The question is Spielberg vs Cameron ….who is the best? Steven Spielberg and James Cameron are two of the most successful directors of all time. So I figured it would be fun to compare these two legendary directors.
Combined they have directed 38 movies. Those movies have grossed over $12 billion in adjusted box office in North America and over $25 billion in Worldwide adjusted box office grosses. Their movies have earned 163 Oscar® nominations and 52 Oscar® wins. Those wins include a Best Picture Oscar® for Schindler’s List and Titanic. Spielberg has two Best Director Oscars® for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan while Cameron won the Best Director Oscar® for Titanic
The following Spielberg vs Cameron table looks at all of their movies. The tables ranks Spielberg and Cameron movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.
This Spielberg vs Cameron Table Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort by who directed the movie
- Sort Spielberg or Cameron movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Spielberg or Cameron movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Spielberg or Cameron movies by how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Spielberg or Cameron movie received.
- Sort Spielberg or Cameron movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| CreditRank | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Review % | Oscar Nom / Win | S | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CreditRank | 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 | S | UMR Score |
| 2 | Schindler's List (1993) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Director Win |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 96.10 | 290.1 | 970.1 | 9 | 94 | 12 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | Titanic (1997) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Director Win |
Directed by James Cameron | 621.80 | 1,693.3 | 5,523.5 | 1 | 78 | 14 / 11 | 99.8 | |
| 1 | Saving Private Ryan (1998) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Win |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 214.50 | 571.8 | 1,278.9 | 1 | 93 | 11 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 3 | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 246.20 | 1,106.8 | 1,744.3 | 1 | 92 | 08 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 4 | Jaws (1975) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 262.50 | 1,600.6 | 2,885.1 | 1 | 93 | 04 / 03 | 99.7 | |
| 5 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 416.70 | 1,771.7 | 3,293.0 | 1 | 87 | 09 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 6 | Lincoln (2012) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 182.20 | 286.1 | 432.3 | 13 | 89 | 12 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 7 | Avatar (2009) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Directed by James Cameron | 748.80 | 1,247.9 | 4,627.0 | 1 | 85 | 09 / 03 | 99.6 | |
| 10 | Aliens (1986) | Directed by James Cameron | 141.00 | 475.0 | 475.0 | 3 | 94 | 07 / 02 | 99.6 | |
| 8 | The Color Purple (1985) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 94.20 | 331.6 | 500.6 | 4 | 87 | 11 / 00 | 99.5 | |
| 11 | Terminator 2 (1991) | Directed by James Cameron | 204.80 | 608.2 | 1,543.5 | 2 | 89 | 06 / 04 | 99.4 | |
| 12 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) AA Best Director Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 124.40 | 697.3 | 1,659.7 | 3 | 91 | 08 / 01 | 99.4 | |
| 17 | The Terminator (1984) | Directed by James Cameron | 53.10 | 197.6 | 346.4 | 13 | 91 | 00 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 13 | Minority Report (2002) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 132.10 | 284.6 | 772.4 | 17 | 88 | 01 / 00 | 98.6 | |
| 14 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 196.20 | 617.7 | 1,489.8 | 2 | 84 | 03 / 01 | 98.5 | |
| 16 | Jurassic Park (1993) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 381.10 | 1,150.6 | 3,042.8 | 1 | 81 | 03 / 03 | 98.4 | |
| 15 | Catch Me if You Can (2002) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 164.60 | 354.8 | 758.9 | 11 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 98.4 | |
| 17 | Avatar:The Way Of Water (2022) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by James Cameron | 684.10 | 763.3 | 2,588.8 | 2 | 72 | 04 / 01 | 97.8 | |
| 18 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 179.90 | 669.2 | 1,239.2 | 3 | 76 | 02 / 01 | 96.9 | |
| 19 | War of the Worlds (2005) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 234.30 | 457.6 | 1,155.8 | 4 | 73 | 03 / 00 | 96.3 | |
| 22 | Ready Player One (2018) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 135.80 | 185.3 | 791.1 | 24 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 95.7 | |
| 23 | The Abyss (1989) | Directed by James Cameron | 54.20 | 170.7 | 282.6 | 24 | 78 | 04 / 01 | 95.2 | |
