INTRODUCTION
The Rotten Tomatoes (RT) website collects critics reviews of a movie and counts the percentage of positive reviews to give a score. On this page, the RT scores for different film directors are evaluated and presented in charts. The directors looked at on this page are from a list of 50 highest grossing directors of all time, not adjusted for inflation, from boxoffice mojo. They generally include most of the well known directors from the 1970s onwards.
Charts
1. Average RT Score for Directors with 15 or More Movies
2. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for Martin Scorcese
3. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for Steven Spielberg
4. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for James Cameron
5. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for Christopher Nolan
6. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for Robert Zemeckis
7. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for Ron Howard
8. Rotten Tomatoes Score by Film for Peter Jackson
Data Table
9. Average Rotten Tomatoes Score for Highest Grossing Movie Directors
The top 2 are Martin Scorcese (82%) and Steven Spielberg (78%). Martin Scorcese has directed 24 and Steven Spielberg has directed 32. Scorcese and Spielberg are generally regarded as the two greatest directors since the 1970s. Both not only have high average scores but perform consistently well. Scorcese has 22/24 movies rated Fresh, that is 60% or more on Rotten Tomatoes. Spielberg has 30/32 rate Fresh. In comparison, Ridley Scott has 13/23 rate fresh, Ron Howard has 14/25 rated Fresh and Clint Eastwood has 25/36 rate as fresh. These 3 are successful and well regarded directors but the difference shows why Scorcese and Spielberg are regarded as the best.
The highest grossing director of all time is Steven Spielberg with over $10 billion, followed by the Russo Brothers (Avengers) with $6.8 billion and Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) with $6.5 billion.
Below are shown the ratings over the careers of selected directors from the table above. 3 of the directors shown below – James Cameron, Christopher Nolan and Peter Jackson – aren’t shown on the chart above since they have directed fewer than 15 films. Christopher Nolan has an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 84% from the 10 films he has directed.
Photo by David Shankbone
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Photo by Alan Light
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This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by Martin Scorsese. Overall, it highlights the remarkable consistency of his career, with most of his films receiving very strong critical reception.
The majority of Scorsese’s films score between 80% and 95%, indicating widespread approval from critics. Many of his most famous works, such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Departed, are among the highest rated. These films are often considered classics and have had a major influence on modern cinema.
There are a few lower-scoring exceptions. Boxcar Bertha and New York, New York received more mixed reviews compared with the rest of his filmography. However, even these films are still generally regarded as interesting parts of his early career.
The chart also shows that Scorsese has maintained strong critical reception across several decades. Later films such as The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Silence continue to receive high ratings, demonstrating his ability to remain a major creative force in cinema for over 40 years.
This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by Steven Spielberg. Unlike many directors, Spielberg has had an extremely long and prolific career, directing a wide range of films across different genres.
Many of his most famous films received very high critical scores, including Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Schindler’s List. These films are often considered among the most influential in modern cinema and helped establish Spielberg as one of Hollywood’s leading directors. His historical dramas such as Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, and Bridge of Spies also received strong reviews.
However, the chart also shows greater variation in quality compared with directors who have made fewer films. Some entries, such as 1941 and Jurassic Park: The Lost World, received noticeably lower scores from critics.
Overall, the chart illustrates Spielberg’s ability to produce both major blockbuster entertainment and critically acclaimed dramas, maintaining high critical success across several decades while directing far more films than most other top directors.
This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by James Cameron. Unlike many directors, Cameron has made relatively few films, but most of them have received very strong critical reception.
His career began with Piranha II: The Spawning, which has a very low score and is widely considered an early misstep. However, Cameron himself has often argued that it should not really be considered his true directorial debut since he was removed from the project during production, so he did not have full creative control. Afterwards, Cameron quickly established himself with The Terminator, which received near-perfect reviews and became one of the most influential science fiction films ever made.
Several of his later films also score extremely highly. Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are both widely regarded as two of the greatest action films ever made, combining strong storytelling with groundbreaking special effects. The Abyss and Titanic also received very positive reviews, with Titanic becoming one of the most successful films in cinema history.
Even his more commercially focused films, such as True Lies and Avatar, still achieved solid critical scores. Overall, the chart reflects Cameron’s reputation for producing large-scale, technically innovative blockbusters that are usually well received by critics.
This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by Christopher Nolan. Overall, it highlights the consistently strong critical reception of his work.
Most of Nolan’s films score between 80% and 95%, indicating broad approval from critics. Early films such as Memento and Insomnia were particularly well received and helped establish Nolan as an innovative filmmaker known for complex storytelling and unusual narrative structures.
Several of his biggest successes came with The Dark Knight trilogy, especially The Dark Knight, which has one of the highest scores on the chart and is widely regarded as one of the greatest superhero films ever made. Later films such as Inception, Dunkirk, and The Dark Knight Rises also received strong reviews.
There are a few lower-rated entries, including Interstellar and Tenet, which received more mixed responses due to their complex plots and heavy emphasis on spectacle. Despite this, the chart shows Nolan’s career has been marked by remarkably consistent critical success across multiple genres.
This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by Robert Zemeckis. Compared with some other directors, Zemeckis’s career shows greater variation in critical reception, ranging from very highly rated classics to films that received mixed or negative reviews.
His most successful films include the Back to the Future trilogy, particularly the first film, which is among the highest rated on the chart. Other critically acclaimed films include Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Cast Away. These films demonstrate Zemeckis’s ability to combine technical innovation with strong storytelling, often blending special effects with live-action filmmaking.
One of his most famous films, Forrest Gump, also received strong reviews and became a major cultural phenomenon, winning several Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
However, some later projects received more mixed responses. Films such as The Polar Express, A Christmas Carol, and Welcome to Marwen were criticised for their heavy reliance on motion-capture animation, which some viewers found visually unconvincing.
Overall, the chart reflects a career marked by both major critical successes and some uneven periods, particularly in later years.
This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by Ron Howard. Like several long-running Hollywood directors, Howard’s career shows considerable variation in critical reception.
Some of his films received very strong reviews, including Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Rush. Apollo 13 in particular is widely regarded as one of the best space-themed films ever made, while A Beautiful Mind won the Academy Award for Best Picture and helped establish Howard as a respected director of serious drama.
However, the chart also shows several films with much lower scores, such as The Da Vinci Code, Inferno, and The Dilemma. These films were often commercially successful but received more mixed or negative responses from critics.
Howard’s career spans a wide range of genres, including historical drama, action, comedy, and biographical films, which partly explains the variation in scores. Overall, the chart suggests that while Howard has produced several highly acclaimed films, his filmography is more uneven compared with some other major directors.
This chart shows the Rotten Tomatoes critic scores for films directed by Peter Jackson. His career displays a clear pattern, with moderate early success followed by a peak during the early 2000s.
Jackson’s early films such as Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Braindead received mixed to positive reviews and helped establish his reputation for unusual and inventive filmmaking, often blending horror and dark comedy. His breakthrough into more mainstream cinema came with Heavenly Creatures, which received strong critical acclaim.
The chart peaks with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which all received extremely high scores and are widely regarded as some of the greatest fantasy films ever made. The Return of the King in particular was both a critical and commercial triumph, winning 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Later films such as King Kong also received strong reviews, but the Hobbit trilogy received more mixed responses. Critics often argued that these films were overly stretched into three parts, which contributed to their lower ratings compared with The Lord of the Rings.
DATA TABLE