Tim Burton’s Remake of Cult Sci-Fi Movie Can Make Him the 10th Director To Achieve This Rare Feat

When drafting a list of the highest-grossing directors of all time, Tim Burton may not be the first name that comes to mind. While he isn’t as prolific as box office titans like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, Burton’s films have still raked in a considerable amount of cash over the course of his career. He’s delivered major hits such as Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Batman. What’s impressive about Burton’s box office track record is that his biggest successes aren’t confined to just a single time period. He’s produced blockbusters across decades, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

It’s been reported that Burton will direct a remake of the cult sci-fi film Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, a project that has Oscar nominee Margot Robbie attached to star. Given the pedigree of the talent involved (Kpop Demon Hunters duo Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan are writing the script), there’s already a considerable amount of excitement for Attack of the 50-Foot Woman. If the movie lives up to its on-paper potential, it could help Burton reach a considerable box office milestone that only a few directors have reached.

Tim Burton Can Join a Rare Box Office Club With Attack of the 50-Foot Woman

According to The Numbers, as of this writing, Burton’s films have collectively grossed $4.877 billion at the worldwide box office. Over $1 billion of that is from Alice in Wonderland alone, but it’s still a significant sum — good enough for 10th on the all-time list of highest-grossing directors. The nine filmmakers in front of Burton all have one thing in common; their movies combined to earn at least $5 billion worldwide. Burton just slightly trails Ridley Scott, who currently stands at $5.043 billion. Check out a list of the full top 10 below:

Burton is about $123 million from joining that impressive list of names in the $5 billion worldwide club. Attack of the 50-Foot Woman could be the movie that gets him there. For starters, Burton’s personal brand has experienced a resurgence in popularity lately. After a down period in the 2010s (particularly from a quality perspective), the legendary director has gotten his career back on track thanks to works like Netflix sensation Wednesday and 2024’s hit legacy sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ($451.9 million). Fans now have a renewed sense in confidence for the latest Burton projects, trusting the director will deliver something special.

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Robbie should also give Attack of the 50-Foot Woman‘s prospects a boost. Since her big breakout in The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese’s highest-grossing film ever with $389.8 million worldwide), Robbie has established herself as one of this era’s biggest stars, appearing in box office hits like Barbie ($1.447 billion), Suicide Squad ($749.2 million), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ($377.4 million). Her box office track record isn’t perfect, as A Big Bold Beautiful Journey can attest, but she has plenty of winners under her belt and remains near the top of the A-list. There’s a reason why Disney is keen on having her star in the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot. The combination of Robbie and Burton should be a draw; it’s telling that some of Robbie’s biggest hits have come when she’s collaborated with top-tier directors like Scorsese, Greta Gerwig, and Quentin Tarantino.

If Attack of the 50-Foot Woman continues Burton’s hot streak, it should easily make the $123 million he needs to punch his ticket into the $5 billion club. Since 2005, only three Burton-directed films have failed to reach that total at the box office: Corpse Bride ($115.8 million), Frankenweenie ($81.1 million), and Big Eyes ($27.3 million). Two of those are stop-motion animated films (which aren’t the biggest box office draws when compared to other animated titles) and the other was a smaller biopic designed to be more of an awards contender than a commercial draw. Unless Attack of the 50-Foot Woman is an outright bomb, Burton will hit the milestone.

Another Director Could Hit the $5 Billion Mark Before Burton

Attack of the 50-Foot Woman does not have a release date as of this writing, so Burton is going to have to wait a bit before he crosses the $5 billion threshold. Depending on how quickly the script comes together, the film probably won’t debut until 2027 at the earliest. In the meantime, there’s another big-name director who could reach $5 billion at the box office before Burton, if only because he has a new film confirmed to come out this fall: J.J. Abrams. His latest directorial effort, The Great Beyond, is set to premiere in November.

Abrams is one of the most commercially successful directors of all time, as his films have brought in $4.637 billion worldwide. However, the important caveat to keep in mind here is that Abrams has spent a majority of his career working with established Hollywood IP that has a large built-in audience. His kinetic, energetic filmmaking style made movies like Star Trek ($386.8 million) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.056 billion) crowd-pleasers, but it’s safe to say those titles would have been major hits regardless of who was at the helm. Again, this isn’t to take anything away from Abrams’ abilities as a director, but in these instances, the franchise was the bigger draw.

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The one time Abrams made an original film was 2011’s Super 8, an underrated gem that’s an ode to Spielbergian classics of yesteryear. It grossed $260.1 million globally. That’s a strong result given the project’s $50 million production budget, but it demonstrates that Abrams’ name alone isn’t as big of a draw as some of his contemporaries (Nolan, for instance). The Great Beyond will need to gross around $363 million to get Abrams up to $5 billion, which could be a tall ask. It’s an original movie, which is always a question mark, and there’s uncertainty regarding the box office prospects of the cast.

The Great Beyond stars Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega, two rising stars who have growing fan bases, but neither has been established as a consistent box office draw yet. Powell does have the rom-com Anyone But You ($218.9 million) on his resume, but his biggest hits have been legacy sequels (Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters), and he’s coming off of a financial disappointment in Edgar Wright’s The Running Man ($68.8 million). Likewise, Ortega’s biggest films, such as Scream and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, are part of popular series. Unless The Great Beyond gets very strong buzz and has a FOMO angle that brings people out to the theater (think: Sinners), the odds of it clearing $360 million are low. Abrams may eventually get to $5 billion, but Burton should get there first.

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