| 21 | True Lies (1994) | Directed by James Cameron | 146.30 | 448.2 | 1,160.8 | 3 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 23 | Bridge of Spies (2015) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 72.30 | 107.2 | 245.4 | 39 | 88 | 06 / 01 | 94.8 | |
| 25 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 317.10 | 552.1 | 1,369.5 | 3 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 94.2 | |
| 28 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 78.60 | 173.9 | 522.0 | 28 | 72 | 02 / 00 | 93.3 | |
| 29 | War Horse (2011) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 79.90 | 125.9 | 279.9 | 41 | 74 | 06 / 00 | 91.6 | |
| 27 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 229.10 | 623.9 | 1,684.7 | 3 | 59 | 01 / 00 | 91.2 | |
| 30 | The Post (2017) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 81.90 | 114.1 | 243.2 | 39 | 78 | 02 / 00 | 90.7 | |
| 31 | Munich (2005) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Director Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 47.40 | 92.6 | 254.6 | 62 | 80 | 05 / 00 | 89.8 | |
| 30 | Hook (1991) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 119.70 | 355.3 | 893.3 | 6 | 49 | 05 / 00 | 88.6 | |
| 32 | West Side Story (2021) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 38.50 | 44.5 | 85.7 | 34 | 86 | 07 / 01 | 88.4 | |
| 34 | The Adventures of Tintin (2011) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 77.60 | 122.3 | 589.5 | 44 | 76 | 01 / 00 | 88.2 | |
| 35 | Amistad (1997) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 44.20 | 120.5 | 177.9 | 48 | 73 | 04 / 00 | 87.8 | |
| 36 | The Terminal (2004) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 77.90 | 156.7 | 441.7 | 35 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 87.5 | |
| 35 | The Fabelmans (2022) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Steven Spielberg | 17.30 | 19.4 | 46.5 | 57 | 87 | 07 / 00 | 85.0 | |
| 37 | Empire of the Sun (1987) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 22.20 | 71.1 | 211.8 | 52 | 76 | 06 / 00 | 83.2 | |
| 38 | Always (1989) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 43.90 | 138.1 | 233.4 | 29 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 83.2 | |
| 41 | Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 29.50 | 116.9 | 168.5 | 24 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 80.0 | |
| 40 | The BFG (2016) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 55.50 | 80.2 | 265.0 | 60 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 79.9 | |
| 43 | 1941 (1979) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 31.80 | 158.1 | 460.4 | 27 | 43 | 03 / 00 | 78.9 | |
| 39 | The Sugarland Express (1974) | Directed by Steven Spielberg | 7.50 | 50.1 | 50.1 | 54 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 42 | Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX) (2003) | Directed by James Cameron | 17.00 | 35.3 | 59.5 | 113 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 71.6 | |
| 44 | Aliens of the Deep (IMAX) (2005) | Directed by James Cameron | 9.00 | 17.5 | 24.9 | 154 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 65.3 | |
| 45 | Firelight (1964) | Robert Robyn & Beth Weber |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 167 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 27.2 | |
| 46 | Piranaha II: The Spawning (1981) | Directed by James Cameron | 0.40 | 1.7 | 6.2 | 161 | 21 | 00 / 00 | 0.1 |
Possibly Interesting Stats From Our Spielberg vs Cameron Question
1. Movies directed: Steven Spielberg has directed 28 movies. James Cameron has directed 10 movies. Edge goes to Speilberg.
2. Box Office Comparison: James Cameron movies average $304.03 million in adjusted domestic box office gross and $943.60 million in adjusted worldwide box office. Steve Spielberg movies average $290.28 million in adjusted domestic box office gross and $545.07 million in adjusted worldwide box office. Edge goes to Cameron.
3. Critics/Audience Rating: An average Steven Spielberg has a 77.00% rating…while James Cameron’s movies average 76.42% rating according to critics and audiences. Slight edge to Spielberg.
4. Oscar® nominations in any category: Steven Spielberg movies have picked up 118 Oscar® nominations or 4.06 per movie. James Cameron movies have picked up 41 Oscar® nominations or 4.10 per movie. Slight edge to Cameron.
5. Oscar® wins in any category: James Cameron movies have picked up 21 Oscar® wins or 2.10 per movie. Steven Spielberg movies have picked up 31 Oscar® nominations or 1.10 per movie. Edge to Cameron.
6. Best Picture Oscar® nominations: Steven Spielberg has directed 9 movies that received a Best Picture nomination or 31.03% of his movies. James Cameron has directed 2 movies that received a Best Picture nomination or 20.00% of his movies. Edge to Spielberg.
