LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- "Life of Pi" on Tuesday came out of the 11th annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards as the biggest winner, taking home four top awards, including an honor for outstanding visual effects in a visual effects-driven feature.
Director Ang Lee's first 3-D fantasy film also won for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture, Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture and Outstanding Composition in a Feature Motion Picture.
The film about a 16-year-old boy, who survives a shipwreck and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, beat out four rivals -- the Academy Awards nominees "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "The Avengers," "Prometheus" and non-Oscar nominee "Battleship."
The win further strengthens the fantasy epic's potential as a top contender as it distinguished itself from fellow contenders along the Oscar trail.
"Brave," a Disney & Pixar animated film, tied with "Life of Pi" with four wins including Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture, followed by "The Avengers" with two awards.
"The Impossible" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" each garnered one award at the annual event which is held in honor of the works in features, TV, commercials, games and special venue productions.
Richard Edlund, who is phenomenal behind the effects effort in "Star Wars," received the society's Lifetime Achievement Award.
The VES awards have served as a reliable indicator to who will claim the title at the Oscars. During the past decade, seven of the VES Awards winners have gone on to take the Oscars in the corresponding years.