List of highest-grossing directors
The following is a non-definitive list of the all-time highest-grossing directors.[1]
indicates directors whose films are still playing in theaters around the world
Worldwide highest-grossing directors
| Rank |
Name |
Notable works |
Total worldwide box office |
|---|
| 1 |
Steven Spielberg |
Munich, War of the Worlds, War Horse, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, A.I., Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Hook, Always, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Empire of the Sun, The Color Purple, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Schindler's List, Lincoln |
$9.246 billion |
| 2 |
Peter Jackson |
Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, Forgotten Silver, The Frighteners, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, King Kong, The Lovely Bones, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies |
$6.518 billion |
| 3 |
James Cameron |
The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic, Avatar |
$6.139 billion |
| 4 |
Michael Bay |
Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, The Island, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Pain & Gain, Transformers: Age of Extinction |
$5.776 billion |
| 5 |
Christopher Nolan |
Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar |
$4.222 billion |
| 6 |
David Yates |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 |
$4.176 billion |
| 7 |
Robert Zemeckis |
I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Used Cars, Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump, Contact, What Lies Beneath, Cast Away, The Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol, Flight |
$4.062 billion |
| 8 |
Chris Columbus |
Adventures in Babysitting, Heartbreak Hotel, Home Alone, Only the Lonely, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Mrs. Doubtfire, Nine Months , Stepmom, Bicentennial Man, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rent, I Love You, Beth Cooper, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief |
$3.815 billion |
| 9 |
Gore Verbinski |
MouseHunt, The Mexican, The Time Machine, The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Weather Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Rango, The Lone Ranger |
$3.728 billion |
| 10 |
Tim Burton |
Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie, Big Eyes |
$3.653 billion |
References