The Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Picture is one of the annual awards given by the Visual Effects Society starting in 2002. While the award's title has changed several time within this period, the recipient has always been a visual effects-heavy feature film; films with more background effects work have their own category, the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture.
Winners and nominees + Table key Indicates the Academy Award winner 2000s Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture Year Film Nominee(s) 2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke|- | Men in Black II || John Andrew Berton Jr., Tom Bertino, Bill Westenhofer, Erik Mattson |- | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones || John Knoll, Ben Snow, Pablo Helman, Rob Coleman |- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| 2003 || style="background:#B0C4DE;" | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| Jim Rygiel, Dean Wright, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook|- | The Matrix Revolutions || John Gaeta, Kim Libreri, George Murphy, Craig Hayes |- | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl || John Knoll, Patrick T. Myers, Hal Hickel, Jill Brooks |- | rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| 2004 || style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, Theresa Corrao, Emma Norton|- | The Day After Tomorrow || Karen E. Goulekas, Mike Chambers, Greg Strause, Remo Balcells |- | Spider-Man 2 || John Dykstra, Lydia Bottegoni, Anthony LaMolinara, Scott Stokdyk |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| 2005 || style="background:#B0C4DE;" | King Kong Joe Letteri, Eileen Moran, Christian Rivers, Eric Saindon The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Dean Wright, Randy Starr, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Jim Mitchell, Theresa Corrao, Tim Alexander, Tim Webber Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith John Knoll, Roger Guyett, Rob Coleman, Denise Ream 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest John Knoll, Jill Brooks, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson Charlotte's Web Karin Joy, Blair Clark, John Dietz The Fountain Jeremy Dawson, Dan Schrecker, Mark G. Soper, Peter Parks 2007 Transformers || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Russell Earl, Scott Benza|- | The Golden Compass || Michael L. Fink, Susan MacLeod, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris |- | I Am Legend || Janek Sirrs, Mike Chambers, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith |- | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End || John Knoll, Jill Brooks, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson |- | Spider-Man 3 || Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| 2008 || style="background:#B0C4DE;" | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler Cloverfield Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven Hellboy II: The Golden Army Mike Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian De Wet, Eamonn Butler Iron Man Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson 2009 Avatar Joe Letteri (visual effects supervisor); Richard Baneham (animation supervisor); Joyce Cox, Eileen Moran (vfx producers) 2012 Volker Engel, Marc Weigert (visual effects supervisors); Josh R. Jaggars (vfx producer) District 9 Dan Kaufman (vfx supervisor), Peter Muyzers (on-set vfx plate supervisor), James Stewart (creature supervisor), Stefanie Boose (vfx producer) Star Trek Burt Dalton (special effects supervisor); Russell Earl, Roger Guyett (visual effects supervisors); Shari Hanson (visual effects producer) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Scott Farrar (visual effects supervisor), John Frazier (special effects supervisor), Scott Benza (animation director), Wayne Billheimer (visual effects producer)
2010s Year Film Nominee(s) 2010 Inception Paul Franklin (visual effects supervisor); Chris Corbould (special effects supervisor); Mike Chambers, Matthew Plummer (visual effects producers) Alice in Wonderland Ken Ralston (senior visual effects supervisor), Carey Villegas (visual effects supervisor), David Schaub (animation supervisor), Tom Peitzman (visual effects producer) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Tim Burke (overall visual effects supervisor), John Richardson, Emma Norton (visual effects producer) Iron Man 2 Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright (visual effects supervisors); Susan Pickett (visual effects producer) Tron: Legacy Eric Barba (visual effects supervisor), Steve Preeg (animation director), Steve Gaub (sequence supervisor), Lisa Beroud (visual effects producer) 2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, Cyndi