All 12 Christopher Nolan movies, ranked
Oppenheimer won him an Oscar, but is it really his best movie?
Christopher Nolan landed his first ever Oscar in March 2024, winning Best Director as part of Oppenheimer's multiple Oscar wins.
It was his second nomination for Best Director, following Dunkirk, but is Oppenheimer really the best movie of Nolan's career to date? The one that was most worthy of winning him his Oscar, and also all those other awards?
Since we've got a while to wait to find out how Nolan will follow up his record-breaking biopic, we thought we'd take a look back at his career to date to rank all of his 12 movies.
It's not easy to order Christopher Nolan's movies from worst to best, given some of them are among the best movies of the last twenty years. Also, Nolan's movies have a common ability to always surprise viewers, usually thanks to time-twisting stories that are never what they seem.
That's true for his latest movie Oppenheimer, a huge box-office hit that has arguably been the most talked-about of his career to date, even ahead of his excellent Batman trilogy. It grossed nearly $1 billion at the box office worldwide and, as well as the Oscars, has won numerous awards.
The three-hour biopic about the life of J Robert Oppenheimer is Nolan's third highest-grossing movie ever, behind only The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
But enough about the box office. The only ranking we care about is the quality of the movies.
So in light of Oppenheimer's success, we've taken on the frankly impossible task of ranking all 12 of Nolan's movies from worst to best. (When it comes to Nolan, it's more from 'good' to 'masterpiece', if we're being honest.)
We know you'll almost definitely disagree with this list, but hey, that's the fun of cinema.
Insomnia (2002)
Remaking the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, Insomnia follows Al Pacino as a sleepless detective trapped in an Alaskan town until he can solve a harrowing murder.
It's Nolan's third outing, and after two indie movies, Nolan credits Insomnia as the one that helped him transition into blockbusters.
It's not a perfect movie, but an easy highlight is the usually comedic Robin Williams' portrayal of a disturbed killer.
Watch now: ITVX | Ratuken TV (with ads)
Following (1998)
As his directorial debut, Nolan owes a lot to Following. Despite being shot on a budget of just $6,000 and being stitched together while Nolan worked full-time, it shows his early promise and neatly cues him for Memento.
Centred on a writer known only as "The Young Man", Following 'follows' him as he stalks strangers on the streets of London and robs them so they'll appreciate what they have.
Think Saw, but without the bloodshed.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Rounding out Nolan's acclaimed Batman trilogy was never going to be easy post-The Dark Knight, and sadly, The Dark Knight Rises is more remembered for the controversy surrounding Tom Hardy's vocals than the movie itself.
Still, with standout performances from the likes of Michael Caine and Anne Hathaway, there are worse Batman movies out there.
Also, a near-perfect ending closes the door on Christian Bale's Dark Knight – hopefully not to return for the DCU's Multiverse.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Interstellar (2014)
Nolan reached for the stars with Interstellar, and what starts as another astronaut story with an all-star cast quickly descends into a typically Nolan-esque sci-fi that's harder to keep up with than quantum physics.
Earth is dying in the near future, forcing ex-NASA scientist John Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) to blast off once again in a bid to save humanity.
Giving us one of McConaughey's best performances, this is one of the loneliest space epics ever created.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Tenet (2020)
If you struggled to keep up with Inception, then good luck with Tenet.
Robert Pattinson and John David Washington lead this complicated tale of agents trying to save the world from a devastating attack. The idea of "time inversion" is a little too clever for its own good, meaning Tenet alienated even the most hardcore Nolanites.
Sadly, this technological marvel was marred by the pandemic and failed to hit the mainstream as some of Nolan's other works.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Inception (2010)
Boasting Nolan's most A-list cast yet, Inception was like nothing we'd seen before when it debuted in 2010. Helping boost Joseph Gordon-Levitt's career, he plays brilliantly alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as the tragic Dom Cobb.
This Bond-inspired heist movie delves into the psyche of Cillian Murphy's mark, and as we go deeper, each layer is richer than the last.
Delivering one of the most debated endings of all time, we're still talking about whether that totem stopped spinning.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Dunkirk (2017)
Remembered alongside war epics like Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk is probably the least Nolan movie in his catalogue.
Hitting the beaches of World War II, Dunkirk follows the famed 1940 evacuation on land, sea, and by air in three different timelines that offer up their own unique perspective.
Doing away with your typical tropes of a war movie, Dunkirk isn't afraid to get straight in there and hammer home the horrors of the war.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Batman Begins (2005)
Putting Christian Bale in the cape and cowl for the first time, Batman Begins ended the run of schlocky comic book movies of the early '00s to redefine the superhero origin story.
Restoring faith in the Dark Knight following Batman & Robin was no easy feat, but with Bale's Bruce Wayne channelling the darkness of Batman: The Animated Series, it defied expectations.
Also, opting for Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul as the villain instead of the Joker was a stroke of genius.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Oppenheimer (2023)
Combining the real-life history of Dunkirk and the theoretical physics of Tenet, Oppenheimer feels like the movie Nolan was always building to.
A dense three-hour biopic about J Robert Oppenheimer, aka "the father of the atomic bomb", it's a thrilling and thought-provoking watch with a never-better Cillian Murphy at its centre.
The movie's different timelines can be a bit confusing and Jean Tatlock's storyline is a bit questionable, but this is one of Nolan's best works.
Once watched, never forgotten.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
The Prestige (2006)
Seeing Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as a pair of warring magicians in Victorian London would be enough on its own, but throw in Michael Caine and an enigmatic performance from David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, and you're onto a winner.
Putting Nolan's stamp on Christopher Priest's 1995 novel, The Prestige leaves you guessing how the trick is done until the final second. We're used to Nolan twists, but this one has them by the bucketload.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Memento (2000)
As the one that put Nolan on the map, Memento has one of the most unique premises to ever grace cinema, telling most of its story in reverse.
Starring Guy Pearce as the dazed and confused Leonard, he has to piece his life together using his fractured memories and a Polaroid camera.
It's clear to see how Memento sets the stage for something like Tenet, and if it were made today, we can only imagine the blockbuster success it would have been.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
The Dark Knight (2008)
Arguably the best comic book movie of all time and one of the best movies of all time, even superhero haters are hard-pushed not to be wowed by The Dark Knight.
Christian Bale is joined by Aaron Eckhart showing the softer side of the villainous Two-Face, while Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon is another highlight.
Of course, who could forget Heath Ledger's legendary performance as the Joker? For the opening bank heist alone, Ledger more than earned his posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store
Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.
Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.
These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.
Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.
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