“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
The Academy visual effects branch executive committee has picked 10 contenders to compete for the final five nominees for the 89th Academy Awards.
Frontrunner “The Jungle Book,” which advances the technology introduced in James Cameron’s “Avatar,” will likely vie for the Oscar with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which has some major VFX breakthroughs of its own (under spoiler alert embargo). Other strong contenders include J.K. Rowling “Harry Potter” prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange.”
As rare as it is (“The Nightmare Before Christmas” snagged a nomination in 1994), Laika’s stop-motion animated film, “Kubo and the Two Strings,” was expected to land a slot in this category.
Snubs include “Warcraft” and “Deadpool” and surprises are Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” and Peter Berg’s disaster film, “Deepwater Horizon.”
READ MORE: 2017 Oscar Predictions
Contenders are listed in alphabetical order.
Frontrunners
“Arrival”
“Doctor Strange”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
“The Jungle Book”
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
Contenders
“The BFG”
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Deepwater Horizon”
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Passengers”
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