Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors of the 21st Century. His reputation for incredible filmmaking has made him a recognizable and bankable household name. His name alone will gain the interest of general audiences, and no matter the content of the movie, crowds will typically come out in droves to see whatever the latest Christopher Nolan concoction will be. This is a rare position for a director to find themselves in these days, as even on-screen movie stars are becoming increasingly rare. Over the last decade or two, only a few other directors have attracted this level of audience interest.
Looking back on Nolan’s career, the moment when general audiences became aware of the director is clearly reflected in box-office receipts. Earlier in his career, Nolan was definitely making a name for himself among hardcore and niche filmgoers, but it was after the immense success of The Dark Knight that he achieved his legendary status among general audiences. However, that does not mean he failed to have box-office success prior to 2008. Nolan has had a lengthy career, and his 12th film, Oppenheimer, becoming one of the biggest movies of 2023.
Here’s how each of his films ranks by box office performance, from lowest to highest earner.
‘Following’ (1998)
$240,495 at the Box Office
It’s no surprise that Following is the lowest-grossing film of Nolan’s career, as it is also the director’s very first feature film. It’s a movie that is often forgotten or never even recognized by general audiences. The film was released in 1998 and was shown in only two theaters at a time in the United States. With a budget of only $6,000, Following was a film that Nolan chiefly made out of a passion for the craft and co-operation with his friends, who were also interested in filmmaking.
Considering its small theatrical release and even smaller budget, a box office gross of almost a quarter of a million dollars is actually pretty impressive for Following. A majority of that money came from international box office, where it grossed just over $192,000, compared to the $48,000 it made in the U.S. Much of this likely came from the U.K., considering Nolan hails from London, where he attended university and also filmed Following. Nolan’s debut film is the definition of an independent film, and it’s certainly worth viewing if you’re a fan of his work.
‘Memento’ (2000)
$40 Million at the Box Office
Memento was the modern filmmaker’s breakthrough into the film industry. It debuted at the Venice International Film Festival in 2000 before being given a wider release by the American film distributor Newmarket. In the United States, Memento grossed just over $25 million, and overseas it brought in an additional $14 million. With a budget of $9 million and a total box office haul of just under $40 million, Memento was certainly a step up from Following. The film eventually surpassed $40 million in 2020, following a limited release in South Korea.
Nolan was still establishing his name in the film industry, though, and Memento didn’t reach a mass audience right away. Even though it caught the attention of film enthusiasts and those in the industry who were starting to notice Nolan, Memento was far from the heights his career would reach. It was given a 500-theater release in the US in 2001 (for comparison, most wide releases these days are over 3,000 theaters). The biggest feather in Memento’s cap was its award recognition. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards. Dody Dorn was nominated for the film’s editing, while Christopher and his brother Jonathan Nolan were nominated for Memento’s screenplay.
‘The Prestige’ (2006)
$110 Million at the Box Office
Here’s the point in this box office ranking at which the order first deviates from the chronology of Nolan’s filmography. Although his follow-up to Memento was 2002’s Insomnia, it’s his fifth film, 2006’s The Prestige, that takes the next spot on the list. For die-hard Nolan fans, The Prestige is a favorite, with some people believing it is Nolan’s best film. The film was his first after the launch of his Dark Knight trilogy with Batman Begins in 2005. With an all-star cast that includes Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis, and David Bowie, The Prestige was certainly a success.
The film was distributed domestically by Buena Vista Pictures, a Disney subsidiary, where it grossed just over $53 million. Internationally, distribution was handled by the former frequent Nolan collaborator, Warner Bros. The Prestige grossed $56 million overseas, which brought its overall box office total to $109 million. Off a $40 million budget, that’s not too bad. The film was certainly a critical success and still has a dedicated cult following. The Prestige also received two Oscar nominations: one for Wally Pfister’s cinematography and the other for the art and set direction from Nathan Crowley and Julie Ochipinti.
‘Insomnia’ (2002)
$114 Million at the Box Office
Back to Nolan’s third film in his career, Insomnia generated a lot of interest as it was the director’s first follow-up to his breakout film, Memento. Since his last film had firmly established him in the industry, Nolan was able to bring in some big names for Insomnia. Specifically, the film was anchored by Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. The film is a heavy crime thriller, and, tonally, it is the least Nolan-like of the legendary filmmaker’s career. This is likely because it is the only film that he has directed in which he didn’t also have a screenwriting credit.
Insomnia was released in 2002 and was generally considered to be a solid follow-up to Memento. Though it didn’t receive any recognition from the Oscars that year, Insomnia was still praised for Nolan’s direction and the outstanding performances from its central cast. As for the box office, Insomnia saw some solid growth from Memento’s $40 million. It grossed $67 million in the US and $46 million internationally, bringing its total to just over $113 million.
‘Tenet’ (2020)
$365 Million at the Box Office
Tenet was the first major film to return to theaters after the pandemic. Theaters were just beginning to reopen, and Nolan was committed to preserving the theatrical experience. Warner Bros. needed some convincing to release the film so early in the pandemic, but Nolan eventually persuaded them. Tenet was originally set to release at the beginning of July 2020, but after several pandemic-related delays, it ultimately hit theaters internationally at the end of August and domestically at the beginning of September (Labor Day weekend).
