Wētā FX Secures Academy Award Nomination For Avatar: Fire And Ash

Wellington: Wētā FX has received an Academy Award nomination this morning for their visual effects work on James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Securing one of five nominations for Best Visual Effects, Wētā FX’s team for Avatar: Fire and Ash is represented by five-time Oscar winner Joe Letteri and past Oscar winners Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett.

“We are incredibly proud of the entire crew behind Avatar: Fire and Ash and deeply honoured by these nominations,” say Letteri, Saindon, and Barrett.

“This recognition belongs to every artist, technician, and collaborator who contributed to the film—from the live-action crew and performance capture teams to everyone at Wētā FX,” they say.

“It is a privilege to represent the wider New Zealand film community on the world stage. Since moving to New Zealand, James Cameron has shown a long-standing commitment to making films here, investing in local talent and creative innovation, and we are immensely proud to be part of that team and that legacy.”

“To have our work recognised by our peers in the Academy, in a year with such strong competition, makes us exceptionally proud,” says Matt Aitken, Head of VFX.

“Over 1,200 Wētā FX crew members contributed to this film, so on behalf of everyone, thank you to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences”, Aitken adds.

Other films nominated in the category include F1, Jurassic World Rebirth, Sinners, and The Lost Bus.

The 98th Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday 16 March 2026 (NZDT).

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Wētā FX nominees:

• Joe Letteri, Senior VFX Supervisor
• Eric Saindon, Senior VFX Supervisor, Wētā FX
• Daniel Barrett, Senior Animation Supervisor, Wētā FX

Quick facts:

• Wētā FX was responsible for 3,132 shots / 94% of the visual effects in Avatar: Fire and Ash. Only seven shots, totalling around 11 seconds of the film, do not contain visual effects.
• Wētā FX has worked with director James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment on Avatar projects for the last 20 years, establishing a creative shorthand and shared vocabulary that has enabled innovation and efficiencies to produce the highest quality of storytelling and visual spectacle.
• Avatar: Fire and Ash and Avatar: The Way of Water were filmed concurrently, meaning the third instalment builds on the technical advancements made in the second film, while levelling up with a significant increase in scale, complexity, and compute compared to Avatar: The Way of Water.
• Working in eight teams, two Senior VFX Supervisors, four VFX Supervisors, six VFX Sequence Supervisors, two Animation Supervisors, and more than 1,200 Wētā FX crew contributed to the film – a typical Wētā FX project would have one or two VFX and Animation Supervisors.
• Image credit: © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

About Wētā FX

Wētā FX is the standard-bearer for creative innovation in visual effects and animation, attracting talent, partners, and clients who seek a collaborator that embraces and nurtures their artistic vision.

Their renowned proprietary pipeline provides artists with the tools and infrastructure they need to create their best work. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, with creative hubs in Vancouver and Melbourne, Wētā FX is home to some of the most ambitious artists, engineers, and executives you’re likely to meet.

Across three decades, their trailblazing work has so far earned seven visual effects Academy Awards®, 16 Academy Sci-Tech Awards and seven visual effects BAFTA Awards, in addition to 61 Visual Effects Society Awards awarded to them by their peers. Wētā FX is known for performance-driven animated creatures and characters such as Gollum, Kong, Neytiri, Caesar, and Pogo as well as for the universes they inhabit, including Middle-earth, Pandora and countless others.

www.wetafx.co.nz

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