David Fincher

Short Biography:

David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, primarily psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director.
Born in Denver, Colorado, Fincher was interested in filmmaking at an early age. He directed numerous music videos, most notably Madonna’s “Express Yourself” in 1989 and “Vogue” in 1990, both of which won him the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction. He made his feature film debut with Alien 3 (1992), which garnered mixed reviews, followed by the thriller Seven (1995), which was better received. Fincher found lukewarm success with The Game (1997) and Fight Club (1999), but the latter eventually became a cult classic. In 2002, he returned to prominence with the thriller Panic Room starring Jodie Foster.
Fincher also directed Zodiac (2007), The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and Mank (2020). For The Social Network, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and BAFTA Award for Best Direction. His biggest commercial successes are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Gone Girl (2014), both of which grossed more than $300 million worldwide, with the former earning thirteen nominations at the Academy Awards and eleven at the British Academy Film Awards.

Description above from the Wikipedia article David Fincher, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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 INVESTED:

7.67

$ 2,142,317,821

$ 650,000,000

$ 1,492,317,821

$ 3.88

11 – Alien 3 (1992)

The bitch is back.

5.58 /10

Comedy | Action | Science Fiction

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.

Critics response: Mostly Negative

61 Critic reviews: 28 positive (45.9%); 33 negative (54.1%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 159,814,498

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 50,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 109,814,498

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 3.20

10 – Mank (2020)

The Story of Herman Mankiewicz

6.47 /10

Drama | History

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish “Citizen Kane.”

Critics response: Highly Positive

345 Critic reviews: 286 positive (82.9%); 59 negative (17.1%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

ON NETFLIX

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

–

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

–

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

–

9 – Panic Room (2002)

The Rich and The Hunted

6.68 /10

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Trapped in their New York brownstone’s panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders – Burnham, Raoul and Junior – during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Critics response: Very Positive

186 Critic reviews: 141 positive (75.8%); 45 negative (24.2%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 197,079,546

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 48,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 149,079,546

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 4.11

8 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.

7.67 /10

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

I was born under unusual circumstances. And so begins The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans, from the end of World War I in 1918 into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man’s life can be. Benjamin Button, is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.

Critics response: Pretty Positive

257 Critic reviews: 183 positive (71.2%); 74 negative (28.8%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 335,802,786

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 150,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 185,802,786

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 2.24

7 – Zodiac (2007)

There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer.

7.79 /10

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. Investigators (Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards) and reporters (Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr.) become obsessed with learning the killer’s identity and bringing him to justice. Meanwhile, Zodiac claims victim after victim and taunts the authorities with cryptic messages, cyphers and menacing phone calls.

Critics response: Extremely Positive

261 Critic reviews: 234 positive (89.7%); 27 negative (10.3%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 84,785,914

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 65,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 19,785,914

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 1.30

6 – The Game (1997)

What do you get for the man who has everything?

7.83 /10

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.

Critics response: Highly Positive

62 Critic reviews: 48 positive (77.4%); 14 negative (22.6%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 109,423,648

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 50,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 59,423,648

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 2.19

5 – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Evil shall with evil be expelled.

8.00 /10

Thriller | Crime | Mystery

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

Yorick van Wageningen

SYNOPSIS:

This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, as he investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch’s niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

Critics response: Extremely Positive

257 Critic reviews: 222 positive (86.4%); 35 negative (13.6%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 232,617,430

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 90,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 142,617,430

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 2.58

4 – The Social Network (2010)

You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.

8.13 /10

Drama

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

In 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) begins work on a new concept that eventually turns into the global social network known as Facebook. Six years later, he is one of the youngest billionaires ever, but Zuckerberg finds that his unprecedented success leads to both personal and legal complications when he ends up on the receiving end of two lawsuits, one involving his former friend (Andrew Garfield). Based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires.”

Critics response: Universal Praise

329 Critic reviews: 315 positive (95.7%); 14 negative (4.3%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 224,920,375

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 40,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 184,920,375

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 5.62

3 – Gone Girl (2014)

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s…

8.31 /10

Mystery | Thriller | Drama

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

In Carthage, Mo., former New York-based writer Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his glamorous wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) present a portrait of a blissful marriage to the public. However, when Amy goes missing on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary, Nick becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance. The resulting police pressure and media frenzy cause the Dunnes’ image of a happy union to crumble, leading to tantalizing questions about who Nick and Amy truly are.

Critics response: Extremely Positive

367 Critic reviews: 321 positive (87.5%); 46 negative (12.5%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 369,330,363

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 61,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 308,330,363

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 6.05

2 – Seven (1995)

Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die.

8.89 /10

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the “seven deadly sins” in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Sommerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer’s mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.

Critics response: Highly Positive

83 Critic reviews: 68 positive (81.9%); 15 negative (18.1%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 327,333,559

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 33,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 294,333,559

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 9.92

1 – Fight Club (1999)

Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.

8.99 /10

Drama

Directed by: David Fincher

Top Billed Cast:

SYNOPSIS:

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground “fight clubs” forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Critics response: Very Positive

181 Critic reviews: 143 positive (79%); 38 negative (21%)

(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

FINANCIAL DATA:

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE GROSS:

$ 101,209,702

PRODUCTION BUDGET:

$ 63,000,000

PROFIT OR (LOSS):

$ 38,209,702

Return on each $1 Invested in this film

$ 1.61

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