It’s always an ideal time to revisit one of Christopher Nolan’s films, but the arrival of his 12th movie, Oppenheimer, may have you reaching for the remote. The thriller about J. Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb,” debuted in theaters Friday (yes, alongside Greta Gerwig’s pink-adorned comedy Barbie) and has a score of 90 on Metacritic. There’s been plenty of buzz about its stunning list of stars and favoring of practical effects over CGI, and now people can see it in its three-hour entirety.
If you’ve already seen Oppenheimer (or plan to) and want to fill your time with prior Nolan projects, we’ve rounded up where you can find all 11. A good chunk are on streaming services you may already be subscribed to, and the rest you can rent for just a couple of bucks.
How to stream Christopher Nolan’s movies
Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is streaming on Max in the US. The service unites the Discovery Plus and the former HBO Max libraries, so it’s packed with content that would be familiar to Max subscribers, like DC Comics movies.
Max has one ad-supported subscription, which costs $10 per month. Its ad-free and ultimate ad-free tiers are $16 and $20 per month, respectively. Max doesn’t have a free trial, but it costs less to pay for a whole year upfront than it does to pay for 12 months one month at a time. You might also want to use a VPN to watch.
If you’re looking for a secure and dependable VPN, our Editors’ Choice is ExpressVPN. It’s fast, works on multiple devices, and provides stable streams. It’s normally $13 a month, but it currently costs less overall to go for a 12 month subscription, where each month shakes out to $8.32.
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our review of ExpressVPN.
The World War II drama and best picture Oscar nominee is available on two big streamers, Netflix and Max, in the US.
Like Max, Netflix offers one subscription with ads and a couple without them. Plans start at $7 per month and go up to $20 per month (or more with an extra user).
A handful of streaming services carry the space epic in the US. The most notable option is Prime Video, but if you’re subscribed to Paramount Plus or MGM Plus, you can watch on those services too.
Prime Video comes with a $15 per month ($139 per year) Amazon Prime membership or is available on its own for $9 per month. Paramount Plus’ cheaper subscription is $6 per month and comes with ads. Its other subscription removes ads and throws in Showtime, among other perks, but it’s pricier at $12 per month.
Finally, MGM Plus is ad-free and costs $6 per month or $50 if you pay annually. You can take advantage of free trials with all of these streamers.
Christopher Nolan’s first feature film is available on AMC Plus and Tubi, a free streaming service with ads. The 70-minute thriller is about a young man who spends his free time following strangers around and winds up going down a dark path.
AMC Plus’ ad-free service streams AMC as well as the complete collections of IFC Films Unlimited, Shudder and Sundance Now. A subscription costs $9 a month or $84 if you pay for a year upfront, and a 7-day free trial is available.
Available to rent
Now for the less thrilling news: all the Christopher Nolan movies that aren’t included with the streaming services you already pay for. Luckily, it costs between $3 and $4 to rent each of these films at services like Amazon and Vudu. Memento (2000) (SD) and Insomnia (2002) are in the $3 group, and if you pitch in one more dollar, you can rent The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and Tenet (2020).
Inception may be the first film you think of when it comes to Christopher Nolan’s catalog. Unfortunately, the iconic action sci-fi movie isn’t on any streaming services (though it was on Netflix not long ago). You’ll have to rent it for $4 at services like Amazon and Vudu.
How to watch with a VPN
Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream a Christopher Nolan movie on a service like Netflix or Max while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the movie from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming, too.
A VPN is the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and security standards.
You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list such as Surfshark or NordVPN.
Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation, and choose a country where your Nolan movie of choice will be streaming on a service like Max or Netflix. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you’re connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream your Nolan movie on more than one device, it’s possible you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you’re signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you’re ready to open the service to stream.
If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and you’ve picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access.
