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20th VES Awards: DNEG sweeps seven awards for visual effects
Mumbai: The London-based VFX major Double Negative (DNEG) has received seven awards at the 20th Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards held in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The company is a technology-enabled visual effect and animation studio for the creation of feature film, television and multiplatform content. This year’s seven VES awards bring The company’s all-time total to 18.
The four of DNEG’s seven awards honoured its VFX work on Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar 2022 frontrunner “Dune,” including the main award for ‘Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature,’ which was presented by the filmmaker himself.
DNEG also received two awards for its work on the Apple TV+ drama “Foundation,” as well as the award for ‘Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature” for Edgar Wright’s “Last Night In Soho.”
DNEG’s dominant and expansive awards haul on the evening provides further evidence of the company’s leading capabilities in the visual effects and animation industries. This year’s extraordinary levels of success and the recognition of the Visual Effects Society add to DNEG’s impressive list of recent and historical accolades, said the statement.
“Thank you to the Visual Effects Society for honouring the incredible work of our teams and congratulations to all of our winners, collaborators, global teams and clients on this epic achievement,” commented DNEG chairman and CEO Namit Malhotra. “It is important to note that these projects were all in production during the pandemic. Despite the challenges of finding new ways of working in this incredibly difficult time for the world, DNEG has produced work of a quality that has been recognised as outstanding by the VES – an industry body that provides a detailed and comprehensive gauge of the technology and artistry that makes this work so special.”
“This, alongside the unprecedented number of awards that we won last night, is a massive testament to the capabilities of our teams, and the trust of our customers that DNEG will always deliver their vision to the highest possible standard. It is also a huge validation of DNEG’s ambitious growth plans as we go from strength to strength, scaling our business, and delivering great results across all of our global teams,” Malhotra further said.
DNEG’s complete 2022 VES Award winners are:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Dune” – Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Last Night in Soho” – Tom Proctor, Gavin Gregory, Julian Gnass, Fabricio Baessa
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “Foundation” – The Emperor’s Peace – Chris MacLean, Addie Manis, Mike Enriquez, Chris Keller, Paul Byrne
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project: “Dune” – Royal Ornithopter – Marc Austin, Anna Yamazoe, Michael Chang, Rachael Dunk
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature: “Dune” – Dunes of Arrakis – Gero Grimm, Ivan Larinin, Hideki Okano, Zuny An
Outstanding Effects Simulation in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project: “Foundation” – Collapse of the Galactic Empire – Giovanni Casadei, Mikel Zuloaga, Steven Moor, Louis Manjarres
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature: “Dune” – Attack on Arrakeen – Gregory Haas, Francesco Dell’Anna, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Cleve Zhu
DNEG served as lead VFX partner on each of the above projects, with work completed throughout its worldwide studios, according to the company.
MUMBAI: If cricket were a binge-worthy series, this one just dropped its most explosive pilot yet. The opening weekend of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League has come out swinging, smashing records across both television and digital platforms and reaffirming the tournament’s unmatched pull in India’s sporting and media landscape.
Backed by two high-octane matches featuring 200-plus run chases, the tournament delivered a combined reach of over 515 million viewers across linear TV and digital platforms via JioStar’s broadcast ecosystem, including Star Sports and JioHotstar. More tellingly, engagement surged alongside reach, with total watch-time hitting 32.6 billion minutes, a sharp 26 per cent jump over the opening weekend of the previous season.
The numbers reveal a deeper shift in how India watches cricket. Connected TV (CTV) consumption rose by 30 per cent, while peak concurrency on digital platforms jumped 61 per cent, signalling a growing appetite for shared, big-screen streaming experiences. On traditional television, the momentum held strong, with TV ratings (TVR) climbing 24 per cent compared to earlier seasons’ opening matches.
A key driver of this spike has been the evolution of the viewing experience itself. This season introduced differentiated feeds, most notably a Hindi CTV broadcast featuring cricketing voices such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. Blending expert analysis with a watch-along format, the feed has added a conversational, almost second-screen feel without requiring viewers to leave their screens.
According to JioStar CEO for Sports Ishan Chatterjee, at the opening weekend underscores not just scale but also the depth of engagement that live cricket continues to command. He noted that the combination of large-screen viewing and digital interactivity is creating a more immersive and personalised experience, while also delivering tangible outcomes for brand partners.
From the league’s perspective, the early numbers point to a tournament that continues to reinvent itself. Arun Singh Dhumal, Chairman of the IPL, said the strong start reflects how high-quality cricket paired with enhanced viewing formats is resonating with audiences nationwide, while Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia highlighted the “quality of engagement” as a key takeaway, not just the scale.
Commercially too, the opening weekend signals robust advertiser confidence. The broadcast is led by co-presenting sponsors including Google (Search AI Mode), Campa Energy, and Havells & Lloyd, alongside co-powered partners such as Birla Opus, Hero Motocorp and Amazon. A long tail of associate sponsors from OpenAI and Asian Paints to Flipkart and Amul further reflects the league’s unmatched ability to aggregate advertiser interest at scale.
Taken together, the opening weekend numbers are less a spike and more a statement. With 515 million viewers, 32.6 billion minutes of watch-time, and double-digit growth across formats, IPL 2026 has not just started strong, it has set the tone for a season that looks poised to push the boundaries of both sport and spectacle.
