Christopher Nolan first wrote an 80-page treatment about dream stealers in the early 2000s. He originally envisioned Inception as a horror film before deciding to rewrite it as a heist movie.
Principal photography began in Tokyo on the 19th of June 2009, during a helicopter flight scene over the city. The production moved to Cardington, Bedfordshire, where they built a hotel corridor that rotated 360 degrees to simulate zero gravity.
Cobb admits that he accidentally planted an idea in Mal's mind while they were trapped in Limbo together. This subconscious suggestion caused her to believe reality was still a dream and she eventually committed suicide by jumping from a window.
Warner Bros spent US$100 million marketing the film while maintaining strict secrecy about its plot details. They released an online prequel comic titled Inception: The Cobol Job before the movie premiered.
Inception grossed US$839 million worldwide during its theatrical run starting the 16th of July 2010. It debuted at number one on its opening weekend with a total of US$62.7 million collected across 3,792 conventional theaters.
The film won four Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. It received nominations for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Score at the 83rd Academy Awards.