Want to know the best Best Director Oscar Winners? How about the worst Best Director Oscar Winners? Curious about Best Director Oscar Winners box office grosses or which Best Director Oscar Winners picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Best Director Oscar Winners got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which one got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place because we have all of that information.
Drivel Part: (That is what my wife calls this part of the page). Back in February 2011, our movie ranking pages were located at HubPages. As The King’s Speech was dueling The Social Network for the big awards we got a request (by Tyler) to rank the Big 6 Oscar® categories. Well, we quickly knocked out the Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress categories. Originally we had intended on doing the other 3 Oscar categories immediately after doing the first three….we sadly dropped the ball. But 4 years later we have finally knocked out the other 3 categories. In the last couple of weeks we completed our Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress pages…and now….finally….. we are done….as the Best Director page is now complete and published. We know there are many other Oscar categories…but these 6 seem to be the main ones.
Since 1928, there have been over 90 Best Director Oscar Winners. This page will rank all Best Director Oscar Winning movies from Best to Worst in five different sortable columns of information. If you use the sort and search buttons the massive table becomes very interactive.
Best Director Oscar Winners Can Be Ranked 5 Ways In The Table Below
The really cool thing about ther table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort by winners
- Sort Best Director Oscar Winners by actual domestic box office grosses (in millions)
- Sort Best Director Oscar Winners by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Best Director Oscar Winners by critic reviews and audiences voting. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar nominations and how many Oscar® wins each received.
- Sort Best Director Oscar Winners by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score. The ceiling to earn points for box office is $200 million…once a movie passes that mark it stops earning points in that category.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | UMR Score | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) AA Best Picture Win |
David Lean | 41.5 | 595.9 | 595.90 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | The Godfather: Part II (1974) AA Best Picture Win |
Francis Ford Coppola | 47.5 | 274.1 | 541.00 | 9 | 94 | 11 / 06 | 100.0 | |
| 3 | Gone with the Wind (1939) AA Best Picture Win |
Victor Fleming | 56.6 | 2,179.1 | 3,842.80 | 1 | 92 | 13 / 08 | 100.0 | |
| 4 | Schindler's List (1993) AA Best Picture Win |
Steven Spielberg | 96.1 | 250.1 | 836.60 | 9 | 94 | 12 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 5 | All About Eve (1950) AA Best Picture Win |
Joseph L. Mankiewicz | 8.9 | 198.9 | 282.30 | 9 | 92 | 14 / 06 | 100.0 | |
| 5 | On the Waterfront (1954) AA Best Picture Win |
Elia Kazan | 12.0 | 281.2 | 281.20 | 20 | 92 | 12 / 08 | 100.0 | |
| 6 | Casablanca (1942) AA Best Picture Win |
Michael Curtiz | 11.8 | 440.2 | 807.80 | 5 | 95 | 08 / 03 | 100.0 | |
| 7 | Ben-Hur (1959) AA Best Picture Win |
William Wyler | 58.8 | 1,056.7 | 2,725.00 | 1 | 91 | 12 / 11 | 100.0 | |
| 8 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) AA Best Picture Win |
Peter Jackson | 371.0 | 663.3 | 1,989.90 | 2 | 91 | 11 / 11 | 100.0 | |
| 10 | Patton (1970) AA Best Picture Win |
Franklin J. Schaffner | 61.7 | 429.5 | 429.50 | 4 | 90 | 10 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 11 | Unforgiven (1992) AA Best Picture Win |
