The full ranking
The filmmakers whose work has sold the most tickets worldwide. Ranked by cumulative box office across every film they have directed, the list is led by two titans who have traded the top spot for decades.
Steven Spielberg
The all-time leader and the most prolific of the group, with about $10.7 billion across 37 films spanning Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Schindler's List. His biggest is Jurassic Park at roughly $1.04 billion.
James Cameron
He reaches second on far fewer films than anyone above him, thanks to the Avatar and Titanic juggernauts, for a career total of about $10.6 billion. His Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time.
The Russo Brothers
Anthony and Joe Russo directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe's peak, including Avengers: Endgame, the second-highest-grossing film ever, for a combined total of about $6.8 billion.
Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies plus King Kong give him roughly $6.6 billion, led by The Return of the King at about $1.16 billion.
Michael Bay
Built largely on the Transformers franchise plus Bad Boys and Armageddon, his films have grossed about $6.5 billion, topped by Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
David Yates
He directed the final four Harry Potter films and all the Fantastic Beasts films, for roughly $6.4 billion, led by Deathly Hallows, Part 2.
Christopher Nolan
The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, and the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer give him about $6 billion, topped by The Dark Knight Rises.
Ridley Scott
A five-decade career from Alien and Blade Runner to Gladiator totals roughly $5 billion, with The Martian his biggest at about $654 million.
Tim Burton
Batman, the Alice in Wonderland films, and Beetlejuice give him about $4.9 billion, led by Alice in Wonderland at roughly $1.03 billion.
J.J. Abrams
The Star Wars sequel-trilogy bookends plus the rebooted Star Trek films total about $4.6 billion, topped by The Force Awakens at roughly $2.07 billion.
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