AWS Congratulates “Avatar: The Way of Water” Production Team on VFX Academy Award Win

With a global box office haul of $2.28 billion and counting, “Avatar: The Way of Water” is an undeniable success. Along with its significant financial achievement, the film has also garnered widespread industry recognition, earning an impressive slate of award wins and nominations. At the 95^th Academy Awards, held March 12 in Los Angeles, “Avatar: The Way of Water” capped a stellar awards season run by winning the Oscar statue for Best Visual Effects – an honor also bestowed on the original “Avatar” in 2010.

In addition to the 2023 Academy Award win, the visual feats of “Avatar: The Way of Water” earned the BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects, nine Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards, and two Annie Awards.

Congratulations to production’s VFX leaders Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett, and the entire team across Disney, Lightstorm Entertainment, Wētā FX, and more!

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is proud to have helped realize director James Cameron’s vision for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” with more than 3.3 billion thread hours run on AWS for the film’s production. At re:Invent 2022, Producer Jon Landau and Wētā FX Executive VFX Producer David Conley discussed the growing role of cloud in content production. Check out the highlights of their conversation here, and learn more about the future of filmmaking.