Who Are The Most Successful Directors In Hollywood
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- 10-05-2022
Measuring a director's success in the film industry can be done in various ways, such as checking the box-office records, the number of successful films, the highest-grossing films, or cult-classic status. Below we list the most successful and highest-grossing directors, from the esteemed Steven Spielberg to the wonderfully unique Tim Burton.
Using the measures mentioned, important information is used to determine the director's level of success and list the highest-grossing directors of all time. Other less successful but equally important directors may not be included in this list, although this doesn't minimise their success.
1. Steven Spielburg Total Worldwide Box-Office: $10,606,851,698 Number of Films directed: 37 Highest-grossing movie: Jurassic Park ($1.034 Billion)
Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential and highest-grossing directors of all time, directing over thirty-seven films and producing over $10 Billion in Box-Office sales during his career spanning a total of six decades (1959 –present).
The original Jurassic Park (1993), now the first of six franchised movies, smashed records, currently sitting at thirty-first in the top lifetime grossing list, bringing in over $1.034 Billion at the box office from a total budget of $63 Million.
2. the Russo brothers Total Worldwide Box-Office: $6,842,882,738 Number of Films directed: 7 Highest-grossing movie: Avengers: Endgame ($2.798 Billion)
Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo are collectively known as 'The Russo brothers' and are directors most recognised for their work for Marvel. Collectively they have directed seven movies, four of which are epic box-office smash hits from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU); these include; Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The brothers' highest-grossing film is Avengers: Endgame, earning a total of $2.798 Billion at the box office worldwide and providing a satisfying end to the epic Marvel Infinity Era. The final Avengers movie came to place on the top lifetime grossing list, with only Avatar (2009) topping the epic finale movie.
3. Peter Jackson Total Worldwide Box-Office: $6,533,891,430 Number of Films directed: 15 Highest-grossing movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.142 billion)
Peter Jackson is best known for his outstanding work in the Lord of the Rings cinematic universe, producing and directing all three of the films from one of the most successful franchises of all time.
Jackson also directed epic films like King Kong (2005) and more recent Mortal Engines (2018), the first winning three miscellaneous Oscars. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is Jackson's highest-grossing film making over $1.1 Billion in box-office sales and reaching the twenty-fifth place in the top lifetime grossing list.
4. Michael Bay Total Worldwide Box-Office: $6,443,668,115 Number of Films directed: 16 Highest-grossing movie: Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1.124 billion)
Micheal Bay is one of the highest-grossing directors of all time, with his film Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) earning a total of $1.124 billion and reaching the twenty-eighth place on the highest-grossing film list.
Throughout his career, Bay has directed 16 movies and earnt a total of $6 Billion in worldwide box office sales. Another cult classic, Armageddon (1998), grossed over $553 million worldwide, being the highest-grossing film of the year at that time.
5. James Cameron Total Worldwide Box-Office: $6,291,648,202 Number of Films directed: 14 Highest-grossing movie: Avatar ($2.847 billion)
Although James Cameron comes third in our most successful directors list, his highest-grossing movie: Avatar (2009), tops the lifetime grossing list, earning over $2 Billion, remaining in the first place since its release almost ten years ago! Avatar's long-awaited sequel is set to be released this year (2022), with it likely to be another great success at the box office if it's anything like the original.
Another cult classic directed by Cameron is the heartbreaking story of Titanic (1977), which reached spot number three on the lifetime grossing list, bringing in a total of $2,201,647,264 since its release. Undoubtedly these achievements solidify James Cameron as one of the most successful and highest-grossing film directors of all time.
6. David Yates Total Worldwide Box-Office: $5,968,961,483 Number of Films directed: 8 Highest-grossing movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($1.342 billion)
Yates' highest-grossing film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, comes fourteenth in the top lifetime grossing list, earning a total of $1.342 Billion and placing thirty-three spots higher than any other Harry Potter movie.
Yates has directed eight movies during his three-decade career, four being the last films of the Harry Potter cinematic world, three being Fantastic Beast films: a spin-off from the wizarding world, and the last film being The Legend of Tarzan (2016). Collectively, the films directed by Yates have brought in a total of almost $6 billion worldwide box-office sales.
7. Christopher Nolan Total Worldwide Box-Office: $4,960,223,973 Number of Films directed: 13 Highest-grossing movie: The Dark Knight Rises ($1.084 billion)
Christopher Nolan has directed thirteen movies during his career, with his top-grossing film, The Dark Knight Rises (2012), landing in place thirty-two on the lifetime grossing list, bringing in a total of $1.084 Billion worldwide from a $250 million budget.
His other notable movies include the mind-bending Inception (2010), which won four Academy Awards, becoming Nolan's most awarded film, and the epic space film Interstellar (2014), which was respectively nominated for five Oscars winning one.
8. J. J. Abrams Total Worldwide Box-Office: $4,649,045,992 Number of Films directed: 6 Highest-grossing movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.068 billion)
Since the start of his career in 1982, J.J. Abrams has directed only six films. His highest-grossing movie was Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), earning over $2 billion in profits and coming fourth on the top lifetime grossing list. Other well-known films directed by Abrams include Mission Impossible III (2006) and Super 8 (2011).
9. Tim Burton Total Worldwide Box-Office: $4,413,226,120 Number of Films directed: 19 Highest-grossing movie: Alice in Wonderland ($1.025 billion)
Tim Burton is one of the few directors who are a household name infamous for his dark, weird and wonderful films from cult-classic Mars Attacks! (1996) to spooky favourite Beetlejuice (1988). Since the start of his film career in 1971, Tim Burton has directed nineteen films, from Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) to the most recent Dumbo (2019) and accumulated over $4 Billion in box-office sales.
Burton's highest-grossing film is Alice in Wonderland (2010) brought in just over $1 billion, bringing his total to over $4 Billion in box-office sales.
10. Ridley Scott Total Worldwide Box-Office: $4,365,264,838 Number of Films directed: 31 Highest-grossing movie: The Martian ($630 million)
Ridley Scott has directed over thirty-one films during his five-decade spanning career. The number of films directed is considerably high compared to other directors, apart from the incredibly influential director Steven Steilberg (37).
Scott's highest-grossing film is the Sci-fi masterpiece, The Martian (2015), which placed in the low 100's of the lifetime grossing list and earned a total of $630 million at the box office. Scott has been responsible for directing some classic films, such as Thelma & Louise (1991) to Alien (1979), and more recent hits like House of Gucci (2021).
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