The 50 Highest Grossing Film Directors of All Time

Robert Zemeckis has a knack for knowing what will appeal to American movie-goers. “Forrest Gump,” which tells the story of post-war America through the experiences of a mentally challenged man, played by Tom Hanks, was a huge hit. Zemeckis and Hanks rejoined to make “Cast Away.” He struck box-office gold with his sly animation motion picture “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

Nicole Holofcener is known for making well-crafted and nuanced movies about human relationships. At 85.4%, her films have one of the higher Tomatometer score averages on the list. She also has directed episodes of television shows such as “Gilmore Girls” and “Sex and the City.”

Tim Story earned a reputation for telling insightful urban stories in movies such as “Barbershop.” He branched out to adapt the Marvel comic book series “The Fantastic Four” in 2005 and did the rom-com “Think Like a Man” in 2012.

After years of making short films, Johnson broke through with the teen-themed thriller “Brick” in 2005. He was director/screenwriter for megahit “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” His take on the murder-mystery genre “Knives Out” holds a Rotten Tomatoes critics rating of 97%.

Danny Boyle has succeeded in various genres in film, including offbeat rom-com (“Slumdog Millionaire”), music-fantasy (“Yesterday”), and biography/drama (“127 Hours”). The British director got strong notices from critics with “Trainspotting,” a disturbing movie about drug addiction in Scotland.