Christopher Nolan and his ties with the Oscars have always been a cause for nail-biting situations. Being a seasoned visitor of every award show, Nolan’s movies have always stirred a box office frenzy like none other. If one were to speak in numbers, he hails from a trailblazing ordeal whose films have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide. From his complex transactions with time and space to his intricate dealings with scientific theories, Nolan is currently one of the leading filmmakers of the 21st century.

Despite his eclipsing career and the hard-to-forget name he has made for himself, Oscar snubs have often been a part of his works. Therefore, let’s take a look at 6 Christopher Nolan masterpieces that fumbled for an Oscar win.

The Dark Knight (2008)

This follow-up to Batman Begins was his second progression to the crime city of Gotham with Christian Bale as the showrunner after Cillia Murphy fell a leg short in front of Bale’s “obvious choice”.Moving on to the movie, this was the first-ever project to use a technology that minimized CGI to an extent to inculcate high-resolution IMAX cameras. 

The 2008 movie reached the pinnacle of Nolan’s artistic merit as the film grossed over $1 billion worldwide, shattering many box office records of its contemporaries. Also, the gripping soundtracks from the movie by Hans Zimmer made quite a compelling case for the Oscars. Yet, despite 8 total nominations, the film won only two for Best Sound Editing and Best Supporting Actor.

The biggest setback was its nomination, not making it to the Best Picture, Best Director, and Original Score, which, in turn, led to major backlashes from the audience worldwide. Following the snub, in 2010, the Academy increased their best picture nominee from 5 to 10, largely coming to be known as “The Dark Knight Rule”. Shortly after the Dark Knight’s setback, a similar scenario unfolded for Dark Knight Rises.

Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The third and final Batman film from the belt of Christopher Nolan was his 2012 release, Dark Knight Rises. The Trilogy finale, which took the world on a journey of darker themes, also suffered a similar fate at the Academy Awards. After grossing over a billion dollars in ticket sales across the globe, the film became the highest-grossing Batman film as well as Nolan’s highest-grossing film to date.

Despite becoming the third highest-grossing movie of 2012 and worldwide critical acclaim, the movie did not receive any Oscar nominations, unlike its parent films. The greatest disappointment was the movie falling short even for Best Director, Original Score, and Visual Effects, even after nailing them. Although the film did not lead to any major nominations, it remains one of the top picks for a visual retreat for every DC fan. While this snub was quite an eye-opener for cinephiles, a bigger one already preceded in between.

Inception (2010)

Leonardo DiCaprio might be going neck-to-neck against Christopher Nolan’s favorite pick, Cillian Murphy, but in reality, it is less of DiCaprio vs. Murphy than Nolan’s favorite vs. Nolan’s favorite. Hence, when Nolan back in 2010, thought of bringing his preferred picks to create a masterpiece, not only did he succeed, but reached the zenith of his master strokes. Based on the activities of corporate espionage, the movie went neck-deep into the construction of “dream stealers”.

Nolan specifically chose not to shoot the films in 3D while also minimizing the usage of CGI for his dream sequences. His preference was for practical effects to maximize his in-camera efforts. While his efforts were truly admirable, the movie failed to grab a win for Original Screenplay. Furthermore, the original score was by Hans Zimmer, who despite being nominated for Original Score, lost it to The Social Network. The next snub, too, is as debatable as the others, if not more.

Interstellar (2014)

The science-fiction genius of Nolan was based on the scientific theories of Kip Thorne. Drafting his case for scientific objectivity, the movie garnered $733 million worldwide and became a skyrocketing success at the box office. Specifically lauded for its scientific accuracy, Interstellar’s original score was also a work of Hans Zimmer.

Following its successful theatrical run, it even secured 5 nominations but only won one for Best Visual Effects. Here too, the Best Director and Original Score miss sent fans in dismay. Furthermore, something indifferent also happened with Dunkirk.

Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk focuses on a timeline during the Second World War and embodies a triptych structure of storytelling. It depicts the Dunkirk evacuation through three perspectives- land, sea, and air. After grossing $565 million worldwide on a $100 million budget, it also became a reason for The Witcher creator to implement the strategy for her show. The movie is Nolan’s experimentation with lesser dialogue to maximize the sensory experience.

With one of the best ratings on IMDb and massive commercial success, Dunkirk received 8 Academy Awards nominations and also Nolan’s first Oscar nomination for Best Director. While there have been several conversations regarding Nolan’s Best Director nomination, most people could not believe Dunkirk was his first after giving so many reasons for the box office as well as a mind-freezing frenzy. And even after the nomination, the snub came with a stronger disbelief and consequent disappointment.

While this might look like a pattern now, the same was also true for his 2020 directorial, Tenet.

Tenet (2020)

After his decade-long brainstorming, Tenet was released in 2020 after his five years of screenplay work on it. Following three delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie raked the charts of box office mania as rapidly as it could grossing $363 million on a $200 million budget. Though it is probably Nolan’s first to underperform, the reasons do not allude to any shortcomings from the makers or actors but the social conditions that limit people from going out. 

The movie made use of Nolan’s scientific inclination with interesting takes on the second law of thermodynamics, Maxwell’s demon, the grandfather paradox, and Feynman and Wheeler’s Absorber Theory. The score was by Oscar-winning Ludwig Goransson. Despite receiving two Academy nominations and a win, its miss from Original Score did not sit well with fans. Despite all these snubs, Nolan’s Oppenheimer this year got the highest Oscar nominations with 13 nods. Keeping the movie’s winning streak in mind, the chances of Nolan too securing his first Oscar this year are really high. But that is to be seen on March 10th.

Do you think these Christopher Nolan will win an Oscar this year? Which Oscar snub is the most disappointing for you? Let us know in the comments below!