the FX Oscar. That trend held last year, when VES bowed before The Creator, but the Academy Award was fed to Godzilla Minus Zero.

Hot off dominating the Annie Awards over the weekend, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot so far is the only other film with multiple wins, and it has three for Animated Character (Roz), Feature Environment and Effects Simulations.

Paramount’s Better Man won for Character in a Photoreal Feature — that being the CGI chimp portraying Robbie Williams in the musical biopic.

20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus took the VES Award for Outstanding Model for its Renaissance Space Station.

The team behind FX’s Emmy-laden series Shōgun took the first award of the night, for Outstanding Environment in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project and later picked up a Effects Simulations win.

The Penguin waddled home with the prize for Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project. The rookie Disney+ series then made it two categories in a row, picking up the statuette for Compositing in an Episode to become the night’s first multiple winner from the small screen.

Shōgun and The Penguin came into the ceremony tied with four noms apiece to lead all TV programs.

The Coca-Cola commercial titled “The Heroes” also was a double winner Tuesday, picking up trophies for Visual Effects and Compositing & Lighting.

Multiple Emmy-winning Shōgun actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada received the VES Award for Creative Excellence, a lifetime achievement award presented by one Keanu Reeves. He delighted the crowd of VFX pros by saying, “Y’all do some amazing shit here.” The honoree then promised that Season 2 “would take it to the next level.”

The other special honorees Tuesday night were VR/immersive technology 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 recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in 25 categories spanning features, TV, animation, commercials, games and new media — opened with Visual Effect Society Exec Director Nancy Ward thanking the first responders who risked it all to say lives and property during the devastating Los Angeles wildfires last month. Cheers to that.

The Sklar Brothers are making their hosting debut for the event. Here are the winners at the 2025 VES Awards, followed by the remaining nominees:

Winners

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Civil War
David Simpson
Michelle Rose
Freddy Salazar
Chris Zeh
J.D. Schwalm

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
The Penguin; Bliss
Johnny Han
Michelle Rose
Goran Pavles
Ed Bruce
Devin Maggio

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini
Yukinori Inagaki
Owen Demers
Hyun Huh

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson
David Allan
Gustav Åhren
Niklas Wallén

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man; Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez
Andrea Merlo
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Eteuati Tem

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth
Sandy la Tourelle
Lisa Nolan
Christopher Phillips

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
David Chow
Nyoung Kim

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken
Heinrich Löwe
Charles Guerton
Timmy Lundin

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard
Francesco Dell’Anna
Paul Chapman
Ryan Wing

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Ryan Knowles
Alex Gabucci
Jack Powell
Dan Yarcigi

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock
Karen Chang
Eugene Bondar
Miky Girón

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio
Johnny Han
Cory Candrilli
Alexandre Prod’homme

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak
Trevor Wide
Matt Middleton
Ben Shearman

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Pittura (entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam
Lassère Titouan
Vivenza Rémi
Marre Helloïs

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete
Oriel Frigo
Tomas Koutsky
Matteo Oliviero Dancy

OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser
Xin Steve Guo
Sandra Murta
Ben Wiggs

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg
Alyssa Finley
Jason Breneman
Alice Taylor

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
Star Wars Outlaws
Stephen Hawes
Lionel Le Dain
Benedikt Podlesnigg
Bogdan Draghici

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Greg McKneally
Antonia Vlasto
Ryan Knowles
Fabrice Fiteni

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein
Daniel Anton Fernandez
Marc James Austin
Christopher Anciaume

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake
He Jung Park
Woojin Choi
Shane Glading

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez
Phil Hannigan
Keith Malone
Francesco Corvino