World's top-grossing movie directors 2026| ��ƽ��

Highest-grossing film directors of all time worldwide as of January 2026, by cumulative global box office gross (in billion U.S. dollars)

Characteristic	Cumulative worldwide box office revenue in billion U.S. dollars
Steven Spielberg	10.72
James Cameron	9.8
Joe Russo	6.76
Anthony Russo	6.76
Peter Jackson	6.55
Michael Bay	6.5
David Yates	6.35
Christopher Nolan	6.05
Ridley Scott	5.04
Tim Burton	4.88
J.J. Abrams	4.64
Robert Zemeckis	4.4
Jon Favreau	4.34
Ron Howard	4.31
Sam Raimi	4.27
Chris Renaud	4.18
James Wan	4.17
Chris Columbus	4.09
Shawn Levy	4.05
Roland Emmerich	4.02

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Release date

January 2026

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Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

January 6, 2026

Supplementary notes

Figures have been rounded.

The source did not provide a date of publication. The date used here is the access date.

Citation formats

As of January 2026, Steven Spielberg remained the highest-grossing film director in history, amassing over 10.72 billion U.S. dollars at the global box office throughout his career. James Cameron followed with 9.8 billion dollars thanks to the success of the Avatar movies.

Spotlight on Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential moviemakers in the history of Hollywood. During his decade-spanning career, he has directed and produced over 100 feature films and received three Academy Awards for his work on "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List." Other popular titles from Spielberg's extensive body of work include "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Jaws," and the "Jurassic Park" series, which ranks among the highest-grossing film franchises worldwide.

Gender diversity behind the camera

The North American movie industry remains a male-dominated playing field, especially behind the scenes. The latest reports on gender diversity among U.S. movie directors revealed that women made up less than 16 percent of all directors in the country in 2024. This imbalance is also mirrored in the financial success and compensation of male vs. female directors, as no women are featured among the 20 highest-grossing directors worldwide.