James Gunn

Best known as a Screenwriter based on credits in that role in 12 films, with $3,166,169,964 worldwide aggregate box office (rank #48)
Best-known technical roles: Avengers: Endgame (Executive Producer), Avengers: Infinity War (Executive Producer), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (Director), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (Screenwriter), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (Director)
Best-known acting roles: Maskless Sakaaran (Guardians of the Galaxy), Minute Man (The Specials)
Most productive collaborators: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Kevin Feige, Dave Bautista, Louis D’Esposito
Born: August 5, 1966 (57 years old)
                                    

  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Acting Credits
  4. Technical Credits

Career Summary


  MoviesDomestic
Box Office
International
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
As an ActorSupporting1$333,714,112$437,168,283$770,882,395
(Unclassified)1$12,996$0$12,996
In Technical RolesScreenwriter12$1,402,957,443$1,763,212,521$3,166,169,964
Director9$1,155,311,072$1,541,914,790$2,697,225,862
Executive Producer2$1,537,188,482$3,300,083,557$4,837,272,039
Producer2$27,426,247$17,550,335$44,976,582

Latest Ranking on Selected Box Office Record Lists


Guardians of the Galaxies Vol. 3 trailer, and 4 more Guardians trailers from the vault

December 5th, 2022

Superhero adventure starring Chris Pratt and the gang, directed by James Gunn, opens exclusively in theaters on May 5, 2023 ... Full Movie Details.

Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

Click on for all our trailers for the Guardians of the Galaxy franchiseMore...

Theater counts: The Suicide Squad invades theaters, but Jungle Cruise remains the widest release

August 5th, 2021

The Suicide Squad

Only one wide release hits theaters this week: Warner Bros.’s The Suicide Squad. The James Gunn-directed action film, starring a plethora of Hollywood stars opens in an estimated 4,000 locations, while also being available to stream exclusively on HBO Max. Previews for the latest DCEU/Harley Quinn feature begin at 7pm on Thursday evening. The Suicide Squad has so far scored $6.7M in five international territories, including $4.5M in the United Kingdom. Last week’s widest release, Jungle Cruise dominated the box office during its opening weekend by taking in $35 million from 4,310 locations. The Walt Disney adventure film retains its 4,310 theater count from last week, taking the top spot once again this week. More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

March 29th, 2020

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker closes off the sequel trilogy of the Star Wars franchise. The film missed expectations, both critically and commercially. That said, it was still a $1 billion hit worldwide, so it was massively profitable. Is the film a fun way to end the sequel trilogy, despite the critical reception? Or was it a major misstep like many called it? More...

2017 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part III - Limited Releases, Classics, Foreign Imports

December 16th, 2017

The Big Sick

Both the first installment First-run Releases and the second installment, TV on DVD releases, were shorter than I would have liked, as this hasn’t been a great year for either wide releases or TV on DVD releases. That said, the third installment of our Holiday Gift Guide deals with limited releases, classics, and foreign imports and this list can get out of hand rather quickly. There will more releases on this list than the previous two, starting with... More...

Featured Blu-ray and DVD Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

August 20th, 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 was the second biggest hit of the summer and the third biggest hit of 2017 so far. It is also part of the MCU and there hasn’t been a truly bad movie in the MCU so far. Spoiler alert: This movie doesn’t break the winning streak. However, it could be a really good movie and still not live up to the original. Is that the case? Or can Vol 2 outshine the first installment? More...

2017 Preview: May

May 1st, 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

April is over and thank god for that. The Fate of the Furious is currently the only film that was better than a midlevel hit, while Going in Style might end up being the second-biggest release of the month. On the low end, there were seven films on last month’s list that didn’t even manage to open in truly wide release (2,000 or more theaters). Fortunately, May looks a lot brighter. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 should dominate the chart and get the month off to a fast start. Furthermore, every week there’s at least one film with a reasonable chance of earning $100 million domestically. Additionally, last May wasn’t particularly strong, so that should help 2017 overall. Granted, Captain America: Civil War earned more than $400 million, so the month got off to a fast start, but films struggled the rest of the way. The second-biggest film was X-Men: Apocalypse at just $155 million, while only one other movie, The Angry Birds Movie, earned more than $100 million. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 should at least be competitive with Captain America: Civil War, allowing 2017 to win thanks to its superior depth. More...

