10 Female-Directed Films That Saw Huge Box Office Success

Who run the world? Girls! OK, maybe ladies don't run the entire world, but they definitely know how to make a splash and rule the box office. Despite the fact that male directors are still the majority in the film industry, female directors have been big moneymakers for studios, and they deserve some recognition.

While Wonder Woman — directed by the fierce Patty Jenkins — is the latest box office success, sparking a lot of conversation about female directors in Hollywood (and why they should be making as much bank as their male counterparts), Jenkins is not the only woman who has earned big bucks from a successful film.

Women have been kicking butt in the movie world for a long time, and we're all about showing some love for those who've subtly — and not so subtly — directed some of the highest-grossing films throughout history. So, in honor of all the badass ladies running Hollywood behind the scenes, we've rounded up the 10 highest-grossing films directed by women.

Frozen
Disney

Frozen

We can't let it go when it comes to how successful the 2013 Disney animated movie has been since its release. Sure, it's full of catchy songs and meaningful messages — as are all Disney movies — but that's just the beginning of its appeal. Frozen has blown its competition out of the water, year after year, and we have director Jennifer Lee (who also cowrote the film) to thank for it!

Lee's codirector, Chris Buck, obviously deserves a shout-out as well for grossing $400.7 million domestically and $875.7 million in the foreign market (about $1.276 billion total), making Frozen the highest-grossing animated film (or any film, for that matter) by a female director. The cold clearly isn't bothering either of these directors, and it's obvious why Disney has signed on for a sequel.

Wonder Woman
Everett Collection

Wonder Woman

Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman has surpassed every live-action movie (and almost all of the animated films) directed by a woman with its earnings. To date, Wonder Woman has grossed $800.3 million worldwide, which is only second to the all-time highest-grossing film by a female director (Frozen), which is at the $1 billion mark. It sits high atop the record for highest-grossing live-action film by a female director, and broke the record for the best opening ever for a film by a female director.

PS: Wonder Woman is now the third-highest-grossing film in Warner Bros.' history, which is why, according to Deadline, when Wonder Woman 2 rolls around, Jenkins is set for a historic payday, and she deserves it.

Kung Fu Panda 2
Everett Collection

Kung Fu Panda 2

Love was in the air when it came to Kung Fu Panda, which led to a massive box office success for its sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, which was directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson. The DreamWorks animated film grossed $665.7 million worldwide and what makes it even better is that Nelson was able to do it again with the third film in the franchise.

While Kung Fu Panda 3 didn't rake in as much money as its predecessor, with Nelson at the helm it once again took over the box office. In fact, it earned $521.1 million globally, which makes it the seventh highest-grossing film by a female director thus far.

Mamma Mia!
Everett Collection

Mamma Mia!

Mamma mia! Here we go again! Of course there had to be a Meryl Streep film on this list somewhere, but we bet you wouldn't have guessed it would be this one. The 2008 film adaptation of the Abba musical was a big hit, holding the title for highest-grossing live-action film to be directed by a woman until Wonder Woman came along in 2017. Part of its success is due to Phyllida Lloyd, who was the director on the film (and who later directed Streep again in The Iron Lady). As of today, the musical movie has grossed $609.8 million. Fingers crossed that the sequel fares this well.

Fifty Shades of Grey
Everett Collection

Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels, both books and movies, have a massive following, so nobody's surprised that the first film is on this list. With Sam Taylor-Johnson (who also directed Nowhere Boy) at the helm of the 2015 hit, making the scandalous book come to life was much easier. Clearly, her hard work paid off, because the first film in the franchise earned $572 million. The second film had a male director and only brought in $378.8 million, which is . . . pretty good.

But not as good as Taylor-Johnson's film.

Brave
Everett Collection

Brave

When it comes to Brave, the woman on screen (aka Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald) and the woman behind the scenes, Brenda Chapman (who was the codirector alongside Mark Andrews and one of the writers), kicked some serious butt. The 2012 Disney and Pixar story earned a massive amount of money, fit for a princess like Merida.

It comes in at $540.4 million, and it's not Chapman's only blockbuster to rake in the dough. She directed The Prince of Egypt ($218.6 million) and was a writer on Beauty and the Beast (the 1991 original) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. So basically, she's Disney royalty.

Shrek
Everett Collection

Shrek

When it comes to highest-grossing films by female directors, animated movies are the top-earners. Vicky Jenson is one of the best in the business when it comes to directing animated movies, and she has the numbers to prove it.

When Jenson worked on Shrek (with Andrew Adamson as the codirector) in 2001, the film brought in plenty of sales, totaling $484.4 million. What's equally impressive is that in 2004, Jenson directed another massive box office hit in the animation realm: Shark Tale, which earned $367.3 million.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squekquel
Everett Collection

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squekquel

It's obviously impressive when female directors have had more than one high-grossing film — especially when they seem to go unnoticed. Case in point is Betty Thomas, who directed Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which brought in a whopping $443.1 million. Her second major hit was Doctor Dolittle in 1998 at $294.4 million. Thomas has had high-grossing films in both the animated and live-action categories, proving she can do just about anything when it comes to making movies.

Twilight
Summit Entertainment

Twilight

Hello, it's Twilight — of course it earned big bucks. After the Twilight saga books hit shelves in 2005 (written by a woman, Stephenie Meyer, we might add) and sold more than 100 million copies, hopes were high for a big payout when the stories made it to the big screen. Twilight, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, ended up bringing in $192.7 million domestically and $200.8 million in the foreign market for a grand total of $393.6 million. Plus, it was the No. 1 movie the weekend it opened in more than 3,000 theaters!

What Women Want
Everett Collection

What Women Want

Nancy Meyers is one of the greatest and most successful female directors of all time. She has directed hits like Something's Gotta Give ($266.7 million) and It's Complicated ($219.1 million). Oh, and she's written many of the films she's directed in addition to the screenplay for classics like Father of the Bride. Her biggest box office hit, however, was the 2000 film What Women Want starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. It grossed $374.1 million worldwide. On average, Meyers's films earn over $100 million, which is not too shabby.