50 Highest Grossing Films Directed by Women

Gurinder Chadha’s sly comedy about a young Indian girl (Parminder Nagra) with a talent for soccer whose strict family won’t let her play the sport delighted critics and audiences. Time magazine critic Jumana Farousky said “The acting is as nimble as the footwork.” The film is Chadha’s highest-grossing film.

An adventure/comedy/drama with a Buddhist-like twist in which a dog finds the meaning of life through the people he meets, Gail Mancuso’s film was more popular with audiences than critics, with 91% of fans on Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a thumbs-up.

A remake of the story of a bullied high school girl with serious telekinetic powers who uses them to lethal effect, this is director Kimberly Peirce’s top-grossing film.

Trish Sie, who helmed the hit “Pitch Perfect 3,” directed this film about a Miami dancer who refuses to give up on his career. He pulls together a dance crew of old and new friends and tries to win a dance competition in Las Vegas.

Despite a strong cast led by Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, and Lukas Haas, the film found little favor among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Catherine Hardwicke also directed the runaway vampire-themed hit “Twilight.”

This remake of a film that starred Hayley Mills 37 years earlier made a star out of Lindsay Lohan who played a dual role as twins separated because of their parents’ divorce. Critics embraced the remake, saying writer-director Nancy Meyers’ gave the film “an amiable modern spin.”

Former Disney Channel star (and now pop music idol) Miley Cyrus plays a teen sent to a Southern town by her mother to be with her estranged father for the summer, and romance begins with a local boy. Audiences made Julie Anne Robinson’s film a hit, even though critics did not warm to the movie.

This is Academy Award winner Jodie Foster’s white-knuckle thriller about a television stock-market personality (George Clooney) taken prisoner by a disgruntled investor who claims he lost everything because of the guru’s advice. Udita Jhunjhunwala of Livemint called the film “a timely and thrilling entertainer.”

This rom-com paired Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck but there was little chemistry between them in the opinion of critics. Even so, it was the top-grossing film for Bronwen Hughes, who has also directed television shows such as “Magnum P.I.” “The Walking Dead,” and “Better Call Saul.”

Kay Cannon’s directorial debut is a teen comedy about three high school seniors vowing to lose their virginity on prom night and the parents who try to keep that from happening. Action star John Cena played against type as a sensitive parent.

Lorene Scafaria’s film about strippers seeking to empower their lives boasted a strong cast led by Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, and Constance Wu. Harper’s Bazaar critic Yasmin Omar said the movie is a “quintessentially female narrative — and it’s all the better for it.” It is Scafaria’s top-grossing film.

Buoyed by the extraordinary Emma Thompson, the Susanna White-helmed sequel to the original 2005 “Nanny McPhee” was a hit. Movies.com critic Jen Yamto found it “whimsical, heartwarming, and a tad bittersweet.”

One of the great rom-coms of the 1990s stars Tom Hanks as a widower who finds love with reporter Meg Ryan. Nora Ephron, who also co-wrote the film, has six movies on this list.

George Clooney and Nicole Kidman play a U.S. colonel and a nuclear scientist tasked with finding nuclear warheads that went missing after a train wreck in Russia. Critics weren’t won over by Mimi Leder’s film, which grossed more than $110 million worldwide.

Critics chided “Step Up” as a trite teen romance, but audiences on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 83%. The film features Channing Tatum as a buff bad boy who meets ballet student Jenna Dewan and romance is kindled.

Critics thought Phyllida Lloyd’s storytelling was bland, but were enraptured by Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain’s first female prime minister.

Michael is an offbeat angel played by John Travolta. When he’s not drinking, smoking, and chasing women, he imparts knowledge to cynical journalists William Hurt and Robert Pastorelli about relationships and faith. Newsweek critic David Ansen said he was “pleasantly surprised to find something quirkier and more off-center.”

“Lost in Translation” earned Sofia Coppola a Best Director nomination. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson star as lonely Americans in Tokyo who form an unlikely bond. Joshua Rothkopf of In These Times said of the film that “…its pretty images of Tokyo and oddball intergenerational friendship coalesce into something unexpectedly moving…”

Narrated by Tom Cruise, this Toni Myers movie is the first 3D live-action film to be shot in space. The motion picture shows the assembly of the International Space Station while in orbit.

Amy Adams plays a woman fed up with her job, so to relieve the frustration, she decides to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s landmark French cookbooks. The film weaves in the true story of how Child (Meryl Streep) mastered French cooking.

A movie studio looking to make a film based on the 1960s sitcom about a suburban housewife who’s a witch casts a woman – Nicole Kidman – who actually is a witch. Nora Ephron wrote and directed the film, which was among her lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes, but was one of her biggest hits.

“A League of Their Own,” about women’s professional baseball during World War II, is one of the most quotable films of the 1990s. Director Penny Marshall assembled a memorable cast that included Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Tom Hanks, and Geena Davis.

Ava DuVernay’s film imparts a message of family and love in this sci-fi fantasy about youthful space travelers. Critics thought the movie was moving in parts but overly ambitious. It is DuVernay’s top-grossing movie.

Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win a Best Director Academy Award (for “The Hurt Locker”), followed up that success with the heart-pounding and well-crafted “Zero Dark Thirty,” dramatizing the hunt for 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. It was nominated for five Oscars.