2017 Preview: March

March 1st, 2017

Beauty and the Beast

February was an okay month. The films that missed expectations were mostly balanced by the films that were pleasant surprises. Unfortunately, last February was amazing as Deadpool dominated the chart, so 2017 has fallen further behind 2016 and 2016’s lead is now about $100 million. It is not so bad that a good March won’t help 2017 back into the lead. Will that happen? We have some good news and some bad news. Good news: Every week there is one movie that has at least a shot at $100 million. Two of them, Logan and Beauty and the Beast, could reach $200 million or a lot more. Bad News: last March, both Zootopia and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earned more than $300 million. That’s a really powerful one-two punch and I don’t think we can replicate that this time around. On the other hand, last March, the third best film of the month was 10 Cloverfield Lane, while there were four films that were expected to open wide that earned less than $10 million at the box office. 2017 likely won’t be as good at the top, but I also don’t think it will have as many bombs either. If Beauty and the Beast reaches the very high end of expectations, then 2017 could even close the gap with 2016 entirely. I’ll be happy getting halfway there. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

December 8th, 2014

At the moment, Guardians of the Galaxy is the highest grossing film released in 2014. (Mockingjay, Part 1 still has a chance of catching it, depending on how well it does over Christmas). It is also one the the best-reviewed wide releases of 2014. As a fan of Marvel Comics in general and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in particular, I had very high hopes for this film. Was the buzz warranted? Or was this a case of too much hype? More...

2014 Preview: August

August 1st, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy poster

July was... well... let's just pretend it didn't happen. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes did well, but week after week 2014 fell further behind 2013 in the year-to-date comparison. At the moment, we are roughly $400 million behind last year's pace and while I don't think August will continue the losing streak, there's really no chance August will put a dent in that number. It looks more and more likely that Guardians of the Galaxy will be a hit, especially given its early reviews, but it could be the last $100 million hit till October, if the bad buzz surrounding Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turns into bad ticket sales. Last August there were two films that reached $100 million, plus two others that came close. This August might match that, while the biggest film this year should top the biggest film from last year. I think the slump 2014 is suffering through will end the first weekend and overall I think it will cut the deficit a little bit. That said, summer 2014 will still end as one of the worst recent summers at the box office. More...

All Acting Credits



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Release
Date
TitleRoleDomestic
Box Office
International
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Aug 1, 2014Guardians of the Galaxy Maskless Sakaaran $333,714,112$437,168,283$770,882,395
Sep 22, 2000The Specials Minute Man $12,996$12,996
 
Averages $166,863,554$437,168,283$385,447,696
Totals 2 $333,727,108$437,168,283$770,895,391


Supporting Roles


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
Aug 1, 2014Guardians of the Galaxy $94,320,8834,088$333,714,112$770,882,39543.3%
 
Averages $94,320,8834,088$333,714,112$770,882,39543.3%
Totals 1 $333,714,112$770,882,395

