David O. Russell

Best known as a Director based on credits in that role in 12 films, with $899,499,770 worldwide aggregate box office (rank #217)
Best-known technical roles: American Hustle (Director), American Hustle (Screenwriter), Silver Linings Playbook (Director), Silver Linings Playbook (Screenwriter), The Fighter (Director)
Best-known acting roles: Himself (Hal)
Most productive collaborators: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Robert De Niro, Amy Adams
Born: August 20, 1958 (65 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 ActorInverviewee1$45,889$1,360$47,249
In Technical RolesDirector12$536,857,583$362,642,187$899,499,770
Screenwriter9$441,880,838$326,861,372$768,742,210
Producer3$69,235,945$51,932,827$121,168,772
Story Creator1$56,451,232$44,682,827$101,134,059
Executive Producer1$84,136,909$5,339,356$89,476,265

Latest Ranking on Selected Box Office Record Lists


RecordRankAmount
Top Stars at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 74,101-74,200) 74,187 $45,889
Top Stars at the International Box Office (Rank 70,901-71,000) 70,968 $1,360
Top Stars at the Worldwide Box Office (Rank 80,001-80,100) 80,031 $47,249
Top Grossing Director at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 101-200) 160 $536,857,583
Top Grossing Executive Producer at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 1,601-1,700) 1,613 $84,136,909
Top Grossing Producer at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 1,401-1,500) 1,437 $69,235,945
Top Grossing Screenwriter at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 201-300) 241 $441,880,838
Top Grossing Story Creator at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 1,101-1,200) 1,126 $56,451,232
Top Grossing Director at the International Box Office (Rank 201-300) 297 $362,642,187
Top Grossing Executive Producer at the International Box Office (Rank 4,401-4,500) 4,445 $5,339,356
Top Grossing Producer at the International Box Office (Rank 1,701-1,800) 1,779 $51,932,827
Top Grossing Screenwriter at the International Box Office (Rank 501-600) 514 $326,861,372
Top Grossing Story Creator at the International Box Office (Rank 1,201-1,300) 1,203 $44,682,827
Top Grossing Director at the Worldwide Box Office (Rank 201-300) 217 $899,499,770
Top Grossing Executive Producer at the Worldwide Box Office (Rank 2,301-2,400) 2,370 $89,476,265
Top Grossing Producer at the Worldwide Box Office (Rank 1,601-1,700) 1,631 $121,168,772
Top Grossing Screenwriter at the Worldwide Box Office (Rank 301-400) 366 $768,742,210
Top Grossing Story Creator at the Worldwide Box Office (Rank 1,101-1,200) 1,172 $101,134,059

See the Acting Credits tab for all Acting Box Office Records and the Technical Credits tab for all Technical Box Office Records.


Weekend predictions: Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile favorite going into weekend

October 7th, 2022

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a straight up live action (with a touch of CGI) family film in theaters. Arguably the last one was Clifford the Big Red Dog, which opened with $16.6 million in November last year. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is hoping for a debut somewhere in that ballpark this weekend, but, while it’s a strong favorite to come top of chart, our model thinks it might struggle to get there. Amsterdam provides it with some competition, but Smile is looking like the only other film that still has a shout at beating Lyle and topping the chart. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Star Wars misses its third Century Mark, Still Sets Multiple Records with $90.24 Million

January 4th, 2016

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

As expected, Star Wars: The Force Awakens dominated the weekend box office earning $90.24 million, breaking several records along the way. However, it did fall 40% over the weekend, which is a lot for this time of year. It appears The Force Awakens is acting more like a typical blockbuster hit and less like the typically leggy December release. That said, I don't think Disney is disappointed with the results so far. On the other hand, The Hateful Eight got off to a disappointing start earning third place with just a fraction of Django Unchained's opening weekend. The overall box office was down from last week, but was still an incredible $219 million. This was 26% lower than last week, but 41% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date is a little less useful, as 2016 is only 3 days old, but it is 27% higher than 2015 was after the first weekend. This is even more impressive, as 2015 had an extra day before the weekend.

More...

The Force Awakens Doubles Previous Christmas Record with $49.34 Million

December 26th, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens set another record by earning $49.34 million on Christmas Day. This more than doubles the previous record of $24.61 million held by Sherlock Holmes. However, this was only 79% more than it made on Christmas Eve, whereas Avatar rose 107% on the same day in its run. You can't even say Avatar had it easy due to weaker competition, so perhaps the explanation lies elsewhere. Perhaps a lot of people who were scared off by the crowds thus far decided to see the movie on Christmas Eve, because it is historically a slow day a the box office. That’s certainly what I was thinking. Because of this, I'm lowing my expectations for the weekend from $170 million to $160 million. This would have been a good opening weekend result for the film. It will be well above the current Record Second Weekend of $106.59 million by Jurassic World. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will The New Releases Experience Any Joy?

