Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
Mark Waters, actor & director
Actor & Director · Best movies

The Best Mark Waters Movies, Ranked

20 credits from 1997 to 2025, ranked by the Movie Echo Score — a blend of critic reviews, audience ratings and lasting impact. Chasing the Present (2019) comes out on top with a score of 84. The biggest box office hit is Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) with $187M worldwide. Below: the best films by genre and by decade, the most awarded and the newest releases.

Full Mark Waters profile & filmography

Ranked by Movie Echo Score

Top Rated Mark Waters Movies

The 5 highest-rated films Mark Waters is credited on. Chasing the Present (2019) leads with 84, followed by La Dolce Villa (2025) at 58. The Movie Echo Score blends critic reviews, audience ratings, cultural impact and how well a film holds up.

Worldwide gross

Biggest Mark Waters Box Office Hits

Mark Waters's films have made $901M worldwide in total. Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) is the biggest hit at $187M, ahead of The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) ($164M). Lifetime grosses, with each film's domestic share.

All-time box office
  1. 1 Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) movie poster Mr. Popper's Penguins 2011 · Comedy $187M $68.2M dom.
  2. 2 The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) movie poster The Spiderwick Chronicles 2008 · Adventure $164M $71.2M dom.
  3. 3 Freaky Friday (2003) movie poster Freaky Friday 2003 · Fantasy $161M $110M dom.
  4. 4 Mean Girls (2004) movie poster Mean Girls 2004 · Drama $130M $86.1M dom.
  5. 5 Just Like Heaven (2005) movie poster Just Like Heaven 2005 · Fantasy $103M $48.3M dom.
  6. 6 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) movie poster Ghosts of Girlfriends Past 2009 · Fantasy $102M $55.3M dom.
  7. 7 Bad Santa 2 (2016) movie poster Bad Santa 2 2016 · Drama $24.1M $17.8M dom.
  8. 8 Vampire Academy (2014) movie poster Vampire Academy 2014 · Action $15.6M $7.79M dom.
  9. 9 Head Over Heels (2001) movie poster Head Over Heels 2001 · Mystery $13.1M $10.4M dom.
  10. 10 The House of Yes (1997) movie poster The House of Yes 1997 · Drama $626K $626K dom.
One pick per genre

The Best Mark Waters Movie in Every Genre

The best-rated film in each genre Mark Waters has worked in, the genres with the most films first. Comedy leads with 5 films, and La Dolce Villa (2025) is the pick of them.

One pick per decade

The Best Mark Waters Movie of Each Decade

One pick per decade of Mark Waters's career, newest decade first: the best-rated film of each ten years, from 1990s to 2020s.

Newest first

The Latest Mark Waters Movies

The most recent films Mark Waters is credited on, newest first — starting with La Dolce Villa (2025). Open any of them for the cast, ratings, box office and where to watch.

New movie releases
FAQ

The Best Mark Waters Movies: Questions & Answers

The best-rated, highest-grossing, most awarded and newest Mark Waters films, answered from the rankings on this page.

What is the best Mark Waters movie?

Chasing the Present (2019) is the best-rated Mark Waters film, with a Movie Echo Score of 84, ahead of La Dolce Villa (2025) (58) and Magic Camp (2020) (45). The Movie Echo Score blends critic reviews, audience ratings and how well a film has lasted.

Chasing the Present: cast, ratings & box office

What is the highest-grossing Mark Waters movie?

Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) made the most at the box office, with $187M worldwide, followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) with $164M. Together, Mark Waters's films with box office figures have made $901M.

Which Mark Waters movie won the most awards?

Freaky Friday (2003) is the most decorated Mark Waters film, with 1 win from 3 nominations across the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA and the other ceremonies in the awards database.

What is the best Mark Waters comedy movie?

La Dolce Villa (2025) is the best-rated of Mark Waters's comedy films, with a score of 58. In other genres: Mean Girls (drama), Magic Camp (fantasy) and Chasing the Present (documentary).

What is the newest Mark Waters movie?

The newest film on Mark Waters's filmography is La Dolce Villa (2025), directed by Mark Waters.

Keep browsing

More Movie Rankings & Collections

Best-of lists by year, decade and genre, all-time box office records and the films on the trending list.

All collections

Best-Rated Movie Rankings

Best-rated, biggest and most-awarded

New Movies & Top Genres

New releases, popular films and the best of every genre