Inception

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
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$160 million
Box office$839 million

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

After the completion of Insomnia in 2002, Nolan presented to Warner Bros. a written 80-page treatment for a horror film envisioning "dream stealers", based on lucid dreaming. Deciding he needed more experience before tackling a production of this magnitude and complexity, Nolan shelved the project and instead worked on Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), and The Dark Knight (2008). The treatment was revised over six months and was purchased by Warner Bros. in February 2009. Inception was filmed in six countries, beginning in Tokyo on June 19 and ending in Canada on November 22. Its official budget was US$160 million, split between Warner Bros. and Legendary. Nolan's reputation and success with The Dark Knight helped secure the film's $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. Inception grossed $839 million worldwide, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2010. Considered one of the best films of the 2010s, Inception, among its numerous accolades, 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. In 2025, the Library of Congress selected Inception for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".