Christopher Nolan’s Highly-Rated Classic Is Coming To HBO Max

Christopher Nolan’s famed psychological thriller is making its way to HBO Max next month. It was the director’s second feature film and earned him his first Oscar nomination. It was followed by critical and commercial success, despite being released as an independent film. 

Memento to stream on HBO Max in March

2001’s Memento will begin streaming on HBO Max from March 1, 2026.

The film centers on Leonard Shelby, who has anterograde amnesia after an attack that killed his wife, Natalie. It prevents him from forming new memories and uses tattoos, notes, and photographs to remind himself to hunt down John G, the man who he believes killed his wife.

Christopher Nolan directed the film and wrote the screenplay, which was based on his brother Jonathan Nolan’s short story titled “Memento Mori.” He conceived the idea while taking a psychology class at Georgetown University in 1996.

During an interview with IndieWire in 2009, The Dark Knight director revealed that his brother shared the concept while he was still working on the short story. The brothers ultimately decided to tell the story in their own way. “Me in film and him in a short story,” the director said.

Although it took years, their works eventually materialized. Despite sharing the same concept, the short story and the film are quite different. For example, the lead character’s name is Earl in the short, and he is confined to a mental institution. In contrast, the film’s Leonard operates from a motel.

Memento debuted at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and other film festivals, where it received a favorable reception. However, none of the Hollywood studios picked it up for distribution in the US. As a result, Newmarket distributed the film independently, which was its first-ever project.

The film opened to raving reviews and has an over 90% approval rating from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Furthermore, it surpassed $40 million at the global box office, despite a $9 million budget. The following year, it received Oscar nominations for Best Film Editing and Best Screenplay.

Source: Comingsoon.net