Clint Eastwood | 101.2 | 262.8 | 413.40 | 11 | 92 | 09 / 04 | 100.0 | |
| 12 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) AA Best Picture Win |
Milos Forman | 109.0 | 573.1 | 858.60 | 3 | 90 | 09 / 05 | 100.0 | |
| 13 | The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) AA Best Picture Win |
William Wyler | 19.3 | 595.2 | 965.60 | 1 | 90 | 08 / 07 | 99.9 | |
| 14 | The Silence of the Lambs (1991) AA Best Picture Win |
Jonathan Demme | 130.7 | 334.8 | 698.40 | 4 | 91 | 07 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 15 | Oppenheimer (2023) AA Best Picture Win |
Christopher Nolan | 329.9 | 329.9 | 975.80 | 5 | 88 | 13 / 07 | 99.9 | |
| 16 | The Apartment (1960) AA Best Picture Win |
Billy Wilder | 19.0 | 296.8 | 296.80 | 8 | 87 | 10 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 17 | The King's Speech (2010) AA Best Picture Win |
Tom Hooper | 138.8 | 189.6 | 565.90 | 18 | 93 | 12 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 17 | Annie Hall (1977) AA Best Picture Win |
Woody Allen | 48.9 | 236.4 | 236.40 | 11 | 92 | 05 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 18 | The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) AA Best Picture Win |
David Lean | 30.4 | 586.2 | 586.20 | 1 | 88 | 08 / 07 | 99.9 | |
| 19 | The Deer Hunter (1978) AA Best Picture Win |
Michael Cimino | 49.0 | 225.6 | 225.60 | 9 | 87 | 09 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 21 | It Happened One Night (1934) AA Best Picture Win |
Frank Capra | 5.2 | 243.9 | 402.40 | 3 | 90 | 05 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 20 | Platoon (1986) AA Best Picture Win |
Oliver Stone | 138.5 | 402.5 | 402.50 | 4 | 89 | 08 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 22 | The Sting (1973) AA Best Picture Win |
George Roy Hill | 157.6 | 959.9 | 1,698.10 | 2 | 88 | 10 / 03 | 99.9 | |
| 24 | The Departed (2006) AA Best Picture Win |
Martin Scorsese | 132.4 | 216.9 | 474.90 | 16 | 90 | 05 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 25 | Amadeus (1984) AA Best Picture Win |
Milos Forman | 69.2 | 221.9 | 221.90 | 11 | 86 | 11 / 08 | 99.9 | |
| 26 | Forrest Gump (1994) AA Best Picture Win |
Robert Zemeckis | 320.7 | 847.3 | 1,766.00 | 2 | 83 | 13 / 06 | 99.9 | |
| 27 | Terms of Endearment (1983) AA Best Picture Win |
James L. Brooks | 108.4 | 371.0 | 371.00 | 2 | 83 | 11 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 28 | The French Connection (1971) AA Best Picture Win |
William Friedkin | 51.7 | 337.8 | 337.80 | 4 | 84 | 08 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 29 | The Sound of Music (1965) AA Best Picture Win |
Robert Wise | 145.5 | 1,537.8 | 2,837.70 | 1 | 82 | 10 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 30 | Gandhi (1982) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Director Win |
Richard Attenborough | 52.8 | 193.5 | 468.50 | 11 | 85 | 11 / 08 | 99.9 | |
| 30 | The Lost Weekend (1945) AA Best Picture Win |
Billy Wilder | 9.5 | 299.9 | 299.90 | 17 | 85 | 07 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 32 | How Green Was My Valley (1941) AA Best Picture Win |
John Ford | 9.7 | 372.6 | 372.60 | 3 | 81 | 10 / 05 | 99.9 | |
| 31 | From Here to Eternity (1953) AA Best Picture Win |
Fred Zinnemann | 30.9 | 555.3 | 555.30 | 2 | 81 | 13 / 08 | 99.9 | |
| 33 | Mrs. Miniver (1942) AA Best Picture Win |
William Wyler | 15.3 | 569.1 | 942.90 | 2 | 81 | 12 / 06 | 99.9 | |
| 35 | Midnight Cowboy (1969) AA Best Picture Win |
John Schlesinger | 58.6 | 444.6 | 444.60 | 2 | 85 | 07 / 03 | 99.9 | |
| 36 | West Side Story (1961) AA Best Picture Win |
Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins |
41.3 | 602.1 | 1,188.90 | 2 | 80 | 11 / 10 | 99.8 | |
| 37 | Dances with Wolves (1990) AA Best Picture Win |
