Christopher Nolan Wins Best Director For Oppenheimer, His First Oscar In 26-Year Career

After years of nominations and no victories, Christopher Nolan has finally won his first Oscar for Best Director for Oppenheimer. The 2023 biographical thriller told the story of the eponymous theoretical physicist during the time of his creation of the atomic bomb in World War II, as well as his infamous fall from grace during his 1954 security hearing. Led by Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, Nolan’s latest directorial effort was one of the most talked-about movies of the year, setting multiple box office records and leading its Oscars competition with 13 nominations.

Now, near the tail-end of the ceremony, it was announced that Nolan had finally won his first Oscar for Best Director for Oppenheimer. The award was one of many in heated contention heading into the event as Nolan faced off against The Zone of Interest‘s Jonathan Glazer, Poor Things‘ Yorgos Lanthimos, Killers of the Flower Moon‘s Martin Scorsese and Anatomy of a Fall‘s Justine Triet. Nolan had previously held five nominations at the Oscars for Memento, Inception and Dunkirk.

Nolan’s Oscar Win Is Long Overdue

As noted prior, Nolan had landed various Oscar nominations before his Oppenheimer win, with his first coming in 2002 for Best Original Screenplay for his breakout hit thriller Memento. Interestingly, however, of his subsequent appearances at the awards ceremony, he had only been nominated for Best Director once prior for another World War II tale with 2017’s Dunkirk. His other nominations were for Best Picture for said movie as well as Inception, for which he had also landed a Best Original Screenplay nod.

Nolan isn’t the only iconic filmmaker who was overlooked multiple times for the Best Director win at the Oscars. Despite three such nominations, Quentin Tarantino has yet to take home said award, with his two wins being credited to Best Original Screenplay for Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds, with Spike Lee and Jordan Peele similarly enjoying wins for their writing while having yet to net a Best Director victory. Martin Scorsese has similarly seen only one Best Director win across 10 nominations in his acclaimed 62-year career.

Christopher Nolan’s long wait for a Best Director win at the Oscars also proves surprising when looking at his acclaimed filmography. Prior to Oppenheimer, which sits as his third-highest-reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes, the filmmaker has frequently landed on top 10 lists in the years his movies were released, particularly that of 2008’s The Dark Knight, which memorably sparked the discussion around superhero movies being considered for more than production-related awards. While it may have taken 22 years of nominations without victories, Nolan’s Oppenheimer win is well overdue and exciting for his future prospects.

Oppenheimer is available to stream on Peacock.