One Of Christopher Nolan's Most Acclaimed Movies Was Only A Modest Box Office Hit

Christopher Nolan is far and away one of modern cinema's most celebrated filmmakers. Even viewers who hardly pay attention to the people behind the camera know his name — and they certainly know his movies. The man has been behind a number of massive hits, from top notch comic book fare like "The Dark Knight" to the war drama of "Dunkirk." Nolan can craft compelling originals in addition to working with established intellectual property, and his films also have a ridiculous track record of success. Collectively, the movies he's directed have made nearly $5 billion at the box office, and this summer's "Oppenheimer" will put it over the top. In short, he's a master of his craft.

But they can't all be $1 billion hits like "The Dark Knight." Even Nolan has managed to deliver a few more modest hits in his career, such as the 2006 sci-fi battle of the magical minds, "The Prestige." This film came at a time when Nolan's career was truly taking off, having just directed "Batman Begins." But what's interesting is that, for Nolan, a guy known for his blockbuster exploits, one of his most acclaimed original films was merely a modest success in its day.

Starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, "The Prestige" was liked in its day, certainly, but has since widely been embraced by fans of the filmmaker's work as one of his finest achievements. On IMDb, it carries a higher rating than "Dunkirk," "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight Rises," "Insomnia," "Following," and "Memento." Most of those were bigger hits, save for Nolan's low key early work with "Following" and "Memento," but the love for "The Prestige" is palpable. It's just fascinating that it also made nearly seven times less than "Inception" did at the box office.

It's worth remembering where Nolan was at during this point in his career. "Batman Begins" just became his biggest success, taking in $371 million worldwide. A hit, to be certain, but even "Tenet" ($363 million) made more worldwide at the height of a global pandemic. The relativity of the moment is very important. This was not yet the reliably bankable blockbuster auteur we've come to know and love. He was a guy who made a few mid-budget hits and one damn good superhero movie. But before circling back to Batman, he opted to make another smaller-scale original.

"The Prestige" is based on the novel by Christopher Priest and centers on two friends beginning to learn their art as magicians. Rupert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) become bitter enemies after a tragedy befalls them. They devote their lives to a rivalry that plays out in London over years, with things getting progressively twisted along the way. It was almost like Nolan with a side of M. Night Shyamalan.

Even with a lot of star power, including Scarlett Johansson in a supporting role and even David Bowie appearing as Nikola Tesla, this wasn't a movie with an obvious hook like a new take on Batman. Though Nolan is now a guy with expensive tastes, it's worth also pointing out that he was extremely reasonable in this case, with the film carrying a relatively modest $40 million budget. That very much worked in its favor, as it wasn't the only twisted movie about magic trying to get the attention of moviegoers that year.

Disney's Buena Vista was distributing "The Prestige" domestically (with Warner Bros. handling overseas), but the much smaller Yari Film Group Releasing had a not altogether dissimilar film coming around the same time in the form of "The Illusionist," which starred Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Directed by Neil Burger, his film actually was first out the gate in August of 2006. This is very important when it comes to looking at the financial performance for Nolan's film.

"The Illusionist" earned $87.8 million worldwide against a $16.5 million budget, including nearly $40 million from domestic ticket sales. Certain audiences had their fill of magical mystery movie by the time "The Prestige" arrived in October of 2006. Even so, Nolan's film performed better, taking in $109.6 million worldwide, with $53 million of that coming from North America. A modest success, given its budget.

But this is a key example of a movie living on well beyond its initial box office reception. If you were to ask 100 people which of these movies they've seen, dollars to donuts more of them have seen "The Prestige." Moreover, if you were to ask those who had seen both which they enjoyed more, it's probably not going to be remotely close. Nothing against "The Illusionist," but time has judged Nolan's expertly crafted revenge tale kindly.

Look, if you took a random poll of people's favorite Christopher Nolan movies, "The Dark Knight" is certainly going to come out on top. But there is an outsized amount of love for "The Prestige" when we compare that movie's box office to most everything else in the director's filmography. That says a lot, particularly when we're talking about a master craftsman with this many monster hits under his belt, and hopefully we have a new one arriving this weekend. 

"Oppenheimer" hits theaters on July 21, 2023.