Kevin Costner | 185.0 | 471.5 | 1,083.10 | 3 | 81 | 12 / 07 | 99.8 | |
| 38 | A Man for All Seasons (1966) AA Best Picture Win |
Fred Zinnemann | 31.9 | 312.4 | 312.40 | 4 | 81 | 08 / 06 | 99.8 | |
| 39 | My Fair Lady (1964) AA Best Picture Win |
George Cukor | 56.6 | 649.2 | 649.20 | 3 | 79 | 12 / 08 | 99.8 | |
| 40 | Titanic (1997) AA Best Picture Win |
James Cameron | 621.8 | 1,460.3 | 4,763.40 | 1 | 78 | 14 / 11 | 99.8 | |
| 41 | A Beautiful Mind (2001) AA Best Picture Win |
Ron Howard | 170.7 | 325.8 | 598.20 | 11 | 82 | 08 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 42 | Ordinary People (1980) AA Best Picture Win |
Robert Redford | 54.8 | 227.1 | 227.10 | 12 | 82 | 06 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 44 | Million Dollar Baby (2004) AA Best Picture Win |
Clint Eastwood | 100.5 | 174.4 | 376.30 | 24 | 90 | 07 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 43 | Rocky (1976) AA Best Picture Win |
John G. Avildsen | 117.0 | 592.1 | 1,137.70 | 1 | 79 | 10 / 03 | 99.8 | |
| 45 | All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) AA Best Picture Win |
Lewis Milestone | 4.6 | 248.8 | 248.80 | 7 | 84 | 04 / 02 | 99.8 | |
| 46 | Braveheart (1995) AA Best Picture Win |
Mel Gibson | 75.6 | 187.4 | 521.40 | 18 | 81 | 10 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 46 | Rain Man (1988) AA Best Picture Win |
Barry Levinson | 177.8 | 466.4 | 943.80 | 1 | 79 | 08 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 48 | Going My Way (1944) AA Best Picture Win |
Leo McCarey | 17.1 | 575.9 | 575.90 | 1 | 75 | 10 / 07 | 99.8 | |
| 47 | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) AA Best Picture Win |
Robert Benton | 106.3 | 456.4 | 519.50 | 1 | 76 | 09 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 50 | Saving Private Ryan (1998) AA Best Picture Nom |
Steven Spielberg | 214.5 | 493.1 | 1,102.90 | 1 | 93 | 11 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 51 | Oliver! (1968) AA Best Picture Win |
Carol Reed | 48.0 | 395.0 | 395.00 | 5 | 71 | 11 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 52 | Gentleman's Agreement (1947) AA Best Picture Win |
Elia Kazan | 10.5 | 307.1 | 307.10 | 12 | 75 | 08 / 03 | 99.8 | |
| 53 | The English Patient (1996) AA Best Picture Win |
Anthony Minghella | 78.7 | 191.9 | 565.80 | 19 | 74 | 12 / 09 | 99.7 | |
| 54 | Tom Jones (1963) AA Best Picture Win |
Tony Richardson | 37.3 | 468.1 | 468.10 | 3 | 69 | 10 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 55 | American Beauty (1999) AA Best Picture Win |
Sam Mendes | 130.1 | 277.2 | 759.10 | 13 | 71 | 08 / 05 | 99.7 | |
| 56 | Slumdog Millionaire (2008) AA Best Picture Win |
Danny Boyle | 141.3 | 212.2 | 567.40 | 17 | 69 | 10 / 08 | 99.7 | |
| 57 | Gravity (2013) AA Best Picture Nom |
Alfonso Cuarón | 274.1 | 363.4 | 958.90 | 6 | 87 | 10 / 07 | 99.7 | |
| 58 | Gigi (1958) AA Best Picture Win |
Vincent Minnelli | 20.9 | 375.8 | 540.10 | 4 | 68 | 09 / 09 | 99.7 | |
| 59 | Out of Africa (1985) AA Best Picture Win |
Sydney Pollack | 87.1 | 264.4 | 808.30 | 5 | 66 | 11 / 07 | 99.7 | |
| 60 | Cabaret (1972) AA Best Picture Nom |
Bob Fosse | 61.4 | 389.1 | 389.10 | 5 | 85 | 10 / 08 | 99.7 | |
| 61 | No Country for Old Men (2007) AA Best Picture Win |
Joel & Ethan Coen |
74.3 | 116.4 | 268.90 | 36 | 92 | 08 / 04 | 99.6 | |
| 62 | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Ford | 7.1 | 275.0 | 275.00 | 6 | 88 | 07 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 63 | Giant (1956) AA Best Picture Nom |
George Stevens | 27.1 | 532.0 | 795.20 | 3 | 86 | 10 / 01 | 99.5 | |
| 65 | The Last Emperor (1987) AA Best Picture Win |
Bernardo Bertolucci | 44.0 | 121.3 | 121.30 | 25 | 85 | 09 / 09 | 99.5 | |
| 65 | La La Land (2016) AA Best Picture Nom |
Damien Chazelle | 151.1 | 188.3 | 553.20 | 19 | 82 | 14 / 06 | 99.5 | |
