"Mr. Nobody" had its world premiere at the 66th Venice International Film Festival on 12 September 2009, where it won the Biografilm Award and the Golden Osella for Outstanding Technical Contribution. It received 10 minutes of applause at its premiere at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and has a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes It received seven Magritte Award nominations, winning Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Editing. It also won the André Cavens Award and the People's Choice Award for Best European Film at the 23rd European Film Awards. "Empire" called it "a bit of a mess" but "a cult movie in the truest sense of the word".