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Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked, From Following to Oppenheimer
Every Christopher Nolan film ranked, from Memento and The Dark Knight to Interstellar and Oppenheimer, plus where The Odyssey fits.
DailyMovieHub TeamEditorial team3 min read
Christopher Nolan makes big, puzzle-like films that play with time and reward a second viewing. Ranking them is hard because even his "weakest" films are better than most blockbusters.
Here is our ranking of his feature films, from our favourite down. His newest film, The Odyssey (2026), is listed at the end: we'll rank it once it has had time to settle.
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
★ 8.52h 32mAction · Thriller · CrimeEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger
Batman faces the Joker, an enemy who only wants chaos. It is a superhero film that plays like a crime epic, and Heath Ledger's Joker won a posthumous Oscar. Nolan's best, and one of the best films of its decade.
2. Inception (2010)
★ 8.42h 28mAction · Science Fiction · CrimeEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
A team of thieves breaks into people's dreams to plant an idea. Layer after layer of dreams, a famous spinning top, and an ending people still argue about.
3. The Prestige (2006)
★ 8.22h 11mDrama · Mystery · Science FictionEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale
Two rival magicians in Victorian London destroy each other in pursuit of the perfect trick. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in his most rewatchable puzzle box.
4. Memento (2000)
★ 8.21h 53mMystery · ThrillerEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
A man who can't form new memories hunts his wife's killer using notes and tattoos. The story is told backwards, so you know as little as he does. The film that made Nolan's name.
5. Interstellar (2014)
★ 8.52h 49mAdventure · Drama · Science FictionEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway
Astronauts travel through a wormhole to find humanity a new home, while a father races time to return to his daughter. Huge, emotional and scientifically ambitious. See our movies like Interstellar list.
6. Oppenheimer (2023)
★ 8.03h 1mDrama · History · WarEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy leads, and the film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Nolan's first for Best Director.
7. Dunkirk (2017)
★ 7.51h 47mWar · Action · HistoryEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy
The 1940 evacuation of Dunkirk, told on land, sea and air across three different timelines. Barely any dialogue, almost unbearable tension.
8. Batman Begins (2005)
★ 7.72h 20mDrama · Crime · ActionEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine
Bruce Wayne's journey to becoming Batman. It rebooted superhero films with a grounded, serious tone.
9. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
★ 7.82h 45mAction · Crime · ThrillerEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Christian Bale, Gary Oldman
Eight years after The Dark Knight, Batman returns to face Bane. A big, satisfying ending to the trilogy, even if it can't match the middle chapter.
10. Insomnia (2002)
★ 7.01h 58mThriller · Crime · DramaEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams
A sleep-deprived detective investigates a murder in an Alaskan town where the sun never sets, and makes a fatal mistake. Al Pacino and Robin Williams in a remake of a Norwegian thriller.
11. Tenet (2020)
★ 7.22h 30mAction · Thriller · Science FictionEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson
A secret agent learns to move through "inverted" time to stop a global catastrophe. Spectacular action, but the most confusing film he has made. Turn on subtitles.
12. Following
★ 7.11h 9mDrama · ThrillerEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw
A broke young writer starts following strangers around London, and gets caught up with a burglar. Shot in black and white on a tiny budget, it shows every idea Nolan would later make huge.
Not ranked yet: The Odyssey (2026)
★ 8.02h 53mAdventure · Action · FantasyEnglish
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland
Nolan's adaptation of Homer's ancient epic, with Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway. It is still new, so we're leaving it out of the ranking for now.
How we ranked
We weighed how well each film holds up on rewatch, its ambition and how much it still gets talked about. Your order will be different, and that's the fun of it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Christopher Nolan's best movie? Most fans pick The Dark Knight, Inception or Interstellar.
What order should I watch the Batman films in? Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, then The Dark Knight Rises.
Which Nolan film is the most confusing? Tenet, followed by Inception.
Ratings, runtimes and streaming availability come from TMDB and JustWatch and update automatically. Availability differs by country.