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The 2023 Best Picture Oscar nominee productions in numbers, plus the cameras and lenses used


Below are the results of research carried out by Lisa McNamara of frame.io into the budgets, crew size and duration of both principal photography and post-production for each of the Best Picture nominees at the 2023 Academy Awards. Below that, we show the cameras and lenses used on the films nominated for Beat Picture and Best Cinematography.

The Banshees of Inisherin
  • Budget – $20 million
  • Crew – 330
  • Shoot – 40 days
  • Camera – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF
  • Lens – ARRI Signature Prime
  • Post – 250 days
Avatar: The Way Of Water
  • Budget – $325 million
  • Crew – 2,000
  • Shoot – 300 days
  • Camera – Sony VENICE
  • Lenses – Fujinon MK and Premier Cabrio
  • Post – 1200 days
Woman Talking
  • Budget – $134 million
  • Crew – 185
  • Shoot – 30 days
  • Camera – Panavision Millennium DXL2
  • Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision Ultra Vista
  • Post – 300 days
Tár
  • Budget – $35 million
  • Crew – 285
  • Shoot – 65 days
  • Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF
  • Lens – ARRI Signature Prime
  • Post – 280 days
The Fabelmans
  • Budget – $40 million
  • Crew – 400
  • Shoot – 60 days
  • Cameras – Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2, ARRIFLEX 16 ST, ARRIFLEX 416
  • Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision PVintage
  • Post – 200 days
All Quiet on the Western Front
  • Budget – $20 million
  • Crew – 270
  • Shoot – 55 days
  • Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Sony VENICE, RED Epic Dragon
  • Lenses – ARRI Prime DNA, Tribe7 Blackwing7, Zeiss Compact Prime CP.3
  • Post – 450 days
Everything Everywhere All At Once
  • Budget – $20 million
  • Crew – 500
  • Shoot – 40 days
  • Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini
  • Lenses – Atlas Orion Anamorphic, Scorpiolens, Todd-AO, ARRI Master Prime
  • Post – 540 days
Triangle Of Sadness
  • Budget – $16 million
  • Crew – 450
  • Shoot – 70 days
  • Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, RED Gemini, RED Helium 8K
  • Lens – Zeiss Supreme Prime
  • Post – 590 days
Elvis
  • Budget – $86 million
  • Crew – 875
  • Shoot – 100 days
  • Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA LF
  • Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision Sphero 65, Panavision T-Series “Elvis”, Petzval
  • Post – 400 days
Top Gun: Maverick
  • Budget – $170 million
  • Crew – 1,300
  • Shoot – 170 days
  • Camera – Sony VENICE
  • Lenses – ARRI Master Prime, Zeiss Loxia, Sigma FF High Speed, Voigtländer, Fujinon Premier
  • Post – 390 days

2023’s cameras and the lenses

“Regarding the cameras, there’s no news under the sun, since it can be well noticed, the dominance of large format cameras, especially the ALEXA 65. The Mini LF is at the top. However, the Mini, the loyal Super 35 representative, has pushed down the ladder. It will be interesting to see how the ALEXA 35 performs in the next year’s Academy Awards. As for the RED cameras —they have been utilized mainly for VFX plates. As for lenses, as usual, Panavision has a super solid invincible presence. However, there’s an excellent achievement for Atlas, as the excellent Orion Anamorphic series enters this prestige list. Also, it’s very nice exploring Tribe 7 on that list. Tribe 7 was founded as a collaboration between artist and academy award-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young and Neil Fanthom, Motion picture camera and lens technologist, with a goal to craft a “contemporary image creation”. And from the other hand, it’s a bit surprising that Cooke lenses were barely used. One more thing – Fujinon cinema lenses are rocking! We end the article by talking a bit about the most exciting combination of cameras, which was on All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s a rare thing to see a DP that utilized ARRI, Sony, and RED altogether. The RED was used for VFX plates and the VENICE Rialto for the action night scenes. The main camera of the film was the 65. This great movie is proof that everything can be matched together beautifully.”

Cameras and lenses used on Best Cinematography nominees

  • All Quiet on the Western Front: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Sony VENICE, RED Epic Dragon. Lenses – ARRI Prime DNA, Tribe7 Blackwing7, Zeiss Compact Prime CP.3 
  • Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, Lenses – Panavision 65 Vintage, Tribe7 Blackwing7, Canon FD
  • Elvis: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA LF. Lenses – Panavision Primo, Panavision Sphero 65, Panavision T-Series “Elvis”, Petzval
  • Empire of Light: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – ARRI Signature Prime, Cooke S7/i
  • Tár: Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 65, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – ARRI Signature Prime

Source Y.M. Cinema Magazine: https://ymcinema.com/2023/03/27/oscars-2023-figures-budget-crew-shooting-days-and-post/ and https://ymcinema.com/2023/02/06/oscars-2023-cameras-and-lenses/



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