December 23rd, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

There are five wide releases / wide expansions this week, none of which will even come close to Star Wars: The Force Awakens' second weekend of release. The rest of the box office combined won't come close to The Force Awakens' sophomore stint. It looks like Daddy's Home has the advantage for second place, while Joy should be close behind. The Big Short expands wide on Wednesday and its five-day total should be close to the previous two films' three-day totals. On the downside, it looks like both Concussion and Point Break will open on the outside of the top five. The Force Awakens will make more than the entire top ten made this weekend last year, so 2015 will end the year on a very positive note in the year-over-year comparison. More...

2015 Preview: December

December 1st, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

November ended on a positive note with a strong Thanksgiving weekend. Even so, the overall numbers were mixed with a lot of misses mixed in with a few hits. It was better than October and we will call that a victory. Meanwhile, December is potentially record-breaking. Actually, given the evidence, it is almost assuredly going to be record-breaking. Star Wars: The Force Awakens has already set a record for the most money taken from ticket pre-sales and the biggest December weekend will fall. The pre-orders alone will guarantee that. On the downside, it is very likely that no film will make as much in total as The Force Awakens will make during its opening weekend. There's a chance no film makes in total as much as The Force Awakens makes during its opening day. There are a few films that have a shot at $100 million. For example, Joy should get there, if it becomes a major player during Awards Season. If not, it will at least come close. Daddy's Home, and to a lesser extent Sisters, could be surprise $100 million hits. However, like the rest of 2015, December is shaping up to be a month of a record-breaking hit and a lot of films that struggle just to get noticed. On the other hand, last December, was a lot more balanced at the top with four films earning more than $100 million, led by The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. There's a chance The Force Awakens earns more than all four $100 million hits from last year earned combined. More...

Limited Releases: There is Treasure to be Found

March 20th, 2015

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter poster

It is a busy week with a number of limited releases earning outstanding reviews. This includes a couple of foreign-language films (Amour fou and La Sapienza), as well as a couple of horror films (Backcountry and Spring). However, of the films on this week's list, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter is the one with the best chance of earning some measure of mainstream success. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Director

February 27th, 2014

Gravity poster

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we end this with the two most prestigious awards, starting with Best Director. You could generously call this a two-horse race, but in reality there is only one director expected to win. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Original Screenplay

February 25th, 2014

Her poster

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we will look at the two writing categories, starting with Best Original Screenplay. This race is twice as competitive as the Best Adapted Screenplay, by that I mean it is a two-way race for the Oscar and not a runaway race. More...

International Box Office: RoboCop Arrests the Competition

February 20th, 2014

Robocop poster

RoboCop rose to first place with $35 million in 37 markets for a total of $70.28 million after three weeks of release. The film's biggest opening came from Russia where it earned first place with $5.72 million in 1,153 screens. It opened in second place in Mexico with $2.90 million on 564. It earned third place in South Korea with $3.67 million on 635 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $4.31 million. It slipped to third place in the U.K. with $2.53 million on 436 screens for a two-week total of $8.16 million. More...

2014 Awards Season: WGA: A.I. and Pirates Told the Right Stories

February 1st, 2014

Stories We Tell poster

WGAs handed out their awards on Saturday and depending on who you talk to, there were a couple of major upsets. There was certainly at least one upset, but the other awards are less surprising. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscars Understand the Gravity of the Situation

January 16th, 2014

Gravity poster

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and there are some surprises mixed in with the predictable results. Gravity and American Hustle led the way with ten nominations each while 12 Years a Slave was right behind with nine. The fact that 12 Years a Slave wasn't the leader is the first of the surprises. More...

2014 Awards Season: DGA: Telling Stories about Documentaries

January 14th, 2014

Stories We Tell poster

The Directors Guild of America finished its theatrical nominations yesterday with the Documentary category. I'm of two minds with the list of nominees. On the one hand, I feel like I should be surprised, because a number of documentaries thought to be Oscar favorites were left off the list. On the other hand, they've been left off the list a number of times. I think it is time to rethink who is and is not an Oscar favorite. More...

2014 Awards Season: DGA Dips into Nominations

January 7th, 2014

12 Years a Slave poster

The Directors Guild of America handed out their nominations for Feature Films today and will do the same for Documentaries next week. I have no idea why they do this, but it makes my job harder. Usually, I just wait till the Documentary nominations are announced, but this year I will do two stories. Next week will be mostly cut and paste job. More...

