Inception

This article is about the 2010 film. For other uses, see Inception (disambiguation).

Inception
A man in a suit with a gun in his right hand is flanked by five other individuals in the middle of a street which, behind them, is folded upwards. Leonardo DiCaprio's name and those of other cast members are shown above the words "Your Mind Is the Scene of the Crime". The title of the film "INCEPTION", film credits, and theatrical and IMAX release dates are shown at the bottom.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChristopher Nolan
Written byChristopher Nolan
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyWally Pfister
Edited byLee Smith
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • July 8, 2010 (2010-07-08) (Odeon Leicester Square)
  • July 16, 2010 (2010-07-16) (United States and United Kingdom)
Running time
148 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States[2]
  • United Kingdom[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$160 million[3]
Box office$839 million[3]

Inception is a 2010 science fiction action heist film[4][5][6][7] written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.[8] The ensemble cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page,[a] Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, and Michael Caine.

After the 2002 completion of Insomnia, Nolan presented to Warner Bros. a written 80-page treatment for a horror film envisioning "dream stealers," based on lucid dreaming.[9] Deciding he needed more experience before tackling a production of this magnitude and complexity, Nolan shelved the project and instead worked on 2005's Batman Begins, 2006's The Prestige, and 2008's The Dark Knight.[10] The treatment was revised over six months and was purchased by Warner in February 2009.[11] Inception was filmed in six countries, beginning in Tokyo on June 19 and ending in Canada on November 22.[12] Its official budget was $160 million, split between Warner Bros. and Legendary.[13] Nolan's reputation and success with The Dark Knight helped secure the film's US$100 million in advertising expenditure.

Inception's premiere was held in London on July 8, 2010; it was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters beginning on July 16, 2010.[14][15] Inception grossed over $837 million worldwide, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2010. Considered one of the best films of the 2010s,[16] Inception won four Oscars (Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects) and was nominated for four more (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score) at the 83rd Academy Awards.


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  1. ^ "Inception". British Board of Film Classification. June 29, 2010. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Film: Inception". Lumiere. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Inception". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  4. ^ Blair, Iain (July 15, 2010). "A Minute With: Director Nolan talks about "Inception"". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2010. It's a pretty complex, large-scale action film about dreams that hopefully combines some of the things I've been interested in exploring in my smaller films — memory, perception — with some of the grand scale techniques that I've used in bigger films, like "The Dark Knight.
  5. ^ "WarnerBros.com – Inception". Warner Bros. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "INCEPTION". Collider. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "10 great heist films". BFI. September 14, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  8. ^ Eisenberg, Mike (May 5, 2010). "Updated 'Inception' Synopsis Reveals More". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hiscock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (June 30, 2010). "A Man and His Dream: Christopher Nolan and 'Inception'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2020. This is a film I first pitched to the studio probably nine years ago, and I wasn't really ready to finish it. I needed more experience in making a big movie.
  11. ^ Fleming, Michael (February 11, 2009). "Nolan tackles Inception for WB". Variety. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  12. ^ "Filming Locations – NolanFans". December 6, 2009. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  13. ^ Fritz, Ben (July 15, 2010). "Movie projector: 'Inception' headed for No. 1, 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' to open in third". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2020. It's also one of the most expensive, at $160 million, a cost that was split by Warner and Legendary Pictures.
  14. ^ Subers, Ray (July 16, 2010). "Weekend Briefing: 'Inception' Breaks In, 'Apprentice' Lacks Magic". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  15. ^ Peters, Jenny (July 14, 2010). "Partying for a Cause at the "Inception" Premiere". Fashion Wire Daily. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  16. ^ Dietz, Jason (November 18, 2019). "The Best Movies of the Decade (2010–19), According to Film Critics". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.