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15 Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

There have been some really incredible movies in the history of cinema and there have been a lot of movies in the history which have broken a lot of records related to the money they earned at the box-office but we usually have the name of those movies in our minds and not the name of man behind the vision of that movie. Yes, we are talking about the directors of the movies behind those masterpieces who have been there in the history. So, today we are going to talk about 15 directors who have been part of some legendary movies which made them the highest grossing directors in the world and in the history of cinema:

 15. Gore Verbinski:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

We all know that he is famous for the movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ but not many know this that before taking on this risky project he gained a lot of respect because of the reason that it was his idea and dedication which managed to bring really enjoyable adventure-action genre mishmash which was the reason that Walt Disney Studios came in the line of blockbuster field and also there weren’t any real competitors at that time in front of them. If we talk about the combined sum of three Pirates series then the sum is around $2.7 billion worldwide and it’s simply huge and incredible.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like, MouseHunt (1997), The Mexican (2001), The Ring (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), The Lone Ranger (2013), A Cure for Wellness (2016).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic collection: $1,529,314,174

International collection: $2,136,281,835

Worldwide Total: $3,665,596,009

Average collection (from 12 movies): $305,466,334

 14. Pierre Coffin:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

We have to say that Pierre Coffin is one of the most talented and an example of a remarkable success in this list as he has directed four films only till now and with the help of these four films only he has the highest per-average gross in the list. All four films have been of same franchise and as we all know that ‘The Despicable Me’ franchise is on the 15th spot of being the highest grossing franchises of all-time.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Also, he has played a really important role in making Illumination Entertainment what it is today and also it is the very first and only animated franchise out there which have two of its films grossing more than a sum of $1 billion all over the world. Also, the man is an animator and has also given his voice for many characters in the movie, Minions. The director has directed movies like Despicable Me (2010), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Minions (2015), Despicable Me 3 (2017).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,220,249,440

International Collection: $2,493,516,331

Worldwide Total: $3,713,765,771

Average Collection (from 4 movies): $928,441,443

 13. Roland Emmerich:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

There will be many readers out there who’ll be in shock after seeing this name but readers who aren’t young will surely know that the man has been part of some really tremendous blockbusters despite being involved in some big disastrous movies. The German filmmaker has delivered some movies which will never be forgotten for the impact they created or had on the lives of people. My personal favorite is his movie ‘2012’ which is for me still one of the best movies in order to show the end of the world.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Universal Soldier (1992), Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 10,000 BC (2008), 2012 (2009), White House Down (2013), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,292,215,661

International Collection: $2,568,866,193

Worldwide Total: $3,861,081,854

Average (from 16 movies): $241,317,616

 12. Joe And Anthony Russo:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Hello, Marvel fans! Well, I know a huge smile has come on the faces of all the Marvel fans out there as Russo Brothers have simply taken the Marvel Studios to another level by their excellence in direction. But, the duo was already quite famous before taking the job at Marvel Studios as they’ve shown their magic while working on Community and in movies like Welcome to Collinwood and You, Me and Dupree.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

These two brothers have been the first choice for the people at Marvel Studios because of the success ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ movie has had worldwide as it has registered itself as the 3rd highest grossing movie of all-time and with Avengers: Endgame coming up next, it seems like they’re going to jump some places up in the list for sure.

The directors have directed movies like Welcome to Collinwood (2002), You, Me and Dupree (2006), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,422,448,799

International Collection: $2,571,651,731

Worldwide Total: $3,994,100,530

Average (from 5 movies): $798,820,106

 11. Tim Burton:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

We have to say that Tim Burton is right up there with one of the directors who have their very own distinctive visual style with which they have been entertaining audiences for some years now. The man is the reason why we saw Batman on the big screen back in 1989 and also the one who started the trend of remakes or reboots at Disney with which they’re earning huge money nowadays and also coming up with Dumbo in 2019 which is another example of the remake tradition he started with the movie ‘Alice in the Wonderland’ which was a tremendous hit at the box-office.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed the movies like Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Dark Shadows (2012), Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,837,026,476

International Collection: $2,222,021,663

Worldwide Total: $4,059,048,139

Average (from 19 movies): $213,634,113

 10. Chris Columbus:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The man has delivered a lot of great movies over the years and some of them are really great in terms of cinematic adventure and it’s really hard to find any kind of loophole in the techniques of this man. Also, the man is still called as one of the vital reasons behind the success of the Harry Potter franchise because the very first two films he directed, created very strong pillars for the success of this franchise.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rent (2005), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Pixels (2015).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,749,668,269

International Collection: $2,342,958,201

Worldwide Total: $4,092,626,470

Average (from 16 movies): $255,789,154

 9. Ridley Scott:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

It’s really hard to digest the fact that Alien (1979) was the second movie Ridley Scott has directed because the movie was simply incredible and is the reason why he becomes really popular in the film industry and everyone wants to take him in the center of their projects because of his great command in direction. Not many knew this but Ridley has won a lot of awards for making some incredible commercials before entering into the world of movies. The man has given us some really incredible movies and seems to be getting into some really interesting projects for the future and we literally hope that he never stop making films.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Legend (1985), Thelma and Louise (1991), G.I, Jane (1997), Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), American Gangster (2007), Robin Hood (2010), Prometheus (2012), The Martian (2015), Alien: Covenant (2017).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,660,578,335