7. Best Director Oscar® nominations: Steven Spielberg has received 7 Best Director nominations….winning twice. James Cameron has received 2 Best Director nominations….winning once. Edge to Spielberg.
8. Average Cogerson Movie Score: A Steven Spielberg movie has a average Cogerson Movie Score of 63.30. A James Cameron movie has a average Cogerson Movie Score of 58.95. Edge to Spielberg.
So those are the stats…who do you think is the best Spielberg or Cameron? As for me? Gotta go with Spielberg.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section. Plus due to SPAM issues I had to block your first comment. But once one of your comments are approved…you comment will show up right away.
Fascinating movie page Bruce. Titanic still on top adjusted? Other surprises, I would have expected ET to top the moviescore, hugely successful, critics loved it and it was Oscar nominated! As much as I loved Aliens, not sure it should top Jaws on the critics chart. Jaws is in many greatest movies charts including the AFIs 100 greatest movies charts and Oscar nominated for Best Picture. Otherwise great page dude!
Hey Steve…..those Best Picture Oscars moved those three movies past ET….on my Top 100 Cogerson Movie Score page….8 of these movies made that list. ET still sits 4th that is pretty stout on this list. Aliens and Jaws both have some of the best reviews ever….on IMDb….Jaws is ranked #211 while Aliens sits at #64….that pretty much gave the edge to Aliens in my totals. Thanks for checking out my latest page.
I’ve enjoyed the content of the movie page as well as the comments here, Cogerson. I can’t believe the one person hasn’t seen a Cameron film (gasp). I think I’m on the side of Cameron though I’ve seen most of the S.S. films too. No doubt they’ve all been good films but Cameron always puts something really edgy and unexpected in his films that I like. I feel, as well, Cameron uses a ‘formula’ as a guideline while S.S. uses formula all the way, if you know what I mean. There are points in S.S. films where, if you miss a few minutes, you still know the story but if you miss a couple minutes of Cameron’s films you might have missed a cue/element you need to know 15 minutes later… I think I’ve rambled on enough now… might go watch The Abyss 🙂
Hey mythbuster….thanks for such a good comment. I understand your point about the formula. I think Cameron gets the nod now….but without Spielberg there might not have been a Cameron. I have been very disappointed in Spielberg’s last 5 or 6 movies….Indy Jones and the Crystal Skull….did lots of damage to everybody involved…..I can not believe that Indy 5 is being planned. Cameron seems to get better with each film….granted it takes about a decade to make his films…but the wait is worth it….and Avatar 2 and 3 should be here before we get to 2020. Speaking of the Abyss…..the documentary of making of The Abyss is one of my favorites…..he put everybody through the ringer in that movie.
cameron
Thanks for the vote ggg….I think it is still too close to call.
Hey Bruce, Spielberg has the number one film in North America in adjusted dollars, ET the Extraterrestrial but worldwide it has to be Cameron’s Avatar which has neared 3 billion dollars, am I right?
Fascinating charts as usual, Private Ryan number one on the moviescore I’d never have predicted that. Spielberg’s last great film.
Of the 35 films you’ve listed from the two directors I’ve only missed one, War Horse. I saw Tintin last week, I liked it but I’ve seen better animated movies.
Will Spielberg ever top the world charts again? The last time was in 1993 and Jurassic Park which was the highest grossing film ever until Titanic appeared a few years later.
Hey Steve….well I did a little research on the worldwide box office leaders….I would say of the recent movies…with inflation Titanic looks like the number one movie with 3.2 billion and Avatar being 2nd with 3.0 in inflated dollars. I imagine with better numbers Gone With The Wind would top both of the Cameron movies….as it has 1.6 billion in North America alone…and I would think Ben-Hur would be up there as well.
Saving Private Ryan is number one because of the Oscar win for Spielberg….Schlinder’s List also won him an Oscar but does not score as well across the board like Private Ryan does.
I am missing three of these movies….the two Christmas 2011 movies and Cameron’s first movie the classic Piranha II: The Spawning.
As for Spielberg topping the charts again…I think he will….granted he has only made two movies since the disaster we call Indy 4….but I think he will bounce back
Very impressive movie page you put together again. There’s no question both these men are still great film makers, as I think this seems more like a fair comparison than the one with Tarantino, Nolan and Shymalan
Hey Stevennix2001….thanks for checking out this movie page….I have always been impressed with this list of movies. Talk about movies that have made a dent in Hollywood history. And the good news is…they have more movies coming. Tarantino, Nolan and Shymalan have to have somebody to look up to….lol.