Latest Ranking on All Acting Box Office Record Lists



All Technical Credits



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Release
Date
TitleRoleDomestic
Box Office
International
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Jul 11, 2025Superman: Legacy Director
May 5, 2023Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 Screenwriter
Director
$358,995,815$486,472,929$845,468,744
Nov 25, 2022The Guardians of the Galaxy… Director
Screenwriter
Aug 5, 2021The Suicide Squad Director
Screenwriter
$55,817,425$111,280,312$167,097,737
May 24, 2019BrightBurn Producer $17,259,427$15,924,213$33,183,640
Apr 26, 2019Avengers: Endgame Executive Producer $858,373,000$1,930,539,285$2,788,912,285
Apr 27, 2018Avengers: Infinity War Executive Producer $678,815,482$1,369,544,272$2,048,359,754
May 5, 2017Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Director
Screenwriter
$389,813,101$479,274,862$869,087,963
Mar 17, 2017The Belko Experiment Screenwriter
Producer
$10,166,820$1,626,122$11,792,942
Aug 1, 2014Guardians of the Galaxy Director
Screenwriter
$333,714,112$437,168,283$770,882,395
Jan 25, 2013Movie 43 Director
Screenwriter
$8,840,453$22,324,294$31,164,747
Apr 1, 2011Super Director
Screenwriter
$327,716$266,217$593,933
Mar 31, 2006Slither Screenwriter
Director
$7,802,450$5,127,893$12,930,343
Mar 26, 2004Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unle… Screenwriter $84,185,387$96,671,609$180,856,996
Jun 14, 2002Scooby-Doo Screenwriter $153,294,164$123,000,000$276,294,164
Dec 17, 1997Tromeo & Juliet Screenwriter
 
Averages $227,492,719$390,709,253$618,201,973
Totals 16 $2,957,405,352$5,079,220,291$8,036,625,643


Director Credits


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
Jul 11, 2025Superman: Legacy
May 5, 2023Guardians of the Galax… $118,414,0214,450$358,995,815$845,468,74442.5%
Nov 25, 2022The Guardians of the G…
Aug 5, 2021The Suicide Squad $26,205,4154,019$55,817,425$167,097,73733.4%
May 5, 2017Guardians of the Galax… $146,510,1044,347$389,813,101$869,087,96344.9%
Aug 1, 2014Guardians of the Galaxy $94,320,8834,088$333,714,112$770,882,39543.3%
Jan 25, 2013Movie 43 $4,805,8782,023$8,840,453$31,164,74728.4%
Apr 1, 2011Super $46,54938$327,716$593,93355.2%
Mar 31, 2006Slither $3,880,2701,946$7,802,450$12,930,34360.3%
 
Averages $56,311,8742,987$165,044,439$385,317,98044.0%
Totals 9 $1,155,311,072$2,697,225,862


Producer Credits


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
May 24, 2019BrightBurn $7,845,6582,607$17,259,427$33,183,64052.0%
Mar 17, 2017The Belko Experiment $4,137,2301,341$10,166,820$11,792,94286.2%
 
Averages $5,991,4441,974$13,713,124$22,488,29169.1%
Totals 2 $27,426,247$44,976,582


Writer Credits


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
May 5, 2023Guardians of the Galax… $118,414,0214,450$358,995,815$845,468,74442.5%
Nov 25, 2022The Guardians of the G…
Aug 5, 2021The Suicide Squad $26,205,4154,019$55,817,425$167,097,73733.4%
May 5, 2017Guardians of the Galax… $146,510,1044,347$389,813,101$869,087,96344.9%
Mar 17, 2017The Belko Experiment $4,137,2301,341$10,166,820$11,792,94286.2%
Aug 1, 2014Guardians of the Galaxy $94,320,8834,088$333,714,112$770,882,39543.3%
Jan 25, 2013Movie 43 $4,805,8782,023$8,840,453$31,164,74728.4%
Apr 1, 2011Super $46,54938$327,716$593,93355.2%
Mar 31, 2006Slither $3,880,2701,946$7,802,450$12,930,34360.3%
Mar 26, 2004Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters… $29,438,3313,312$84,185,387$180,856,99646.5%
Jun 14, 2002Scooby-Doo $54,155,3123,447$153,294,164$276,294,16455.5%
Dec 17, 1997Tromeo & Juliet
 
Averages $48,191,3992,901$140,295,744$316,616,99649.6%
Totals 12 $1,402,957,443$3,166,169,964