International Collection: $2,458,577,718

Worldwide Total: $4,119,156,053

Average (from 27 movies): $152,561,335

 8. Ron Howard:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Well, I know not many of you find Ron Howard kind of a cool director and it’s quite simple to understand as we all know that he is one of the directors who still believes in studio film-making and also being able to use a variety of different genres while shooting. Well, I don’t think I have to say much about him as his movies defines him better but still there one thing which I want to say and that is he has directed a lot of comedies, dramas of mid-budget, some blockbusters even, and is a name which comes in mind when someone wants safe hands for their respective project.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Splash (1984), Cocoon (1985), Willow (1988), Parenthood (1989), Apollo 13 (1995), The Grinch (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Frost/Nixon (2008), Angels and Demons (2009), Inferno (2017), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $2,100,425,360

International Collection: $2,183,951,402

Worldwide Total: $4,284,376,762

Average (from 27 movies): $158,680,621

 7. Robert Zemeckis:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The success of Back to the Future movie is the reason why Zemeckis is considered as one of the most prominent directors of the industry. The man has won an Oscar and after saying that I don’t think I have to say much in the context of this man rather than the man is a huge lover of technological advancements in film-making and always tries his best in order to bring something new in front of the viewers by using some amazing concepts which are sometimes beyond our visions.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Romancing the Stone (1984), Back to the Future Trilogy (1985-1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), Flight (2012), The Walk (2015), Allied (2016).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $2,090,823,381

International Collection: $2,224,142,270

Worldwide Total: $4,314,965,651

Average (from 20 movies): $215,748,283

 6. Christopher Nolan:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The man is regarded as one of the greatest directors of all-time because of so many reasons but many find Nolan as the man behind kicking-off the greatness of a character like Batman again. We have also seen him landing Dunkirk in front of us last year and the movie saw him getting Oscar nominations for the Best Director Academy Award. The man has some really big movies in his name.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Memento (2000), Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017).

Domestic Collection: $2,003,488,880

International Collection: $2,699,814,237

Worldwide Total: $4,703,303,117

Average (from 11 movies): $427,573,011

 5. David Yates:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The man is simply famous and popular with the movies of the Harry Potter franchise. Also, he is the man who was one the top of the list when the names were called out for the direction of ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. The man is simply the master of representing magic on the big screen and there’s nothing more to say about this man other than saying that he is the man behind the success of Wizarding franchise in the world.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2 (2010-2011), The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Domestic Collection: $1,754,789,615

International Collection: $4,021,028,910

Worldwide Total: $5,775,818,525

Average (form 8 movies): $721,977,316

 4. James Cameron:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Well, the name you’re reading right on top of this line is the name of a director who has directed two movies which are the two highest grossing movies of all time and I don’t think I have to say a lot now as everybody knows that we are talking about a director who has given this world a lot of great movies to cherish for generations to come. Well, there are reports that we are going to have some more Avatar movies in the coming years and no wonder we are going to see Cameron’s magic again on the big screen soon.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009).

Domestic Collection: $1,973,102,841

International Collection: $4,249,295,623

Worldwide Total: $6,222,398,464

Average (from 14 movies): $444,457,033

 3. Michael Bay:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The man is known as a ‘money-making’ machine because he has delivered some really successful movies in front of the fans over the years. The man is really famous for bringing the Transformers on the big screen with a supreme fan following and also Bay is really tremendous in bringing the true meaning of action on the big screen.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed a lot of movies like Bad Boys (1995), The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), Bad Boys II (2003), The Island (2005), Transformers series (2007-2017), 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016).

Domestic Collection: $2,326,279,619

International Collection: $4,117,369,966

Worldwide Total: $6,443,649,585

Average (from 14 movies): $460,260,685

 2. Peter Jackson:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Yes, we are talking about the man behind the series of Lord of the Rings and also the maker of some really good movies down the years. But, the man has some financial losses in his name which has been nothing more than just some kind of small dots on his career as he has been such a big and great director. Surely, people of the coming generation going to talk about the movies under the series of Lord of the Rings and when they’ll ask about the man behind all these movies. There will be the name of Peter Jackson forever.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Bad Taste (1987), Meet the Feebles (1989), Braindead (1992), Heavenly Creatures (1994), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003), King Kong (2005), The Lovely Bones (2009), The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014).

Domestic Collection: $2,134,466,451

International Collection: $4,421,062,022

Worldwide Total: $6,555,528,473

Average (from 13 movies): $504,271,421

 1. Steven Spielberg:

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

Well, the man who got rejected from the film school three times is the man who is the highest grossing director in the history of cinema and is also one of the revolutionary directors of all-time. The man simply inspired a lot of directors in the world both currently working in the industry or the ones who are trying to make their way in the industry. The man has won Oscars for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. Well, even the name of his film is enough to tell the greatness of this man.

Highest Grossing Directors At The Box Office

The director has directed movies like Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The Color Purple (1985), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Jurrasic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), War of the Worlds (2005), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Ready Player One (2018).

Domestic Collection: $4,533,846,204

International Collection: $6,006,301,861

Worldwide Total: $10,540,148,065

Average (from 36 films): $292,781,891

Well, I have to say that the list is really interesting and simply is a reminder that these are the names about which the future generation is going to ask a lot of things from their fathers and grandfathers. So, it’s time to watch every movie of all these great and exceptional minds out there.

Which director is your favorite one from these 15 in the list above? Tell us in the comments section below.

Rishabh Naudiyal

"Writing is one of my strengths and all I can say is that I observe things and try my best in order to convert them into words without the pressure of satisfying people's demands."
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