Skip to content
ShowBuzzDramas · Movies · Shows
Menu
DramasMoviesUpcomingHollywoodBlockbustersShowsCelebritiesCelebrity newsFeaturesAboutContact

Director guide · November 2026

Christopher Nolan's movies in order: every film from Following to The Odyssey

Few directors can sell a film on their name alone. Christopher Nolan is one of them. Born in London in 1970, he went from a tiny-budget indie to some of the biggest films of the century, and he did it while asking audiences to follow puzzles about time, memory and identity. He has now directed 13 feature films. Here is every one in the order it came out, what makes each worth watching, and how his career got here.

The short version

Nolan studied English literature at University College London, where he met Emma Thomas. They married in 1997, run the production company Syncopy together, and she has produced all of his films. His early films built his reputation for clever structure. The Dark Knight trilogy made him a blockbuster director. Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk proved original ideas could fill cinemas too. After Tenet he left Warner Bros. for Universal, and his two films there, Oppenheimer and The Odyssey, have been the most successful of his career.

  1. 1. Following (1998)

    Starring: Jeremy Theobald

    Nolan's first feature was a tiny-budget London indie. A young writer starts following strangers and gets pulled into a criminal world. It is short and rough around the edges, but the twisting structure he became known for is already there.

  2. 2. Memento (2000)

    Starring: Guy Pearce

    The breakthrough. A man who cannot form new memories uses notes, photos and tattoos to hunt for his wife's killer, and the story is told largely backwards. It earned two Oscar nominations, including one for its screenplay, and made Nolan a name to watch.

  3. 3. Insomnia (2002)

    Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank

    His first studio film is a remake of a 1997 Norwegian thriller. A detective who cannot sleep under Alaska's midnight sun hunts a killer.

  4. 4. Batman Begins (2005)

    Starring: Christian Bale

    Nolan rebooted Batman by going back to his origin story and placing him in a grounded, realistic city. It was the start of what became The Dark Knight trilogy and of a long partnership with Warner Bros. on big-budget films.

  5. 5. The Prestige (2006)

    Starring: Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale

    Two rival magicians in Victorian London try to destroy each other in pursuit of the perfect trick. Based on a Christopher Priest novel and written with Jonathan Nolan, it is a favourite with fans who like a film that rewards a second viewing.

  6. 6. The Dark Knight (2008)

    Starring: Christian Bale and Heath Ledger

    The film that changed superhero movies. It passed $1 billion worldwide and won two Oscars, including a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for Heath Ledger as the Joker. When it missed a Best Picture nomination, the outcry is widely linked to the Academy's decision to expand that category.

  7. 7. Inception (2010)

    Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio

    A thief who steals secrets from people's dreams is hired to plant an idea instead. It grossed about $836 million worldwide and won four of its eight Oscar nominations: cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

  8. 8. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

    Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway

    Nolan's final Batman film closed the trilogy and became his second film to pass $1 billion worldwide, ending at about $1.08 billion.

  9. 9. Interstellar (2014)

    Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain

    Astronauts travel through a wormhole to find a new home for humanity. The science was shaped by physicist Kip Thorne. It won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and has become one of his most loved films, helped by later IMAX re-releases.

  10. 10. Dunkirk (2017)

    Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh

    A Second World War survival story about the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in France. It won three Oscars, for film editing, sound editing and sound mixing.

  11. 11. Tenet (2020)

    Starring: John David Washington and Robert Pattinson

    A spy thriller about objects and people moving backwards through time. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it became the first big Hollywood film to open in cinemas after they reopened, and it won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It was his last film with Warner Bros. after he disagreed with the studio's decision to release its 2021 films in cinemas and on streaming at the same time.

  12. 12. Oppenheimer (2023)

    Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon

    A biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the making of the atomic bomb, made with Universal Pictures. It grossed about $975 million worldwide and won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for Nolan, Best Actor for Cillian Murphy and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. They were Nolan's first Oscars.

  13. 13. The Odyssey (2026)

    Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o and Charlize Theron

    Nolan's take on Homer's epic poem follows Odysseus, king of Ithaca, on his long journey home after the Trojan War. It was released in July 2026 and was the first feature shot entirely with 70mm IMAX film cameras. By early November 2026 it had grossed about $1.8 billion worldwide, making it Nolan's biggest film and Universal's highest-grossing film ever.

The Oscars story

For years Nolan was known as the great director the Academy kept overlooking. His films won Oscars, mostly in technical categories such as visual effects, sound and editing, but he did not win one himself. That changed at the 2024 ceremony, when Oppenheimer won seven awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. Nolan and Emma Thomas, who produced the film, became only the second married couple to win it. Counting Oppenheimer, his films have won 18 Oscars in total.

Other honours followed. Nolan was knighted and Thomas was made a dame, and they received the honours from King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in December 2024. In September 2025 Nolan was elected president of the Directors Guild of America.

The box office story

Nolan's commercial peak used to be his Batman films, with The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises both passing $1 billion worldwide. Oppenheimer showed that a three-hour, adult historical drama could come close to that figure, and The Odyssey went well beyond it, at roughly $1.8 billion by early November 2026. Box office totals change as films are re-released, and different trackers report slightly different numbers, so treat these as rounded figures.

What makes a Nolan film

A few habits run through nearly all of his work. Time is rarely straight: Memento runs backwards, Inception stacks dreams inside dreams, and Tenet sends people in reverse. He prefers real sets, real stunts and real locations over computer effects wherever he can, and he is a strong supporter of shooting on film, especially large-format IMAX. He also likes to work with the same people again: his brother Jonathan co-wrote several of his films, and Emma Thomas has produced every one.

Where to start

If you are new to Nolan, start with The Dark Knight or Inception. Both are easy to enjoy on a first watch and show what he does best. If you like a puzzle, go to Memento and The Prestige next. For history, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer make a strong pair. And if you only want the big-screen experience, The Odyssey was built for IMAX. Streaming availability differs by country, so check the services in your region. For more, see our upcoming Hollywood movies and all-time blockbusters.

Sources