Alfonso Cuarón

Short Biography:

Alfonso Cuarón Orozco (born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres, including the family drama A Little Princess (1995), the romantic drama Great Expectations (1998), the coming of age road film Y tu mamá también (2001), the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and the science fiction films Children of Men (2006) and Gravity (2013), and the semi-autobiographical drama Roma (2018), as well as the 2009 short I Am Autism.
Cuarón has received 10 Academy Award nominations, winning four, including Best Director for Gravity and Roma, Best Film Editing for Gravity, and Best Cinematography for Roma. He is the first Mexico-born filmmaker to win the Best Director award and one of only four people to have been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories.

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 MOVIES:

CAREER AVERAGE SCORE:

TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE:

TOTAL BUDGETS COMBINED:

TOTAL PROFIT OR LOSS:

CAREER RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

7.71

$ 1,690,482,983

$ 349,000,000

$ 1,341,482,983

$ 3.98

8 – Sólo con tu pareja (1991)

LOVE IN THE TIME OF HYSTERIA

6.85 /10

Drama | Comedy | Romance

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Tomás Tomás is a young yuppie playboy with a string of discarded girlfriends. But when Silvia, the victim of one of his adventures, tries to get revenge by typing “positive” on his AIDS test, Tomás experiences for the first time the realities of love and death.

Critics response: Slightly Positive

12 Critic reviews: 8 positive (66.6%); 4 negative (33.3%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

NOT ENOUGH DATA

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

PROFIT RETURN (OR LOSS IF FIGURE IS UNDER 1):

7 – Great Expectations (1998)

Let desire be your destiny.

6.85 /10

Drama | Comedy | Romance

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Loosely based on the Charles Dickens’ classic novel, “Great Expectations” is a sensual tale of a young man’s unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever. Through the surprising interactions of these vivid characters, “Great Expectations” takes a unique and contemporary look at life’s great coincidences.

Critics response: Mostly Negative

35 Critic reviews: 13 positive (37.1%); 22 negative (62.9%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 55,494,066

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 25,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 30,494,066

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 2.22

6 – Gravity (2013)

Don’t Let Go

7.53 /10

Science Fiction | Thriller | Drama

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

Critics response: Universal Praise

358 Critic reviews: 342 positive (95.5%); 16 negative (4.5%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 723,192,705

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 100,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 623,192,705

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 7.23

5 – Roma (2018)

There are periods in history that scar societies and moments in life that transform us as individuals.

7.67 /10

Drama

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Cleo is one of two domestic workers who help Antonio and Sofía take care of their four children in 1970s Mexico City. Complications soon arise when Antonio suddenly runs away with his mistress and Cleo finds out that she’s pregnant. When Sofía decides to take the kids on vacation, she invites Cleo for a much-needed getaway to clear her mind and bond with the family.

Critics response: Universal Praise

406 Critic reviews: 388 positive (95.6%); 18 negative (4.4%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

Streaming

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

4 – A Little Princess (1996)

Every girl everywhere is a princess.

7.96 /10

Drama | Family | Fantasy

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara’s creativity and sense of self- worth.

Critics response: Universal Praise

36 Critic reviews: 35 positive (97.2%); 1 negative (2.8%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 10,015,449

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 17,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ (6,984,551)

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.59

3 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Something wicked this way comes.

8.23 /10

Adventure | Fantasy

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Year three at Hogwarts means new fun and challenges as Harry learns the delicate art of approaching a Hippogriff, transforming shape-shifting Boggarts into hilarity and even turning back time. But the term also brings danger: soul-sucking Dementors hover over the school, an ally of the accursed He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named lurks within the castle walls, and fearsome wizard Sirius Black escapes Azkaban. And Harry will confront them all.

Critics response: Extremely Positive

259 Critic reviews: 234 positive (90.3%); 25 negative (9.7%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 797,568,607

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 130,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 667,568,607

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 6.14

2 – Y tu mamá también (2001)

Life has its ways of teaching

8.24 /10

Drama | Romance

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

The lives of Julio and Tenoch, like those of 17-year old boys everywhere, are ruled by raging hormones, intense friendships, and a headlong rush into adulthood. Over the course of a summer, the two best friends, while living out a carefree cross-country escapade with a gorgeous older woman, also find connection with each other, themselves and the world around them.

Critics response: Extremely Positive

138 Critic reviews: 127 positive (92%); 11 negative (8%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 33,616,692

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 5,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 28,616,692

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 6.72

1 – Children of Men (2006)

The future’s a thing of the past.

8.27 /10

Drama | Action | Thriller | Science Fiction

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Critics response: Extremely Positive

257 Critic reviews: 236 positive (91.8%); 21 negative (8.2%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 70,595,464

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 72,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ (1,404,536)

RETURN ON EVERY $1 SPENT:

$ 0.98

Get In Touch

Main Menu

FOLLOW US