Ochs, Kurt Williams|- | Captain America: The First Avenger || Charlie Noble, Mark G. Soper, Christopher Townsend, Edson Williams |- | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 || Tim Burke, Emma Norton, John Richardson, David Vickery |- | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides || Gary Brozenich, David Conley, Charles Gibson, Ben Snow |- | Transformers: Dark of the Moon || Scott Benza, Wayne Billheimer, Matthew E. Butler, Scott Farrar |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| 2012 || style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Life of Pi Donald Elliott, Susan MacLeod, Guillaume Rocheron, Bill Westenhofer The Avengers Susan Pickett, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams Battleship Grady Cofer, Pablo Helman, Kevin Elam, Glen McIntosh The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Joe Letteri, Eileen Moran, Eric Saindon, Kevin L. Sherwood Prometheus Paul Butterworth, Charley Henley, Allen Maris, Richard Stammers 2013 Gravity Tim Webber, Nikki Penny, Neil Corbould, Richard McBride The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, Kevin L. Sherwood, David Clayton Iron Man 3 Christopher Townsend, Mark G. Soper, Guy Williams, Bryan Grill Pacific Rim John Knoll, Susan Greenhow, Christopher Raimo, Hal Hickel Star Trek Into Darkness Roger Guyett, Luke O'Byrne, Ron Ames, Ben Grossmann Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture Year Film Nominee(s) 2014 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Joe Letteri, Ryan Stafford, Matt Kutcher, Dan Lemmon, Hannah Bianchini Guardians of the Galaxy Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Jonathan Fawkner, Nicolas Aithadi, Paul Corbould The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Joe Letteri, David Conley, Eric Saindon, Kevin L. Sherwood, Steve Ingram Interstellar Paul Franklin, Kevin Elam, Ann Podlozny, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher Maleficent Carey Villegas, Barrie Hemsley, Adam Valdez, Kelly Port, Michael Dawson X-Men: Days of Future Past Richard Stammers, Blondel Aidoo, Lou Pecora, Anders Langlands, Cameron Waldbauer Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Year Film Nominee(s) 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Roger Guyett, Luke O'Byrne, Patrick Tubach, Paul Kavanagh, Chris Corbould Furious 7 Mike Wassel, Karen M. Murphy, Martin Hill, Kelvin McIlwain, Dan Sudick Mad Max: Fury Road Andrew Jackson, Holly Radcliffe, Tom Wood, Fiona Crawford, Dan Oliver The Martian Richard Stammers, Barrie Hemsley, Matt Sloan, Chris Lawrence, Steven Warner San Andreas Colin Strause, Randy Starr, Bryan Grill, Nordin Rahhali, Brian Cox 2016 The Jungle Book Robert Legato, Joyce Cox, Andrew R. Jones, Adam Valdez, J.D. Schwalm Doctor Strange Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, Paul Corbould Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Christian Manz, Olly Young, Tim Burke, Pablo Grillo, David Watkins Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Frazer Churchill, Hal Couzens, Andrew Lockley, Jelmer Boskma, Hayley J. Williams Rogue One: A Star Wars Story John Knoll, Erin D. O'Connor, Hal Hickel, Nigel Sumner, Neil Corbould 2017 War for the Planet of the Apes Joe Letteri, Ryan Stafford, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon, Joel Whist Blade Runner 2049 John Nelson, Karen M. Murphy, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Christopher Townsend, Damien Carr, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick Kong: Skull Island Jeff White, Tom C. Peitzman, Stephen Rosenbaum, Scott Benza, Michael Meinardus Star Wars: The Last Jedi Ben Morris, Tim Keene, Eddie Pasquarello, Dan Seddon, Chris Corbould 2018 Avengers: Infinity War Dan DeLeeuw, Jen Underdahl, Kelly Port, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick Christopher Robin Chris Lawrence, Steve Gaub, Mike Eames, Glenn Melenhorst, Chris Corbould Ready Player One Roger Guyett, Jennifer Meislohn, Dave Shirk, Matthew E. Butler, Neil Corbould Solo: A Star Wars Story Rob Bredow, Erin D. O'Connor, Matt Shumway, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy Welcome to Marwen Kevin Baillie, Sandra Scott, Seth Hill, Marc Chu, James Paradis 2019 The Lion King Robert Legato, Tom C. Peitzman, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones Alita: Battle Angel Richard E. Hollander, Kevin L. Sherwood, Eric Saindon, Richard Baneham, Bob Trevino Avengers: Endgame Dan DeLeeuw, Jen Underdahl, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick Gemini Man Bill Westenhofer, Karen M. Murphy, Guy Williams, Sheldon Stopsack, Mark Hawker Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Roger Guyett, Stacy Bissell, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
2020s