2014 Awards Season: WGA: Nominees Have Stories to Tell

January 5th, 2014

Stories We Tell poster

WGAs announced their nominations this weekend and there were a couple of surprises to talk about. The top of that list is 12 Years a Slave, which was deemed ineligible because it wasn't written under WGA jurisdiction. This makes using the WGAs as an Oscar guide less reliable. On the other hand, several Oscar favorites showed up as well, including American Hustle, Nebraska, and others that have picked up major nominations this year. More...

2014 Awards Season: Slave Hustles to the Top

December 14th, 2013

12 Years a Slave poster

Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their Golden Globe nominations this week, and a clear picture is forming. 12 Years a Slave was again the recipient of the most nominations, but this time it was a tie, as it and American Hustle both grabbed seven nominations. If you look down the list of other multi-nominated films, you will find a number of familiar faces. More...

2013 Preview: December

December 1st, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug poster

We had some good news and some bad news in November. The bad news is the overall weakness at the box office continued and 2013 lost its lead over 2012. Strong runs by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen did help it bounce back in the end, but 2013 is still going to have a tough time topping 2012. Looking forward to December, we find about a dozen wide releases, sort of. There are several films that are opening in limited release that are expected to expand wide by the end of the month, but I'm not sure that will be the case for all of them. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug should be the easy winner this month and if it is a little lucky, it might even top its predecessor at the box office. There is a huge amount of hype surrounding Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and it could double the first film's box office numbers. On the other hand, those two films might be the only two December wide releases to reach $100 million. There are a few that have the potential to get to the century mark, if they are big players during Awards Season. Obviously some of the films coming out this month will win awards, but there's already a lot of competition in theaters before the month begins. There were three $100 million movies last December, led by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, so while it could be close, it looks like December will lose in the year-over-year comparison. This is really bad news, as 2013 can't afford to go out on a losing streak if it wants to top 2012. More...

2013 - Awards Season: Independent Spirit Awards are the Silver Linings for Smaller Films

February 24th, 2013

Independent Spirit Award were handed out yesterday and while the average moviegoer will be more focused on the Oscars tonight, a lot of great films were honored yesterday. This includes Silver Linings Playbook, which took home numerous awards, including the top prizes.

The categories and winners are...




More...

2013 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Director

February 22nd, 2013

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we will look at the Best Director, which is one of the stranger races this year. Before Awards Season began, I thought Kathryn Bigelow would be the favorite. She wasn't even nominated. The evidence suggests Ben Affleck will win. But again, he wasn't even nominated. So with the top two choices not even on the list of nominees, we are looking at the best of the rest. More...

2013 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Adapted Screenplay

February 21st, 2013

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we will look at the two writing categories, starting with Best Adapted Screenplay. This is a race that is not as close as many thought it would be, and it is not the two early front-runners running away with the Oscar. More...

2013 Awards Season: Lincoln Oversees a Divided Group of Nominees

January 10th, 2013

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions. More...

2013 Awards Season: WGAs Leaves Analysts In the Dark

January 7th, 2013

Surprises seems to be the word of the day, as the WGA nominations included a number of them. Granted, Zero Dark Thirty and a lot of the other films that have earned Awards Season success thus far were here, but there were almost as many surprises as there were obvious choices. More...

Awards Season: Lincoln Shows a United Front at the Golden Globes

December 13th, 2012

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominations and the same list of films that have been mentioned since the beginning of Awards Season were rewarded today. Lincoln led the way with seven nods, while Argo and Django Unchained were close behind with five. More...

Awards Season: Silver Linings for Limited Releases

November 28th, 2012

The Independent Spirit Awards has a special place in the Awards Season. The nominations are the unoffficial start of Awards Season, but the actual awards aren't given out until Oscar weekend, so they are the beginning at the end of Awards Season. They also help out a lot of limited releases that would otherwise not get enough buzz, although they are not so good at predicting Oscar wins. This year, two films tied for most nominations, Moonrise Kingdom and The Silver Linings Playbook, both of which earned five nominations. They weren't the only films to earn multiple nominations though. More...

