The Best Kathryn Bigelow Movies, Ranked
20 credits from 1974 to 2025, ranked by the Movie Echo Score — a blend of critic reviews, audience ratings and lasting impact. Detroit (2017) comes out on top with a score of 68. The biggest box office hit is Zero Dark Thirty (2012) with $133M worldwide. Below: the best films by genre and by decade, the most awarded and the newest releases.
Biggest Kathryn Bigelow Box Office Hits
Kathryn Bigelow's films have made $374M worldwide in total. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) is the biggest hit at $133M, ahead of Point Break (1991) ($83.5M). Lifetime grosses, with each film's domestic share.
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Zero Dark Thirty 2012 · Action $133M $95.7M dom. - 2
Point Break 1991 · Action $83.5M $43.2M dom. - 3
K-19: The Widowmaker 2002 · Drama $65.7M $35.2M dom. - 4
The Hurt Locker 2009 · Action $49.3M $17M dom. - 5
Detroit 2017 · Drama $23.4M $16.8M dom. - 6
Blue Steel 1990 · Action $8.22M $8.22M dom. - 7
Strange Days 1995 · Action $7.96M $7.96M dom. - 8
Near Dark 1987 · Action $3.37M $3.37M dom. - 9
Born in Flames 1983 · Sci-Fi $153
The Best Kathryn Bigelow Movie in Every Genre
The best-rated film in each genre Kathryn Bigelow has worked in, the genres with the most films first. Action leads with 7 films, and Zero Dark Thirty (2012) is the pick of them.
The Best Kathryn Bigelow Movie of Each Decade
One pick per decade of Kathryn Bigelow's career, newest decade first: the best-rated film of each ten years, from 1980s to 2020s.
The Latest Kathryn Bigelow Movies
The most recent films Kathryn Bigelow is credited on, newest first — starting with A House of Dynamite (2025). Open any of them for the cast, ratings, box office and where to watch.
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A House of Dynamite 2025 · Director -
I Am Not a Weapon 2018 · Director - Detroit 2017 · Director
- Zero Dark Thirty 2012 · Director
- The Hurt Locker 2009 · Director
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Mission Zero 2007 · Director -
The Weight of Water 2002 · Director - K-19: The Widowmaker 2002 · Director
- Strange Days 1995 · Director
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Wild Palms 1993 · Mazie Woiwode (uncredited) - Point Break 1991 · Director
- Blue Steel 1990 · Director
The Best Kathryn Bigelow Movies: Questions & Answers
The best-rated, highest-grossing, most awarded and newest Kathryn Bigelow films, answered from the rankings on this page.
What is the best Kathryn Bigelow movie?
Detroit (2017) is the best-rated Kathryn Bigelow film, with a Movie Echo Score of 68, ahead of A House of Dynamite (2025) (66). The Movie Echo Score blends critic reviews, audience ratings and how well a film has lasted.
Detroit: cast, ratings & box office What is the highest-grossing Kathryn Bigelow movie?
Zero Dark Thirty (2012) made the most at the box office, with $133M worldwide, followed by Point Break (1991) with $83.5M. Together, Kathryn Bigelow's films with box office figures have made $374M.
Which Kathryn Bigelow movie won the most awards?
The Hurt Locker (2009) is the most decorated Kathryn Bigelow film, with 13 wins from 31 nominations across the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA and the other ceremonies in the awards database.
What is the best Kathryn Bigelow action movie?
Zero Dark Thirty (2012) is the best-rated of Kathryn Bigelow's action films. In other genres: Detroit (drama) and Born in Flames (sci-fi).
What is the newest Kathryn Bigelow movie?
The newest film on Kathryn Bigelow's filmography is A House of Dynamite (2025), directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
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