Avatar: Fire and Ash Sweeps VES Awards, Wins Big Including Top Prize; KPop Demon Hunters Grab Three!

Yet again, another Avatar movie sweeps the VES Awards.

At the 24th annual VES Awards held at the Beverly Hilton, James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash clinched seven awards on Wednesday night. The film was notably recognized for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature. Additionally, it took home awards for Emerging Technology and Outstanding achievements in Model, Environment, Character, Effects Simulations, and CG Cinematography.

The third installment from 20th Century Studios led the nominations with 10 and is the 16th highest-grossing film ever, amassing over $1.47 billion globally. Despite high expectations, it missed a complete sweep when Apple Original Films’ F1 won for Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature, a category in which Fire and Ash had also been nominated.

Betting against an Avatar film at the VES Awards is risky. The original movie won six awards in 2010, and its sequel, The Way of Water, surpassed that with nine awards in 2023. To date, the franchise boasts a total of 22 VES Awards.

This year’s ceremony also paid tribute to the franchise’s late producer Jon Landau, who passed away in 2024 at the age of 63.

Netflix and Sony Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters was another multiple award-winner, securing three trophies for Outstanding Animation, Character (Rumi), and Effect Simulations in an Animated Feature. Following its success at the Annie Awards, the anime-inspired movie has attracted over 482 million views, and its soundtrack has been streamed approximately 11 billion times.

Sinners, leading this year’s Oscar nominations, won the VES Award for Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.

The correlation between the Visual Effects Society and the Academy Awards has been minimal in the last decade, with only five VES winners also securing the Oscar for Best Visual Effects since 2013. Last year, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes won at the VES for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, but Dune: Part Two claimed the Oscar.

The first award of the night hosted by the Sklar Brothers, featuring a classic rock soundtrack, was awarded to Zootopia 2 for Outstanding Environment in an Animated Feature.

Remarkably, an 87-year-old film, The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, won the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project.

On the television front, Disney+’s Andor and Apple TV/BBC Studios’ Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age each won two awards, with the latter winning the top prize for Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode.

Despite receiving four nominations, Netflix’s Stranger Things did not secure any awards.

In the commercial sector, BMW won two VES Awards for its “Heart of Joy: Meet Okto the Octopus” campaign.

The ceremony also honored the professionals we lost over the past year, including notable names such as Roger Allers and Greg Cannom.

Special recognition went to Jerry Bruckheimer and Richard Taylor at the 2026 VES Awards, where they received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and VES Visionary Award, respectively.

Here is the complete list of 2026 VES winners:

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Richard Baneham
Peter Litvack
Eric Saindon
Nicky Muir
Steve Ingram

And so forth, listing each category and its winners.