‘Movies are just a little bit over a hundred years old ... we don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here’ — List of Christopher Nolan Oscar nominations, wins
Posted: July 2026
List of Oscar nominations for Christopher Nolan. Christopher Nolan has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards and won 2. Year indicates year/period for which films were eligible for awards consideration, not year of ceremony. Sources: Oscars.org, Internet Movie Database
WON: 2023: Oppenheimer (Best Picture) (shared with Emma Thomas, Charles Roven) — Other nominees: Poor Things (Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone), The Holdovers (Mark Johnson), Anatomy of a Fall (Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion), Killers of the Flower Moon (Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese, Daniel Lupi), American Fiction (Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson), Barbie (David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Robbie Brenner), Past Lives (David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler), Maestro (Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning, Kristie Macosko Krieger), The Zone of Interest (James Wilson)
WON: 2023: Oppenheimer (Best Director) — Other nominees: Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
2023: Oppenheimer (Best Adapted Screenplay) — lost to American Fiction (Cord Jefferson). Other nominees: Poor Things (Tony McNamara), Barbie (Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach), The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)
2017: Dunkirk (Best Picture) (shared with Emma Thomas) — lost to The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale). Other nominees: Get Out (Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Jordan Peele), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Martin McDonagh), Darkest Hour (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten, Douglas Urbanski), Call Me by Your Name (Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Marco Morabito), Lady Bird (Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill), The Post (Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger), Phantom Thread (JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, Daniel Lupi)
2017: Dunkirk (Best Director) — lost to Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water). Other nominees: Jordan Peele (Get Out), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread)
2010: Inception (Best Picture) (shared with Emma Thomas) — lost to The King’s Speech (Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Ellis-Unwin). Other nominees: True Grit (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin), The Fighter (David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg), Black Swan (Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin), Toy Story 3 (Darla K. Anderson), Winter’s Bone (Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan), 127 Hours (Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, John Smithson), The Kids Are All Right (Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Celine Rattray), The Social Network (Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ceán Chaffin)
2010: Inception (Best Original Screenplay) — lost to The King’s Speech (David Seidler). Other nominees: The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg), Another Year (Mike Leigh), The Fighter (Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington)
2001: Memento (Best Original Screenplay) (shared with Jonathan Nolan) — lost to Gosford Park (Julian Fellowes). Other nominees: Amélie (Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet), Monster’s Ball (Milo Addica, Will Rokos), The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson)
