-Chris-: Inception

Directed by	Christopher Nolan
Produced by	Christopher Nolan Emma Thomas Kanjiro Sakura (Japan) Yoshikuni Taki (Japan)
Written by	Christopher Nolan
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Ken Watanabe Joseph Gordon-Levitt Marion Cotillard Ellen Page Cillian Murphy Tom Hardy Dileep Rao Tom Berenger Michael Caine
Music by	Hans Zimmer^[1]
Cinematography	Wally Pfister
Editing by	Lee Smith
Studio	Legendary Pictures Syncopy Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	July 8, 2010(London premiere) July 16, 2010(United States)
Running time	148 minutes^[2]
Country	United States
Language	English

Inception is a 2010 science fiction film, written, co-produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film features an ensemble cast starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a specialized spy or corporate espionage thief. His work consists of secretly extracting valuable commercial information from the unconscious mind of his targets while they are asleep and dreaming. Unable to visit his children, Cobb is offered a chance to regain his old life in exchange for an almost impossible task: "inception", the planting of an idea into a target's subconscious.

Development began roughly nine years before Inception was released. In 2001, Nolan wrote an 80-page treatment about dream-stealers, presenting the idea to Warner Bros. The story was originally envisioned as a horror film, inspired by concepts of lucid dreaming and dream incubation.Feeling he needed to have more experience with large-scale films, Nolan opted to work on Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight. He spent six months polishing up the script for Inception before Warner Bros. purchased it in February 2009. Filming spanned six countries and four continents, beginning in Tokyo on June 19, 2009, and finishing in Canada in late November of the same year.

Inception was officially budgeted at $160 million, a cost that was split between Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Nolan's reputation and success with The Dark Knight helped secure the film's $100 million in advertising expenditure. Inception premiered in London on July 8, 2010, and was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters on July 16, 2010. A box office success, the film grossed over $21 million on its opening day, with an opening weekend gross of $62.7 million. Overall, Inception has grossed over $800 million worldwide and is currently one of the highest-grossing films of all time.In addition to strong box office results, Inception has also grossed $68,644,403 in DVD sales.

Inception received wide critical acclaim, with numerous critics praising it for its originality, cast, score, and visual effects. The film received eightAcademy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and won four awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.