As much as people like to refer to the time period between the early and late 90s as the "Golden Age of Hollywood" and whatnot, the many meritious directors of the 21st century as simply in a league of their own as well. Various people of different ethnicities, races, and nationalities are engaging in the fine craft of filmmaking, bringing their visions to a wider audience. And one of the many things that is a good indicator of a director's caliber is the box-office numbers of their movies.
That is not to say that unless a movie earns hundreds of million dollars it isn't good. It isn't uncommon for fairly mediocre films to profitably rake in millions and even billions. But at the same time, first-class projects from renowned directors shouldn't have much trouble being a critical and financial hit, and this list looks at some of the directors who have dominated the box office throughout their careers.
Jon Favreau - 4.3 Billion Total
Jon Favreau's role as Tony Stark's best friend and ex-bodyguard Happy Hogan is probably what first comes to mind when people think of him, but what many are aware of is that the man playing Happy Hogan in Iron Man is also the one who directed the films.
So, in essence, that makes him an integral part of what helped MCU grow into the blockbuster franchise it is today. He would later go on to direct Iron Man 2, and the 2016 Disney live-adaptation of The Jungle Book and The Lion King, the two of which combined have grossed over $2.5 billion.
Tim Burton - $4.4 Billion Total
Known for his gothic-style fantasy films such as 2012's Dark Shadows and the 1990 classic Edward Scissorhands (both starring the venerable Johny Depp). But his successful box office numbers come from the various novel and comic book adaptations he has made throughout his career, namely Michael Keaton's Batman and Batman Returns.
His 2010 film Alice in Wonderland raked in over a billion dollars at the international box-office, and its success indirectly helped create the live-action remakes of classic animated films trend that Disney is riding high on.
J. J. Abrams - $4.6 Billion Total
J. J. Abrams has worked on more films as a writer than as a director and is also more active in the TV industry than any other person on this list, having co-created numerous shows including but not limited to Lost and Fringe.
After helming the critically acclaimed 2009 Star Trek reboot, he directed and co-wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens which remains one of the handful of films in history that have grossed over $2 billion at the box office. The Rise of Skywalker, which he also directed and co-wrote, topped $1 billion in global revenues as well.
Christopher Nolan - $4.7 Billion Total
The de-facto king of summer blockbusters, Christopher Nolan's films never fail to rake in hundreds of millions at the box office. Although his latest work Tenet remains somewhat of an exception as it was released in the middle of a global pandemic.
Nolan's Batman trilogy will forever remain a shining example of what superhero films can be, beyond generic popcorn flicks. Even besides billion-dollar earners, he has directed timeless classics like Memento and Inception.
David Yates - $6 Billion Total
David Yates's name isn't heard much outside of the Harry Potter franchise and their spin-off the Fantastic Beasts series, but what few films he has directed have had immensely successful box office results. Films that are part of popular franchises automatically tend to bring in a lot of money after all.
The four Harry Potter films he directed, starting from 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix have all grossed more than $900 Million worldwide, and the Fantastic Beasts films haven't done too poorly either thanks to the sheer fame of its parent franchise.
James Cameron - $6.2 Billion Total
As the person who directed two of the most culturally influential films of all time, Alien and Terminator, James Cameron's legacy was already commendable enough. But then he went on to direct Titanic and Avatar, two films that have broken more box-office records than can be listed in this article.
The former was the first film ever to earn more than $1 billion at the box office and remained the highest-grossing movie of all time for 12 long years. It was dethroned by James Cameron's very own Avatar, which would then go on to become the first movie to earn more than $2 billion at the box office.
Michael Bay - $6.4 Billion Total
Critics have never been much of a fan of Michael Bay's films, his highest-rated film (from over 20 years ago) having a rating of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. He isn't going to bag a Best Picture or Best Director Oscar (or a nomination even) anytime soon, but the box-office results of his films are about as explosive as the average motor vehicle in a Michael Bay film, which is to say, a lot.
His most iconic directorial creation is the Transformers franchise, which has combinedly grossed a total of $4.8 billion across 6 films.
Peter Jackson - $6.5 Billion Total
J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings is not only one of the best-selling books ever, but also one of the most iconic and influential books ever written which forever redefined English literature as a medium.
Peter Jackson's adaptation is seen on equally prestigious terms from the point of view of movies, which introduced the books to a wider audience of millions in the most epic way possible. Coupled with its prequel trilogy The Hobbit series, the franchise as a whole is one of the most financially successful film series ever with nearly $6 billion in worldwide gross.
Russo brothers - $6.8 Billion Total
With a record of nearly $23 Billion in total worldwide gross across 23 films (meaning an average gross of almost $1 billion per movie, which is a crazy statistic in itself), the MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise in the world. Star Wars is second in place, but its revenue is less than half of that of the MCU.
The brothers, Anthony and Joseph Russo hold the credit for directing the last two Captain America films, Avengers Infinity War and Endgame, the latter of which is the highest-grossing film of all time.
Steven Spielberg - $10.5 Billion Total
As one of the most influential directors working in the present-day movie industry, Steven Spielberg's can be seen sitting atop many prestigious lists. With over 30 films directed over a career spanning nearly 6 decades, he is the most prolific director on this list and also the one with the most number of Oscar wins.
Ironically enough, despite being the highest-grossing director of all-time only one of his numerous films has grossed barely over $1 billion (that too only after a re-release). But what he lacks in individual results he more than makes up for it with the sheer number of blockbusters directed.