Oppenheimer Gets Snubbed in Oscars VFX Race

Oppenheimer will not receive an Oscar nomination in the Visual Effects category at the 2024 Academy Awards as Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster film did not even make the initial shortlist.

As reported by Variety, 20 films have been selected for VFX Oscar consideration and will now proceed to the next round of voting, taking place December 14 to 18. The list features several predicted titles, a few surprises, and some major snubs, including Oppenheimer, which is notably missing from the group of finalists.

Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire are among the Visual Effects Oscar finalists on the list, which will go through multiple rounds of voting before being whittled down to five nominees. The full shortlist is as follows:

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quanumania
• Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
• Barbie
• The Boys in the Boat
• The Creator
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
• Godzilla: Minus One
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• The Marvels
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
• Napoleon
• Nyad
• Poor Things
• Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire
• Society of the Snow
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
• Wonka

The list caused quite a stir, with people taking to X/Twitter to air their views on the finalists in the aftermath of the announcement. The general consensus seemed to be that Oppenheimer was “robbed” after not being unveiled as a possible contender in the VFX Oscar category despite Nolan’s mastery of cinematic imagery.

Christopher Nolan’s #Oppenheimer not being Oscar nominated for best VFX of 2023 is an absolute ROBBERY pic.twitter.com/qO9gA0Bo8g

— BLURAYANGEL 🦇 (@blurayangel) December 7, 2023

Indiana Jones 5 making the VFX shortlist over Oppenheimer is so funny. They did NOT watch the movie

— Carlos Alonzo Morales (@CarlosAlonzoM) December 7, 2023

The VFX of OPPENHEIMER was so good that The Academy thought there was no VFX in the film and thereby, didn’t shortlist it. pic.twitter.com/ctQ00xeEgH

— Ram Venkat Srikar (@RamVenkatSrikar) December 8, 2023

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania” getting an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects (VFX), when “Oppenheimer” was RIGHT THERE, fascinates me… pic.twitter.com/MD2Tdy0xpT

— The Critical ‘Outside The Cube’ Thinking Critique (@ACriticalHuman) December 8, 2023

— VENKYY ROY (@VenkyyRoy) December 7, 2023

oppenheimer isn’t a finalist for the best vfx oscar nom and I’m going to make it everyone’s problem

— megan🩷💜💙 (@vigilantelikeme) December 7, 2023

No OPPENHEIMER for Best Visual Effects? How is THIS not some of the finest visual effects of the year? pic.twitter.com/7WOCyY24Fo

— Dan Marcus (@Danimalish) December 7, 2023

Oppenheimer not getting nominated for VFX is stupid as hell

— Josh (@joshlovesmovies) December 8, 2023

Oppenheimer didn’t make top 5 ???? pic.twitter.com/f080gLrG3d

— 🇬🇭DEAR GOD⚡️ (@mrlamar011) December 7, 2023

Oppenheimer got robbed of visual effects for the Oscars🤦🤦🤦

— ٰ (@nousphos) December 7, 2023

Nolan has long been a fan of practical effects over CGI, using a rotating hallway to film the iconic gravity-defying fight in Inception, as well as blowing up a real Boeing 747 for the time-bending action flick Tenet. Oppenheimer was no different, as he set about recreating the historic Trinity Test atomic blast without CGI.

Oppenheimer received near-universal acclaim upon its release, with critics praising the film for its screenplay, performances of the cast, and its impressive visuals. IGN’s 10/10 review of Oppenheimer called it “a full-tilt biopic” that presents “a disturbing, mesmerizing vision of what humanity is capable of bringing upon itself.”

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X @AdeleAnkers.