Although some theaters were still closed, the film continued to play in over 2,900 theaters. It opened to a mere $20 million over the long holiday weekend in the US. However, with little else being released to compete with the film, Tenet had several months to rule the box office. Ultimately, it grossed just over $58 million domestically. Considering the circumstances, Tenet actually performed fairly well internationally. It ended up grossing just over $300 million overseas, bringing its global total to $365 million.
This international success was largely driven by China and Europe. Tenet performed better in China than in the US. In China, Tenet opened to almost $30 million and went on to gross $66 million. Elsewhere, it pulled in $25 million in Japan and $20 million (give or take) in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
‘Batman Begins’ (2005)
$373.7 Million at the Box Office
The success of Batman Begins at the box office is an exciting story. Although the movie is thoroughly a Christopher Nolan film, and looking back, it seems to compare well with the rest of the filmmaker’s canon, there’s also the added complication of it being a Batman movie. When Batman Begins was released, Christopher Nolan wasn’t yet the bankable name he is today. His most recent film was his third feature, 2002’s Insomnia. As such, the film’s box office performance was much more driven by the fact that it was a Batman movie rather than a new Nolan film.
As far as Batman movies go, Begins performed pretty well. While it didn’t reach the box-office heights of Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, it did surpass all three of the ‘90s sequels (Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin). Nolan’s first blockbuster outing was his most successful film yet, and it successfully revived the dormant Batman franchise with fresh and new creative vigor, while making actor Christian Bale the face of the Caped Crusader. The film grossed over $370 million worldwide, with $205 million from the US and Canadian markets and $165 million from overseas.
‘Dunkirk’ (2017)
$527 Million at the Box Office
Although Nolan largely moved into the world of epic blockbuster filmmaking after Batman Begins, he eventually returned to reality-based dramatic storytelling with Dunkirk. Upon its release, many people saw Dunkirk as Nolan’s first direct bid for award recognition. Despite his growing prestige and prior nominations for Memento and Inception, Nolan had yet to win an Academy Award. Ultimately, he would still be left wanting after Dunkirk. The film was nominated for two Oscars, Best Picture and Best Director, but Nolan still walked away empty-handed.
The film tells the real story of the Dunkirk Evacuation during the Second World War. Released in July 2017, Dunkirk did pretty solid business, which was largely fueled by Nolan’s name. At that point, he was already thoroughly established as a must-see director with a reputation for crafting compelling stories and visually striking films. Dunkirk opened with just over $50 million in the US, and would eventually grow to $188 million. With an international haul of $337 million, Dunkirk grossed $525 million worldwide.
‘Interstellar’ (2014)
$701.7 Million at the Box Office
2014’s Interstellar is probably the biggest example of Christopher Nolan’s box office draw at work. It is a nearly three-hour-long dramatic space epic with grand themes about love and humanity’s future. That’s not the kind of film that is haphazardly green-lit on a whim by studios these days, and it’s not something that is going to entice mass audiences by default. It was Nolan’s name and reputation that drove Interstellar to the stars. Without Nolan, the film would likely have struggled to find an audience.
Domestically, Interstellar performed pretty exactly on par with where Dunkirk would land three years later. It opened to $47 million and eventually grew to about $188 million in the US and Canada. Internationally, however, Interstellar was a much bigger hit than Dunkirk would be. The Matthew McConaughey-led space epic pulled in $489 million overseas, which brought its original theatrical total to $677 million. However, audience love for Interstellar has only continued to grow in the years since. As a result of various re-releases, specifically in China and South Korea in 2020 and in Australia in 2021, the film’s total box office haul has now grown to $716 million.
‘Inception’ (2010)
$837 Million at the Box Office
Although Nolan was certainly growing into a bigger-name director after his immense success with The Dark Knight, it was his 2010 film Inception that really established him as a legendary director. Up until Inception, Nolan had delivered two Batman films that resonated with general audiences, as well as other dramatic films such as Memento and The Prestige, which garnered him critical acclaim. It was with Inception, one of the greatest heist thrillers of the 21st century, that he really melded these two worlds of success.
Inception was Nolan’s passion project. He had been working on the script for nearly a decade. Although he had previously pitched the film to Warner Bros in the early 2000s, it wasn’t until he had proven himself on the big-budget Batman films that he was given the green light to make his complicated dream-based heist movie. In short, the film was a box-office home run. It dominated much of the cinematic zeitgeist in 2010 and was the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year. Inception grossed over $292 million domestically and $533 million internationally, which brought its total initial run to $826 million.
‘Oppenheimer’ (2023)
$958.8 Million at the Box Office
Expectations were always high for Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and it did not disappoint. Over the course of its theatrical run, it grossed over $900 million, overcoming blockbusters like Inception and Dunkirk to become the third-highest-grossing film in Nolan’s career. The story is a dive into the personal and psychological world of one of the most controversial historical figures in America, the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), who helped in developing the atomic bomb.
The movie’s wide success testifies to the dazzling performances of the cast and to Nolan’s genius in bringing together cinematic quality with massive commercial success and profit. Not only was the film a box office and critical success, but it had also emerged as the frontrunner at the Academy Awards. The film would finally give Nolan his deserved accolades, with Oppenheimer winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), among others.
Source link
Add Comment