Every Denis Villeneuve Movie, Ranked According To Box Office Mojo

Denis Villeneuve had become one of the most exciting filmmakers of the 21st century, as he direct some of the 2010s most gripping crime dramas and then made the jump to sci-fi epics like Dune. Along with the likes of Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino, his name attached to a project causes as much of a fan reaction as any actor who is cast in a movie.

However, based on his movies’ box office performances, that hasn’t always been the case. It took the world long enough to realize how great of a filmmaker is the French director really is, as even some of his now beloved movies are shockingly low-grossing.

8 Maelstrom (2000) – $254,000

Though Villeneuve’s directorial debut was, August 32nd On Earth, which was screened at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, it wasn’t released theatrically. That makes 2000’s Maelstrom the director’s first major release. It’s an interesting movie because, while it establishes the filmmaker’s style, such as depressed narratives about protagonists looking for answers, it also does things he never returned to.

There’s a lot of comedy and fantastical elements in Maelstrom, as it’s even narrated by a fish, but the director has rarely ever returned to humor. But that could very well be that it didn’t work out all that well, as the movie made barely anything more than pocket change.

7 Enemy (2013) – $3.46 Million

Enemy is the most overlooked movie in Villeneuve’s filmography, but it’s also the most meditative and ambiguous of all of his work. The film follows a history professor who finds out he has a dangerous doppelganger (Jake Gyllenhaal). However, as exciting as it sounds, it’s much more of a character study than a thriller.

But even with Gyllenhaal’s name attached to the movie, it wasn’t enough to sell the wild concept to general audiences. Though it isn’t clear exactly what the budget was, given the starring role from Gyllenhaal and the seamless digital effects, it’s hard to believe Enemy’s box office intake was enough to cover marketing costs.

6 Incendies (2010) – $6.78 Million

After being an indie darling on the festival circuit, as it premiered at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, Incendies picked up a surprising amount of traction. It became a huge hit in its native Canada and found modest success in the US too.

Incendies follows two twins who find out their mother’s sordid past during the Lebanese Civil War. And though blockbuster movies like Dune and Prisoners will always be the more well-known entries in the director’s filmography, it’s the quietly dramatic 2010 film that’s actually Villeneuve’s best movie according to IMDB.

5 Sicario (2015) – $84.9 Million

Before becoming the sci-fi movie guru, as Villeneuve went on to direct Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, the filmmaker was the best at directing suspenseful Hollywood thrillers. Sicario is the best example of that, as it follows one of Villeneuve’s best female characters, Kate, who helps a government task force take down a Mexican cartel leader.

There was also a sequel that followed in 2018, but it wasn’t directed by Villeneuve, and it isn’t just a coincidence that it grossed less money and had fewer positive reviews. However, as writer Taylor Sheridan envisioned it as a trilogy, Villeneuve could always return to finish what he started.

4 Prisoners (2013) – $122.1 Million

Prisoners was Villeneuve’s first English-speaking film and his breakthrough. Being another collaboration with Jake Gyllenhaal, along with a captivating performance from Hugh Jackman, the crime thriller is a masterclass in dramatic acting. The star power helped the movie get more traction at the box office than this kind of movie wouldn’t ordinarily have.

Jackman’s performance is even more grizzled than any of his takes on Wolverine until Logan, as he plays a father who takes the law into his own hands by tracking down his children’s kidnapper. Prisoners one of the best “missing person” movies to watch, and despite being a slow-paced and often difficult to watch drama, audiences showed up in droves.

3 Arrival (2016) – $203 Million

Arrival marks the first of many sci-fi flicks that Villeneuve would helm, but what makes the movie a surprise is that it isn’t based on any existing property. Though it’s an adaptation of the short story Story of your Life, it is almost wholly unknown to general audiences, and that’s what makes the $200 million box office intake such a feat.

Where anything not tied to a series or franchise is generally considered a risk for studios, Arrival paid off big time. And it achieved some incredible visual effects with its modest $47 million budget too, especially considering the movie barely used any green screen.

2 Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – $259 Million

Despite making a respectable amount of money, Blade Runner 2049 was a major bomb. It was almost a delusional decision made by Warner Bros. to give the film a budget of close to $200 million. Though the original Blade Runner has become a cult classic, that was also a flop when it was theatrically released.

To give a sequel to a box office bomb such an inflated budget and then to give it an R-rating, limiting the number of people who can see it, is a huge risk. Unfortunately, in this case, the risk didn’t pay off. However, that doesn’t mean the sci-fi movie isn’t good, and 2049 is one of many sci-fi flops that deserve a second chance.

1 Dune (2021) – $397 Million

Even despite being released during a global pandemic, Dune is easily the highest-grossing movie in Villeneuve’s catalog. The result could have gone either way, as, just like Blade Runner 2049, the 2021 movie is part of a failed sci-fi franchise.

However, with glowing reviews, an ensemble cast full of fresh-faced A-list actors, and a PG-13 rating, Villeneuve and Warner Bros. clearly learned from the mistakes of 2049. Based on its success, The film has become one of the most loved movies of 2021, a sequel has been greenlit, and who knows how much more it could have made if there wasn’t a pandemic.