Fifteen films will proceed to the next stage of voting in early January, when the visual effects branch executive committee will whittle the list down to 10 titles.

The 15 films in alphabetical order are:

Captain America: The First Avenger

Cowboys & Aliens

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (pictured)

Hugo

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Real Steel

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Sucker Punch

Super 8

Thor

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

The Tree Of Life

X-Men: First Class

All members of the visual effects branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Jan 19 prior to voting on the five nominees.

The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards will be announced on Jan 24.

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