Film 05 / 13 · Directed by Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006)
The Prestige is Christopher Nolan's 2006 thriller about two rival magicians in Victorian London, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Adapted by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan from Christopher Priest's novel, it follows an obsession with one perfect trick and earned Oscar nominations for art direction and cinematography.
In London at the end of the 19th century, two young magicians work as assistants to the same illusionist. When a trick on stage goes fatally wrong, their friendship turns into a rivalry.
Robert Angier and Alfred Borden spend years sabotaging each other’s shows, each desperate to learn how the other performs his best illusion, and each willing to pay a higher price than the last.
Ratings
As of 11 November 2026- IMDb8.5/101.6M votesTop 250 · #42
- Rotten Tomatoes77%Tomatometer · 210 reviewsPopcornmeter 92%
- Metacritic66/100Metascore · 36 reviews
- Letterboxd4.31/5Average rating
- Kinopoisk8.5/10701K votesTop 250 · #37
Editor's score
Lars Ziegler · 6 November 20268.7/ 10Average of seven craft categories, each out of 10.
| Screenplay | 10 |
|---|---|
| Direction | 9 |
| Acting | 9 |
| Cinematography | 8 |
| Sound & music | 7 |
| Editing | 9 |
| Design | 9 |
How the ranking adds up
Total 68.7 / 100Facts
- World premiere
El Capitan Theatre, Los Angeles- Release (US)
- Runtime
- 130 min
- Genres
- Drama · Mystery · Science Fiction
- Based on
- The novel The Prestige by Christopher Priest
- Studios
- Newmarket Films, Syncopy
- Distributor
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures
- Budget
- $40 million
- Box office
- $109.7 million worldwide
$53.1 million domestic · $56.6 million international
Incl. re-releases · Box Office Mojo, 11 November 2026
Awards
Wikipedia, 11 November 2026| Ceremony | Won | Nominated |
|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 0 | 2 |
| BAFTA | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Globes | 0 | 0 |
Cast
Billing order- 01Hugh JackmanRobert Angier
- 02Christian BaleAlfred Borden
- 03Michael CaineCutter
- 04Scarlett JohanssonOlivia Wenscombe
- 05Rebecca HallSarah
- 06Andy SerkisAlley
- 07David BowieTesla
Key crew
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Screenplay
- Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
- Producers
- Emma Thomas, Aaron Ryder, Christopher Nolan
- Cinematography
- Wally Pfister
- Editing
- Lee Smith
- Music
- David Julyan
- Production design
- Nathan Crowley
Production notes
- 01
David Bowie plays the inventor Nikola Tesla. He turned the part down at first, and only agreed after Nolan met him in person.
- 02
Jonathan Nolan introduced his brother to Christopher Priest's 1995 novel while Memento was still on its publicity tour.
- 03
It was the last of four Nolan films scored by David Julyan, who had worked with him since Following.