James Gunn - All His Movies Ranked

Short Biography:

James Gunn was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, to Leota and James Francis Gunn. He is from a large Catholic family, with Irish and Czech ancestry. His father and his uncles were all lawyers. He has been writing and performing as long as he can remember. He began making 8mm films at the age of twelve.
He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with Tromeo and Juliet (1997). He then began working as a director, starting with the horror-comedy film Slither (2006), and moving to the superhero genre with Super (2010), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), The Suicide Squad (2021), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery hired Gunn to become co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios.

Here is a rundown of his movies, with the score based on the average from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes (public votes only) and Letterboxd, from lowest ranked to highest:

Number of Qualifying Films:

Career Average Rating:

7.56

Total Career Box Office:

$ 1.81 B

Total Combined Budgets:

$ 572 M

Total Career Profit or [Loss]:

$ 1.246 B

Average Career Return on Every $1 Spent:

$ 0.91 (MEDIAN)

5 – Slither (2006)

IMDb:

6.5

RT Users:

6.3

Letterboxd:

6.58

6.46

Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction

Top Billed Cast:

Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Tania Saulnier

SYNOPSIS:

A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 12,834,936

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 15,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ [-2,165,064]

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.86

4 – Super (2010)

IMDb:

6.7

RT Users:

5.6

Letterboxd:

7.50

6.60

Action, Comedy, Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Rainn Wilson, Elliot Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker

SYNOPSIS:

After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 422,618

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 2,500,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ [-2,077,382]

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.17

3 – The Suicide Squad (2021)

IMDb:

7.2

RT Users:

8.2

Letterboxd:

7.28

7.56

Action, Adventure, Comedy

Top Billed Cast:

Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone

SYNOPSIS:

Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 168,657,565

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 185,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ [-16,342,435]

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.91

2 – Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017)

IMDb:

7.6

RT Users:

8.7

Letterboxd:

7.10

7.80

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction

Top Billed Cast:

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Kurt Russell

SYNOPSIS:

The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 863,756,051

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 200,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 663,756,051

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 4.32

1 – Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

IMDb:

8.0

RT Users:

9.2

Letterboxd:

7.64

8.28

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction

Top Billed Cast:

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper

SYNOPSIS:

Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 773,350,147

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 170,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 603,350,147

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 4.55