Oscars 2025: Wellington’s Wētā FX garners more awards season praise with three Visual Effects nominations

Wētā FX has gained three Academy Award (Oscar) nominations for its work on Better Man, Alien: Romulus and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

• Wellington’s Wētā FX received three Visual Effects Oscar nominations for its work on Alien: Romulus, Better Man, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
• This adds to the studio’s two Bafta nominations for Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
• Head of VFX Matt Aitken highlighted the record number of individuals nominated this year.

Wētā FX is proudly flying the flag for New Zealand this entertainment awards season, adding more prestigious nominations to its already impressive arsenal and setting a new company record in the process.

Fresh off the back of two Bafta Award nominations, it was announced on Friday (NZ time) that the acclaimed Wellington-headquartered VFX outlet has nabbed three Academy Award (Oscar) nominations for its team’s work on three hit Hollywood films.

Founded in 1993, the studio has gone from strength to strength and is responsible for some of Hollywood’s most iconic on-screen characters in films like Avatar and Lord of the Rings.

This year, Alien: Romulus, Better Man, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes have been recognised with Best Visual Effects Oscar nominations, which are determined by votes from members of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences.

Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and a xenomorph in Alien: Romulus. Photo / Disney Studios

Wētā FX has also nabbed Bafta nominations for its work on Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Team members from the studio that worked on the Oscar-nominated films include Daniel Macarin (Alien: Romulus), Luke Millar, David Clayton, and Keith Herft (Better Man), and Erik Winquist, Paul Story, and Stephen Unterfranz (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes).

In Alien: Romulus, an instalment of the iconic Alien series, Wētā FX digitally augmented practical suits used on set for an alien creature and also created large-scale visual effects simulations for outer space collisions and explosions in the film’s ending.

“We are incredibly proud to have our team’s work on the third act of Alien: Romulus recognised by the Academy," Macarin said.

“We worked closely with director Fede Álvarez to build on the franchise’s history and bring audiences closer to the rings of a planet than ever before. We hope this nomination inspires the next generation of VFX artists and sci-fi space film fans”.

Jonno Davies as Robbie Williams in Better Man. Photo / Paramount Pictures

Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes both involved Wētā FX artists working on a series of CGI chimps and other impressive visual effects.

Head of VFX Matt Aitken said teams were “responsible for practically all of the visual effects work” on those two projects, and the Oscar nods for all films set a new record for the company.

“This has been an exceptional year for the artists at Wētā FX, producing groundbreaking work of the highest quality,” he said

“We have more individuals nominated for an Oscar this year than in any other year in the company’s history. “

Aitken said the company, which has already won seven visual effects Academy Awards and seven Baftas in its impressive history, is acknowledged as “world leaders” in the area of digital performance, which was one of the most challenging areas in the VFX field.

“The Academy has recognised this with these nominations, testament to the artistry of everyone at Wētā FX who worked on these productions”.

Weta FX crafted the ape characters in hit film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Photo / Weta FX

Once the Oscar nominations are announced, voting for the winners is open to all branches of the Academy to decide the winner.

The 97th Academy Awards are set to be held in Los Angeles on Monday, March 3, 2025 (NZT).