25 Best Film Directors of the 21st Century (So Far)

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – July 19, 2017

Which directors have received the best reviews from professional critics since 2000? Find out below, where we rank this century's top filmmakers by their average Metascores.

To be included, a director must have four or more eligible films. Such films have seven or more reviews from professional critics and were first released (in any country) on or after January 1, 2000, and must have been released (including as a straight-to-Netflix streaming release) at some point in the USA. Multi-director anthology films are excluded, as are theatrical re-releases of older films. Averages were calculated using Metascores from July 12, 2017, and include films released through July 7, 2017.

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85.8

#4

Hayao Miyazaki

The Japanese animation legend, who co-founded the famed Studio Ghibli, announced his retirement in 2013, though he has remained active in shorter formats and has been flirting with a return to feature filmmaking in the past year. Miyazaki's directorial career dates back to the 1970s, and his very first film, The Castle of Cagliostro, will get a belated nationwide U.S. theatrical premiere in September, nearly four decades after it was made.

Films directed, 2000-2017
▣	Spirited Away	2001
▣	Ponyo	2008
▣	The Wind Rises	2013
▣	Howl's Moving Castle	2004

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