‘Dune: Part Two’ wins the Oscar® for Visual Effects!
We’re thrilled to share that 'Dune: Part Two' has been honoured with the ‘Visual Effects’ Oscar® at tonight’s 97th Academy Awards® ceremony!
And the Oscar for ‘Visual Effects’ goes to…'Dune: Part Two'!
A massive congratulations to DNEG VFX Supervisors Stephen James and Rhys Salcombe - who accepted the award at the 97th Academy Award ceremony this evening alongside Paul Lambert (Production VFX Supervisor) and Gerd Nefzer (SFX Supervisor) – and to our incredibly talented team across the globe!
As lead VFX partner on Dune: Part Two, we were proud to deliver close to 1,000 VFX shots across the film. Building on the success of our Academy Award-winning work on Dune: Part One, our global teams meticulously crafted FX sequences with complex sand and pyro sims, large-scale CG environments, massive crowds, and detailed creature animation - from giant Sandworms down to tiny desert mice!
Namit Malhotra, Founder and CEO of the DNEG Group, said:
“For our team to be honoured with this year’s Oscar® for Visual Effects for Dune: Part Two is an incredible achievement and another milestone in our journey. This recognition by the Academy - our eighth VFX Oscar® since 2011 - is another endorsement of the creative and technical leadership of our teams here at DNEG. My heartfelt thanks to Denis Villeneuve for his vision and leadership, and to Paul Lambert, Greig Fraser and other key members of the filmmaking team. Special thanks also to Mary Parent and the team at Legendary, and to everyone at Warner Bros. for once again giving us the opportunity to be a part of bringing this incredible story to the big screen. And huge congratulations and thanks to the thousands of DNEG artists, technicians and support staff around the world, who all share this honour.”
DNEG VFX Supervisor for Dune: Part Two Rhys Salcombe added:
“I'm thrilled the team was able to take home the Oscar® for Visual Effects this year. It's a direct result of the passion and effort that went into the project and speaks to the skill and craft of the hundreds of artists and technicians around the world that contributed. This year's competition was particularly strong and I congratulate the other nominees for their outstanding work - it was an honour to be in your company.”
And Stephen James, DNEG VFX Supervisor for Dune: Part Two, said:
"I’d like to thank everyone that played a part in making this incredible film. Together, we were able to create visuals that not only pushed boundaries, but also profoundly connected with audiences. It has been the highlight of my career to work with such a talented and passionate team on Dune: Part Two, and to have those efforts recognised by the Academy is an incredible honour."
This marks the eighth time DNEG has been honoured with the Academy Award® for Best VFX since 2011, and our third win for a Denis Villeneuve film, following previous wins for Dune: Part One (2022) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Other DNEG Academy Award® wins include: Tenet (2021), First Man (2019), Ex Machina (2016), Interstellar (2015) and Inception (2011).
The Oscar® win follows DNEG’s success at the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards, where our work on Dune: Part Two was honoured with the award for Special Visual Effects.
DNEG’s VFX work on Dune: Part Two was also honoured with four awards across multiple categories at the 23rd Annual Visual Effects Society Awards last month. Other recognition includes this year’s Critics Choice Award for Best Visual Effects, as well as awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Film Visual/Special Effects at the Hollywood Creative Alliance Astra Awards and the Saturn Awards respectively. The studio’s work was also honoured in the Visual Effects category at this year’s American Cinematheque ‘Tribute to the Crafts’.
Huge congratulations to our global, award-winning 'Dune: Part Two' crew!