Angela Robinson directed this attempt at reviving the Disney “The Love Bug” franchise about a headstrong Volkswagen. The movie starred Lindsay Lohan and Michael Keaton. It was Robinson’s highest-grossing film.

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes awarded Penny Marshall’s fantasy comedy a nearly perfect score. Tom Hanks’ boyish charm and poignant performance helped carry the movie, about a boy who wishes to be an adult but does not like the consequences.

Anne Fletcher’s rom-com starred Katherine Heigl as the perpetual bridesmaid. Critics thought it was “clichéd and forgettable,” but it became one of Fletcher’s biggest-grossing films.

The gripping story of an American POW held by the Japanese during World War II who refused to be broken by a sadistic prison camp commander, Angelina Jolie’s film is based on the true story of Louis Zamperini.

Penelope Spheeris struck paydirt with this comedy about suburban kids (“Saturday Night Live alums Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) who want to put their public access show on commercial TV. Silly and quotable, the movie is Spheeris’s greatest success.

“Pitch Perfect 3” reunites the acapella Bellas a third time for a USO Tour. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes felt the franchise had been played out by the third movie, but it struck a chord with audiences and is Trish Sie’s highest-grossing film.

Rom-com queen Nancy Meyers cast Mel Gibson as a man who, because of a fluke accident, is able to read women’s minds. Critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes were split over the film. “There’s nothing profound about the film, but it stays with you,” opined Hillel Italie of the Associated Press.

Robert De Niro plays a widowed retiree who returns to the workforce as a 70-year-old intern at an online fashion site. The movie scored well with audiences who liked the intergenerational chemistry between De Niro and Anne Hathaway.

This is an anarchic movie vehicle for Margot Robbie about DC Comics superhero Harley Quinn, who is the target of a master villain in Gotham City. Rosie Perez and Mary Elizabeth Winstead added to the film’s star power. It is Cathy Yan’s highest-grossing film.

Nancy Meyers directed, wrote, and co-produced this rom-com about two women – one American and one from England – who swap houses after breakups and find romance. “The Holiday” is the highest-scoring Nancy Meyers movie with Rotten Tomatoes audiences.

“Little Women” was a critical and box-office success, with critics hailing Gerta Gerwig’s adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel. It was the fifth time Alcott’s classic was adapted for the movies and earned Gerwig an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The third installment of the Bridget Jones franchise finds Bridget (Renée Zellweger) pregnant and unsure of who the father is. Sharon Maguire, who directed the first of the Jones films, returned to direct this one.

Triple threat Nancy Meyers directed, wrote, and co-produced this rom-com, which boasted plenty of star power with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin. Critic Candice Frederick of Reel Talk Online said “It’s [writer/director Nancy Meyers’] typical, though smart, romantic comedy for a more mature audience.”

Critics hailed the chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as rival bookstore owners who begin an anonymous romance online. The film, directed by Nora Ephron, was one of the most popular rom-coms of the 1990s.

Critics dismissed the sequel to “Bridget Jones’s Diary” because it was “bogged down by slapstick and silliness.” It’s the lowest rated of three films in the franchise, but it’s the highest-grossing film for British director Beeban Kidron.

Sharp performances from A-listers Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, and Amanda Peet buoyed this rom-com about an aging womanizer (Nicholson) who finds love with his girlfriend’s mother (Keaton). “Something’s Gotta Give” is one of Nancy Meyers’ most successful films.

“Bridget Jones’s Diary” launched the franchise about a woman who vows to take control of her life and starts a chronicle to record it. Renée Zellweger’s charm and comedic skills helped make the film a hit, and it became director Sharon Maguire’s most successful motion picture.

Elizabeth Banks directed and co-produced the sequel to the hit “Pitch Perfect.” After a disastrous performance before the president of the U.S., the acapella group seeks redemption by trying to win a competition in Denmark.

Critics thought the scatological humor was out of place in this version of “Doctor Dolittle,” with the title character played by Eddie Murphy. Nevertheless, this proved to be Betty Thomas’ most lucrative film.

Though critics thought Anne Fletcher’s film was too formulaic, the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds lifted the film into hit territory. It proved to be Fletcher’s top-grossing motion picture.

Plenty of star power shines in “Deep Impact,” about humankind’s attempts to thwart a comet from colliding with the Earth. Mimi Leder’s disaster film is her biggest hit.

The film that launched the franchise about teen vampires and werewolves in love made stars out of the perpetually melancholy Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film, which was her most successful effort.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” fused CGI and live action to return the critters to the big screen. Critics were unsparing in their disdain for the Betty Thomas film.

Audiences were enthralled by the film’s exuberance and the fun that the star-filled cast was having. “Mamma Mia has been made with the most delicious, joyful abandon,” said Deborah Ross of The Spectator. It is Phyllida Lloyd’s highest-grossing film.

“Kung Fu Panda 2” is the only animated film on this list. Featuring voices by Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Dustin Hoffman, it was directed by South Korean filmmaker Jennifer Yuh Nelson.

Patty Jenkins made film history by becoming the first woman to direct a superhero movie. And it was a blockbuster. Starring Israeli actor Gal Gadot, “Wonder Woman” had the third-highest domestic gross of any film in 2017. Critic Dan Brightmore of NME said “It’s taken a while, but the first ever superhero film with both a female protagonist and director is an absolute delight.”