Steven Spielberg Films : The Ultimate Ranking

After joining the Boy Scouts when he was just 12 years old, Steven Spielberg began chasing after a goal he made for himself to achieve the photography merit badge. In order to achieve this badge, a Boy Scout has to accomplish several things like explaining how a camera works, how photos react in certain situations, and then provide the den leader a few photos along the way. Fortunately his father’s camera was broken, so he called an audible and asked if he could use his movie camera to tell a story. He then began working on a Western themed movie and ended up earning that coveted photography merit badge. This, as Steven would later discuss, is the moment his career in film-making started.

By 1969, just eleven years after earning that merit badge, Steven Spielberg was hired to direct a pilot episode of Night Gallery, a made-for-tv horror anthology film. But he ran into a problem with the series star actress, and a Hollywood legend, Joan Crawford. She upset about having some 21-year old kid direct her. She quickly changed her mind once she started working with him and realized just how brilliant of a filmmaker he could one day become. They became good friends that year and remained friends the rest of her life.

Steven began showing off his talents as he kept earning directing jobs around Hollywood until he eventually got his feature film début with the 1974 crime drama, The Sugarland Express. The following year he directed a little film named Jaws and he instantly became the hottest name in the business. He brought so many new techniques and approaches to film-making that no one had ever seen before. His revolutionary style of directing feature films would pave the road for all those that followed.

At age 71, Steven continues to make films and is currently working on multiple projects including the latest Indiana Jones film, the fifth of the franchise. He is also working on West Side Story and The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, both in pre-production. He hopes to begin filming on a Halo movie in the near future as well.

In honor of one of the greatest film directors of our generation, we wanted to produce a list of films considered to be his best work. These are all films that has been involved in, as a Director, Producer, Executive Producer, and even Writer. We have found 70 films to rank and hope you enjoy the list.

70) Dreams

  • Year: 1990
  • Credited As: Executive Producer

69) An American Tale

  • Year: 1986
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $84 million

68) Transformers: The Last Knight

  • Year: 2017
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $605.4 million

67) Eagle Eye

  • Year: 2008
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $178.1 million

66) Transformers: Age of Extinction

  • Year: 2014
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $1.104 billion

65) Deep Impact

  • Year: 1998
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $349.5 million

64) Casper

  • Year: 1995
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $287.9 million

63) Cowboys & Aliens

  • Year: 2011
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $174.8 million

62) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

  • Year: 2009
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $836.6 million

61) Memoirs of a Geisha

  • Year: 2005
  • Credited As: Producer
  • Box Office: $162.2 million

60) The Mask of Zorro

  • Year: 1998
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $250.3 million

59) Transformers: Dark of the Moon

  • Year: 2011
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $1.124 billion

58) The Lovely Bones

  • Year: 2009
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $93.6 million

57) Hook

  • Year: 1991
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $300.9 million

56) The Lost World: Jurassic Park

  • Year: 1997
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $618.6 million

55) Twilight Zone: The Movie

  • Year: 1983
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $29.5 million

54) The Land Before Time

  • Year: 1988
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $84.4 million

53) Men in Black II

  • Year: 2002
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $441.8 million

52) Real Steel

  • Year: 2011
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $299.3 million

51) Hereafter

  • Year: 2010
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $105.2 million

50) 1941

  • Year: 1979
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $94.9 million

49) Batteries Not Included

  • Year: 1987
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $65.1 million

48) Men in Black III

  • Year: 2012
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $624 million

47) Monster House

  • Year: 2006
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $140.2 million

46) The Adventures of Tintin

  • Year: 2011
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $374 million

45) Empire of the Sun

  • Year: 1987
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $66.7 million

44) Always

  • Year: 1989
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $74.1 million

43) War of the Worlds

  • Year: 2005
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $591.7 million

42) Jurassic Park III

  • Year: 2001
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $368.8 million

41) Gremlins 2: The New Batch

  • Year: 1990
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $41.5 million

40) Back to the Future Part II

  • Year: 1989
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $332 million

39) Innerspace

  • Year: 1987
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $25 million

38) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

  • Year: 2008
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $786.6 million

37) Ready Player One

  • Year: 2018
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $579.1 million

36) Jurassic World

  • Year: 2015
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $1.67 billion

35) Minority Report

  • Year: 2002
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $358.4 million

34) Transformers

  • Year: 2007
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $709.7 million

33) The Goonies

  • Year: 1985
  • Credited As: Writer
  • Box Office: $61.5 million

32) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

  • Year: 1984
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $333.1 million

31) Back to the Future Part III

  • Year: 1990
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $244.5 million

30) Poltergeist

  • Year: 1982
  • Credited As: Producer and Writer
  • Box Office: $121.7 million

29) Super 8

  • Year: 2011
  • Credited As: Producer
  • Box Office: $260.1 million

28) The BFG

  • Year: 2016
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $183.3 million

27) Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

  • Year: 1989
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $474.2 million

26) Gremlins

  • Year: 1984
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $153.1 million

25) A.I. Artificial Intelligence

  • Year: 2001
  • Credited As: Director, Producer, and Writer
  • Box Office: $235.9 million

24) Cape Fear

  • Year: 1991
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $182.3 million

23) Men in Black

  • Year: 1997
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $589.4 million

22) The Terminal

  • Year: 2004
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $219.4 million

21) Jurassic Park

  • Year: 1993
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $1.03 billion

20) The Sugarland Express

  • Year: 1974
  • Credited As: Director and Writer
  • Box Office: $12.8 million

19) The Post

  • Year: 2017
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $174.5 million

18) Arachnophobia

  • Year: 1990
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $53.2 million

17) Close Encounters of the Third Kind

  • Year: 1977
  • Credited As: Director and Writer
  • Box Office: $306.1 million

16) Bridge of Spies

  • Year: 2015
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $165.5 million

15) True Grit

  • Year: 2010
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $252.3 million

14) Letters from Iwo Jima

  • Year: 2006
  • Credited As: Producer
  • Box Office: $68.7 million

13) Amistad

  • Year: 1997
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $44.2 million

12) Raiders of the Lost Ark

  • Year: 1981
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $389.9 million

11) War Horse

  • Year: 2011
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $177.6 million

10) Who Framed Roger Rabbit

  • Year: 1988
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $329.8 million

9) Catch Me If You Can

  • Year: 2002
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $352.1 million

8) Jaws

  • Year: 1975
  • Credited As: Director
  • Box Office: $470.7 million

7) Back to the Future

  • Year: 1985
  • Credited As: Executive Producer
  • Box Office: $381.1 million

6) Munich

  • Year: 2005
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $130.4 million

5) The Color Purple

  • Year: 1985
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $142 million

4) Lincoln

  • Year: 2012
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $275.3 million

3) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

  • Year: 1982
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $792.9 million

2) Saving Private Ryan

  • Year: 1998
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $481.8 million

1) Schindler’s List

  • Year: 1993
  • Credited As: Director and Producer
  • Box Office: $321.2 million