It’s not uncommon to talk about the highest-grossing movies of all time or even the highest-grossing actors or directors, but the importance of screenwriters can often be overlooked. Their stories are a big part of what gets audiences to pay for movie tickets, and it deserves to be recognized as such.
From authors of beloved classics such as David Koep to successful behemoth writers such as james cameronthere have been a few screenwriters lucky enough to be counted among the biggest hits of all time.
10) One of Pixar’s most creative artists — Andrew Stanton
Writing for modern animation owes much to Andrew Stanonwho wrote movies like toy story, The world of Nemoand WALL Ehaving won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the latter two, which he also directed.
Stanton has one of the most creative, fun, and wild imaginations of any writer working today, injecting emotional and compelling arcs into his characters and proving with nearly every screenplay he writes that no one knows audiences like him. For this, his films have grossed $5,649,675,696 worldwide.
9) One of the minds behind the MCU’s Spider-Man – Erik Sommers
Erik Sommer is primarily a television screenwriter, but he has also co-written a few films, such as the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungleand Cloudy with a chance of meatballs.
Sommers is a very creative and insightful writer who likes to have fun watching every movie he works on. He aims to inspire young children with his powerful and capable heroes, earning the films he collaborated with $5,792,513,707 at the global box office.
8) The other mind behind the MCU’s Spider-Man – Chris McKenna
Chris McKenna collaborated with Erik Sommers on all the feature films he wrote except the 2008 one igorwhere he was the sole writer, and the duo has definitely been quite prolific.
Known for his creativity and unique sense of humor, McKenna has proven to be exceptionally talented as a screenwriter despite having less than ten feature films to his credit. Her promising career earned $5,823,527,056 at the box office.
7) Longtime Writing Partner of Peter Jackson – Philippa Boyens
Philippe Boyenswhose films have grossed $6,025,640,892 worldwide, co-wrote several peter jacksonfilms from, including those from 2005 King Kong and the Middle-earth Saga, having won an Oscar for Return of the King.
Boyens is an immensely dedicated performer with a strong sense of characterization. She collaborated with Jackson and Francois Walsh in every movie she wrote. Its presence is certainly fortunate because it has given rise to fascinating and entertaining films.
6) One of Hollywood’s most prolific modern writers – David Koepp
David Koep (pronounced “Kep”) hasn’t had a good streak lately, writing critical flops like The Mummy (2017) and Hell. Yet the legendary quality of his early work is undeniable as he wrote films such as Sam Raimiit is Spider Man and Steven Spielbergit is jurassic park.
Koepp’s oeuvre has been abundant and diverse, proving that writers can explore a wide range of genres and styles to keep things fresh. The writer’s films have grossed $6,182,699,722 worldwide.
5) A fast and furious style of writing – Chris Morgan
seven of ten fast furious the films that have been released so far have been written by Chris Morganwho also wrote movies like 47 Ronins and Sought.
Morgan’s films haven’t been praised for their writing, but he’s proven himself to be a bold, lighthearted screenwriter with an admirable imagination for thrilling action settings, endearing characters, and heartfelt storytelling. No further proof of this should be required than the $6,567,115,359 his films raked in at the box office.
4) Raising art above life itself – Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson
The final pieces of the Boyens-Walsh-Jackson trio are Walsh and Jackson themselves, who are married and have co-written ten feature films. Apart from the ones they worked on alongside Boyens, they also wrote some of the other films Jackson made, such as The Scary and celestial creatures.
The duo don’t like to see art imitate life; rather, they strive to ensure that all of their storylines are inventive, fresh, and larger than life. They certainly achieve this since all of their storytelling is creative and incredibly entertaining, for which their films have grossed $6,592,712,675 worldwide.
3) One of the most ambitious writers ever – James Cameron
Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, known for his ambitious films with compelling narratives, is perhaps best known as a director, but he was just as productive as a writer. He wrote all the films he made, since his debut Piranha, part twoto much more memorable and beloved classics like The terminator, Terminator 2, Titanicand Avatar.
Cameron enjoys marrying groundbreaking visual effects with grand, epic storytelling. He is a master at transporting audiences to new and different worlds through his creative storylines, earning an incredible $6,960,344,106 worldwide.
2) A writer with a magic touch — Steve Kloves
australian screenwriter Steve Kloves was nominated for an Oscar for his work on wonder boys. Yet he is arguably best known for writing the screenplay for each Harry Potter movie except The order of the Phoenix.
Passionate and dedicated to a tee, Kloves showed a real knack for good storytelling, even in his not-so-good storylines. He has also directed two films he wrote himself: the Oscar-nominated The Fabulous Baker Boys and the stars flesh and bone. His work earned $7,932,613,176, a figure that is sure to increase over time.
1) The MCU’s Highest-Grossing Writers – Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
A duo, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, wrote some of the MCU’s most successful films, such as Avengers: Infinity War and End of Gameas well as other films like the three narnia movies and, more recently, The gray man.
The duo’s work has grossed an unparalleled $9,367,535,948 worldwide; it’s not hard to see why. Imperfect as they are, their scripts are always fresh, ambitious and exciting. They still keep their fun stories, interesting themes, and endearing characters alive, making them worthy of being the highest-grossing screenwriters of all time.