UPDATE: The Academy just made the list official. Its release is below.

PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that the Visual Effects branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences has narrowed the list of Oscar contenders for Achievement In Visual Effects to 10 films. Those 10 finalists are:

The Amazing Spider-Man

Cloud Atlas

The Dark Knight Rises

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

John Carter

Life Of Pi

Marvel’s The Avengers

Prometheus

Skyfall

Snow White And The Huntsman

Related: OSCARS: 11 Live Action Shorts Advance

Among the films passed over were Men In Black 3, The Impossible, Flight, Looper, Total Recall, The Hunger Games and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

There will be a “bake-off” with presentations from all finalists on January 3rd. The five nominees for Visual Effects will be announced with the rest of Oscar nominations January 10th. In a slight rule change, the VFX branch determined there would be 10 finalists. Previously it was anywhere from seven to 10 finalists from which the five nominees would then be selected.