| 64 | The Revenant (2015) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Win |
Alejandro González Iñárritu | 183.6 | 234.8 | 681.50 | 13 | 82 | 12 / 03 | 99.4 | |
| 66 | The Graduate (1967) AA Best Picture Nom |
Mike Nichols | 103.5 | 921.9 | 1,723.70 | 1 | 85 | 07 / 01 | 99.4 | |
| 67 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) AA Best Picture Nom |
Frank Capra | 6.7 | 287.5 | 287.50 | 4 | 87 | 05 / 01 | 99.4 | |
| 68 | The Quiet Man (1952) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Ford | 10.6 | 206.9 | 315.80 | 10 | 84 | 07 / 02 | 99.4 | |
| 69 | 7th Heaven (1927) AA Best Picture Nom |
Frank Borzage | 6.2 | 210.5 | 210.50 | 4 | 84 | 05 / 03 | 99.4 | |
| 71 | You Can't Take It with You (1938) AA Best Picture Win |
Frank Capra | 8.0 | 319.4 | 319.40 | 7 | 63 | 07 / 02 | 99.4 | |
| 72 | Marty (1955) AA Best Picture Win |
Delbert Mann | 5.7 | 118.5 | 118.50 | 58 | 85 | 08 / 04 | 99.3 | |
| 73 | A Place in the Sun (1951) AA Best Picture Nom |
George Stevens | 10.0 | 215.6 | 425.00 | 10 | 76 | 09 / 06 | 99.2 | |
| 74 | Traffic (2000) AA Best Picture Nom |
Steven Soderbergh | 124.1 | 248.2 | 415.00 | 15 | 81 | 05 / 04 | 99.2 | |
| 75 | Life of Pi (2012) AA Best Picture Nom |
Ang Lee | 124.9 | 169.1 | 824.60 | 27 | 86 | 11 / 04 | 99.2 | |
| 77 | Born on the Fourth of July (1989) AA Best Picture Nom |
Oliver Stone | 70.0 | 190.1 | 437.20 | 17 | 82 | 08 / 02 | 99.1 | |
| 76 | Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) AA Best Picture Win |
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert |
76.9 | 78.7 | 113.50 | 25 | 91 | 11 / 07 | 99.1 | |
| 78 | A Letter to Three Wives (1949) AA Best Picture Nom |
Joseph L. Mankiewicz | 7.6 | 191.5 | 191.50 | 22 | 84 | 03 / 02 | 99.0 | |
| 79 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Huston | 6.1 | 163.1 | 290.40 | 45 | 90 | 04 / 03 | 99.0 | |
| 80 | The Awful Truth (1937) AA Best Picture Nom |
Leo McCarey | 4.2 | 176.2 | 176.20 | 36 | 86 | 06 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 81 | The Shape Of Water (2017) AA Best Picture Win |
Guillermo del Toro | 63.8 | 76.7 | 233.10 | 46 | 89 | 13 / 04 | 98.8 | |
| 82 | Reds (1981) AA Best Picture Nom |
Warren Beatty | 40.4 | 156.6 | 156.60 | 13 | 84 | 12 / 03 | 98.7 | |
| 83 | The Artist (2011) AA Best Picture Win |
Michel Hazanavicius | 44.7 | 60.7 | 181.40 | 73 | 91 | 10 / 05 | 98.6 | |
| 84 | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) AA Best Picture Win |
Alejandro González Iñárritu | 42.3 | 55.9 | 136.20 | 81 | 91 | 09 / 04 | 98.1 | |
| 85 | Brokeback Mountain (2005) AA Best Picture Nom |
Ang Lee | 83.0 | 139.9 | 299.90 | 22 | 87 | 08 / 03 | 98.1 | |
| 86 | Parasite (2019) AA Best Picture Win |
Bong Joon-ho | 53.4 | 62.8 | 313.00 | 53 | 89 | 06 / 04 | 97.9 | |
| 87 | Cavalcade (1933) AA Best Picture Win |
Frank Lloyd | 2.9 | 133.9 | 401.70 | 17 | 67 | 04 / 03 | 97.4 | |
| 88 | The Hurt Locker (2008) AA Best Picture Win |
Kathryn Bigelow | 17.0 | 25.6 | 73.90 | 124 | 90 | 09 / 06 | 96.2 | |
| 89 | The Pianist (2002) AA Best Picture Nom |
Roman Polanski | 32.6 | 60.5 | 223.20 | 80 | 92 | 07 / 03 | 93.5 | |
| 90 | Bad Girl (1931) AA Best Picture Nom |
Frank Borzage | 3.3 | 167.1 | 167.10 | 18 | 62 | 03 / 02 | 93.2 | |
| 91 | Skippy (1931) AA Best Picture Nom |
Norman Taurog | 3.0 | 151.9 | 151.90 | 23 | 62 | 04 / 01 | 91.5 | |
| 93 | The Informer (1935) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Ford | 1.3 | 58.4 | 121.90 | 104 | 83 | 06 / 04 | 90.3 | |
| 92 | Nomadland (2020) AA Best Director Win |
Chloé Zhao | 2.1 | 2.5 | 6.40 | 50 | 81 | 06 / 03 | 90.3 | |
| 94 | Two Arabian Knights (1927) | Lewis Milestone | 2.9 | 96.5 | 96.50 | 15 | 72 | 01 / 01 | 85.7 | |
| 95 | Roma (2018) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Win |
