Film's One-Hit Wonders: 30 Directors With Only One Good Movie

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – April 15, 2018

Even the worst directors have one good film in them. Well, at least some of them do. In the gallery above, we've identified 30 filmmakers from the past four decades who have directed at least five features but have managed to receive positive reviews for just a single one of their films.

19 of 31 photo by Zade Rosenthal, Marvel

Peyton Reed

Though Reed had some success in TV (Mr. Show, Upright Citizens Brigade) prior to jumping to the big screen, his film career began with a rather unimpressive decade, at least according to critics. (His debut, the 2000 comedy Bring It On, certainly has a cult following.)

But his most recent film—his first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though he was a last-minute replacement for original director Edgar Wright—was by far his most critically and commercially successful release to date. He'll follow that film with a sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, this summer.

The one good film:
64 Ant-Man (2015)

Everything else:
52 Bring It On (2000)
52 Down with Love (2003)
45 The Break-Up (2006)
46 Yes Man (2008)

Where To Buy