The winners of the VES Awards 2026 have been announced. The ceremony took place on February 25, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles and honored groundbreaking visual effects work in film, TV, animation, and more.
Avatar: Fire and Ash won seven awards in the photoreal feature categories. These included Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature (Richard Baneham, Peter Litvack, Eric Saindon, Nicky Muir, Steve Ingram), Outstanding Character for Varang: Leader of the Ash Clan, Outstanding CG Cinematography, and the Emerging Technology Award for Kora Fire Toolset. KPop Demon Hunters won three awards for animation, including Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature (Joshua Beveridge, Jacky Priddle, Benjamin Hendricks, Clara Chan) and Outstanding Character for Rumi. Sinners won for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature and Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age won for top photoreal episode.
- Photoreal Features: Avatar: Fire and Ash also won for environments (Bridgehead Industrial City), models (Windtraders’ Gondola), and effects simulations (Simulating Pandora).
- Animation: Zootopia 2 won Outstanding Environment for Marsh Market.
- Episodic & Real-Time: Ghost of Yōtei won Outstanding Visual Arts in a Real-Time Project, and Andor did well with environments and practical effects.
- Commercials & Special Venue: BMW’s “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus” and The Wizard of Oz at Sphere were the best.
Joseph Kosinski gave Jerry Bruckheimer the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, thanking VFX artists for making movie magic. Adam Savage gave the VES Visionary Award to Sir Richard Taylor of Wētā Workshop. The award was for his work in craft and collaboration. The Sklar Brothers were the hosts, and Oona Chaplin and Omar Benson Miller were among the presenters.
