The latest film in the Godzilla franchise, Godzilla Minus One, has grossed an impressive $100 million since its Japanese release on November 3, grossing over $50 million just in the U.S., making it the highest-grossing Japanese film and the fifth highest-grossing foreign language film in U.S. history. Today, director Takasi Yamazaki can revel in another exciting achievement; the 96th Academy Award nominations became public this morning, granting the film a nomination in the Best Visual Effects category. 

This is the first film in the franchise to be recognized as a nominee by the Academy and the first Japanese language film to be nominated in this category. The crew gathered to await the news and snapped a photo upon discovering their achievement. Yamazaki captioned the photo, “We did it!!!!!” on X (formerly known as Twitter).

やりました！！！！！ pic.twitter.com/Mhc0gUskqJ

— 山崎貴　Takashi Yamazaki (@nostoro) January 23, 2024

The official Godzilla accounts posted a video of the director saying a heartfelt thank you to audiences for their support, featuring a small Godzilla figurine. 

#山崎貴 監督
アカデミー賞視覚効果賞ノミネートの喜びの声、そしてフォロワーの皆様へのメッセージです。#ゴジラマイナスワン #ゴジラ#GodzillaMinusOne pic.twitter.com/Sn6CpqLdwo

— 『ゴジラ-1.0』【大ヒット上映中】 (@godzilla231103) January 23, 2024

While still a surprise, there was speculation the film would earn a spot in the category after an inside look at the team’s work was released. Impressively, only 35 people worked on the film’s effects, and their budget was a drop in the bucket compared to their competition in the category. Typically, the award for this category goes to the VFX or special effects supervisor, but with such a small team, Yamazaki himself is up for the honor. The last director nominated for Best Visual Effects was Stanley Kubrick in 1968 for 2001: A Space Odyssey.  

The crew had the work cut out for them in securing a nomination this year. The film is up against The Creator, Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One, Society of the Snow, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. No matter the outcome, Yamazaki and the visual effects team have much to be proud of today.