Alfonso Cuarón | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.70 | 168 | 84 | 10 / 03 | 85.4 | |
| 96 | The Power of the Dog (2021) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jane Campion | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.30 | 238 | 74 | 12 / 01 | 77.5 | |
| 97 | The Divine Lady (1928) | Frank Lloyd | 2.7 | 84.5 | 84.50 | 31 | 51 | 03 / 01 | 68.7 |
Some Trivia We Found Interesting And Felt The Urge To Share
1. A Best Director Oscar Winning Movie grosses on average $266.70 million in adjusted box office dollars (we use actual ticket sales to come up with that figure).
2. Of the 89 Best Director Oscar Winning Movies…75 crossed the magical $100 million adjusted box office mark. That is 85.22% of the movies.
3. The 89 Best Director Oscar Winning Movie have earned 765 Oscar® nominations (all categories) and won 436 Oscars® (all categories).
4. We thought there would only be a few movies in which the Best Director Oscar Winner was NOT from the Best Picture Oscar Winning movie….there are actually 25 movies in which the director of the Best Picture winner did NOT win the Oscar®. That is 32.05%.
5. John Ford has the most Best Director Oscar wins…with 4. Frank Capra and William Wyler are the only directors to have 3 Best Director Oscar® wins.
6. 16 directors have won 2 Best Director Oscars®. Clint Eastwood, Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg are the only active directors that have won 2 Best Director Oscars®. That means only 65 different people have won a Best Director Oscar® over the last 88 years.
7. David Lean is the only director to have two movies in the Top 10 of the UltimateMovieRanking score.
8. Dustin Hoffman has starred in 4 movies that won a Best Director Oscar®.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
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Down to 15 Oscar winning directors to go.
Down to 7 Oscar winning directors to go.
What’s up everyone, it’s my first go to see at
this website, and piece of writing is in fact fruitful in support
of me, keep up posting such posts.
02
Hi
I wonder who will win in 2016. The talk is Ridley Scott for The Martian. He did a fantastic job and at least it was big box office. I thought he had won for Gladiator but the film won and not he himself. He’s responsible for such a great body of work that I’m surprised he hasn’t won, but I suppose it wouldn’t be the first time that great directors haven’t won (Hitchcock, Hawks etc,)
The list is very impressive but I have to admit there’s some people I haven’t even heard of, for example the guy who directed Rocky, what is he doing now?
Joseph L Manciewicz is a director I’ve always admired, not only directing but writing. I’m surprised he’d not as celebrated today as he once was. And of course Woody Allen.
Hey Chris….thanks for checking out my Best Director page. So who will win in 2016? I think the front runners currently are last year’s winner Alejandro González Iñárritu for The Revenant, Tom McCarthey for Spotlight and Ridley Scott for The Martian. Of those three…I will be rooting for Scott…I am still surprised he did not get a Oscar win for Gladiator. Not sure how many more movies Sir Ridley will be making…as he is getting up there in age. John G. Avildsen of Rocky fame also hit it big with the Karate Kid movies. So he was not a one hit wonder. Joseph L Manciewicz was a very talented movie maker…it is a shame that his name is not mentioned with the greats of all-time. He got 10 Oscar nominations and won 4 Oscars in his career. As always you comments are greatly appreciated.
Very detailed I am impressed. Glad to see my favorite at the top. I love Lawrence of Arabia.
Hey Gil….glad you liked the page. Lawrence was my father’s favorite as well. That movie is one of the highest rated movies in my database.