2012 Preview: November

November 1st, 2012

October was pretty good with a few films really crushing expectations, which made up for the few duds that opened at the end. 2012 gained about $100 million over 2011 during the month of October. We really needed this success and hopefully November will continue this push forward. However, November is a bit of a weird month. There are five weekends, but only eight true wide releases, half of which open on the Thanksgiving long weekend, leaving the other four weeks with just one true wide release each. There are a couple others opening in the semi-wide level and another opening in limited release with a planned wide release, but even so, it is not a busy month. That said, it is a case of quality over quantity. There are four films that are pretty much guaranteed to reach $100 million, one of which should reach $300 million. By comparison, last November only produced one $100 million film. Granted, that film was The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1, which made nearly $300 million, which is a huge number no matter how you look at it. But this year, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 should top that number and with the other $100 million movies pulling in more than $400 million combined, it should be a very profitable month at the box office. More...

All Acting Credits



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Release
Date
TitleRoleDomestic
Box Office
International
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Sep 7, 2018Hal Himself $45,889$1,360$47,249
 
Averages $45,889$1,360$47,249
Totals 1 $45,889$1,360$47,249

Latest Ranking on All Acting Box Office Record Lists



All Technical Credits

Announced (Undated)

Super Toys

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Release
Date
TitleRoleDomestic
Box Office
International
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Oct 7, 2022Amsterdam Director
Screenwriter
$14,947,969$14,452,857$29,400,826
Dec 25, 2015Joy Director
Screenwriter
Story by
Producer
$56,451,232$44,682,827$101,134,059
Mar 17, 2015Accidental Love Director $135,436$135,436
Dec 13, 2013American Hustle Director
Screenwriter
$150,098,456$107,760,487$257,858,943
Nov 16, 2012Silver Linings Playbook Director
Screenwriter
$132,092,958$104,319,495$236,412,453
Dec 10, 2010The Fighter Director $93,617,009$35,645,379$129,262,388
Oct 1, 2004I Heart Huckabees Director
Screenwriter
Producer
$12,784,713$7,250,000$20,034,713
Jul 9, 2004Anchorman: The Legend of Ro… Executive Producer $84,136,909$5,339,356$89,476,265
Oct 1, 1999Three Kings Director
Screenwriter
$60,652,036$47,100,000$107,752,036
Mar 22, 1996Flirting with Disaster Director
Screenwriter
$14,853,474$1,295,706$16,149,180
Jul 15, 1994Spanking the Monkey Director $1,359,736$1,359,736
 
Averages $62,099,449$36,798,154$89,906,912
Totals 11 $620,994,492$367,981,543$988,976,035


Director Credits


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
Oct 7, 2022Amsterdam $6,444,8963,005$14,947,969$29,400,82650.8%
Dec 25, 2015Joy $17,015,1682,924$56,451,232$101,134,05955.8%
Mar 17, 2015Accidental Love $135,436
Dec 13, 2013American Hustle $740,4552,629$150,098,456$257,858,94358.2%
Nov 16, 2012Silver Linings Playbook $443,0032,809$132,092,958$236,412,45355.9%
Dec 10, 2010The Fighter $300,0102,534$93,617,009$129,262,38872.4%
Oct 1, 2004I Heart Huckabees $292,177901$12,784,713$20,034,71363.8%
Oct 1, 1999Three Kings $15,847,6362,943$60,652,036$107,752,03656.3%
Mar 22, 1996Flirting with Disaster $164,458969$14,853,474$16,149,18092.0%
Jul 15, 1994Spanking the Monkey $1,359,736$1,359,736100.0%
 
Averages $5,155,9752,339$59,650,843$89,949,97767.2%
Totals 10 $536,857,583$899,499,770


Producer Credits


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
Dec 25, 2015Joy $17,015,1682,924$56,451,232$101,134,05955.8%
Oct 1, 2004I Heart Huckabees $292,177901$12,784,713$20,034,71363.8%
 
Averages $8,653,6731,913$34,617,973$60,584,38659.8%
Totals 2 $69,235,945$121,168,772


Writer Credits


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Release
Date
TitleOpening
Weekend
Maximum
Theaters
Domestic
Box Office
Worldwide
Box Office
Domestic
Share
Oct 7, 2022Amsterdam $6,444,8963,005$14,947,969$29,400,82650.8%
Dec 25, 2015Joy $17,015,1682,924$56,451,232$101,134,05955.8%
Dec 13, 2013American Hustle $740,4552,629$150,098,456$257,858,94358.2%
Nov 16, 2012Silver Linings Playbook $443,0032,809$132,092,958$236,412,45355.9%
Oct 1, 2004I Heart Huckabees $292,177901$12,784,713$20,034,71363.8%
Oct 1, 1999Three Kings $15,847,6362,943$60,652,036$107,752,03656.3%
Mar 22, 1996Flirting with Disaster $164,458969$14,853,474$16,149,18092.0%
 
Averages $5,849,6852,311$63,125,834$109,820,31661.8%
Totals 7 $441,880,838$768,742,210