January 24, 2025 | Jesse Singer

Spielberg vs. Scorsese: Who Is The Better Director—According To The Numbers


Steven vs. Marty

Who is the better director: Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese? Yes, we know that movie making is an art and art is definitely more than just numbers. But, we also thought it could be fun to look at the numbers and use them to determine the winner here. So, who do you think is the better director? Now, see if the numbers agree...

Most Prolific

Spielberg: 36 Movies (including The Dish—scheduled for release in 2026)

Scorsese: 42 Movies

Martin Scorsese in a black suit, smiling at the cameraGeorges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Most Prolific: Martin Scorsese

Caveat: 16 of the 42 Scorsese films are documentaries. But we love docs and they most definitely still count. So Scorsese takes the "Prolific" matchup.

American actor Robert De Niro as boxer Jake LaMotta in a scene from 'Raging Bull', directed by Martin Scorsese, 1980.United Artists/Archive Photos/Getty Images

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Box Office

Spielberg: $10 billion+

Scorsese: $2 billion+

Steven SpielbergGage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Box Office: Steven Spielberg

This shouldn't surprise anyone—as Spielberg is the highest-grossing director in cinematic history.

Steven Spielberg and ETPikawil, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Oscar Nominations (Films: All Categories)

Spielberg: 147

Scorsese: 101

Oliver Stone Films FactsGetty Images

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Oscar Nominations (Films: All Categories): Steven Spielberg

Adding up all the Oscar nominations that all of their films have brought in, Spielberg takes this category rather easily (although, with more non-documentary films to his name, that should probably be the case given how great both filmmakers are).

Meryl Streep at Oscars in black dressLars Niki, Getty Images

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Oscar Wins (Films: All Categories)

Spielberg: 35

Scorsese: 20

Vin Diesel in saving private ryanGetty Images, Getty Images

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Oscar Wins (Films: All Categories): Steven Spielberg

Spielberg's nominations win has translated into a victory in this battle as well.

Saving Private Ryan factsShutterstock

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BAFTA Wins (Films: All Categories)

Spielberg: 22

Scorsese: 23

Rupert GrintWikimedia.Commons

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BAFTA Wins (Films: All Categories): Martin Scorsese

After the Oscars, The BAFTAs (British Academy Film Awards) are maybe the second most prestigious non-festival film awards out there. And the Brits have given Scorsese films more wins than Spielberg movies—although, as you can see, it's very close.

Martin Scorsese Films FactsKundun (1997), Touchstone Pictures

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Movies 90+ Rotten Tomatoes

Spielberg: 12

Scorsese: 14

Martin Scorsese Films FactsShutterstock

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Movies 90+ Rotten Tomatoes: Martin Scorsese

Note: Scorsese's number does include documentaries.

Martin Scorsese Films FactsThe King of Comedy (1982), 20th Century Fox

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Fewest "Rotten" Movies

Spielberg: 4

Scorsese: 2

Steven Spielberg attends Cannes Film Festival - 2013Denis Makarenko, Shutterstock

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Fewest "Rotten" Movies: Martin Scorsese

Spielberg: Twilight Zone: The Movie (59%), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (53%), 1941 (39%), Hook (29%)

Scorsese: New York, New York (57%), Boxcar Bertha (54%)

Screenshot from the movie Hook (1991)TriStar, Hook (1991)

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Oscar Nominations (Actors & Actresses)

Spielberg: 17

Scorsese: 26

Screenshot from the movie Taxi Driver (1976)Columbia, Taxi Driver (1976)

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Oscar Nominations (Actors & Actresses): Martin Scorsese

Scorsese has directed 26 Oscar-nominated performances. That is second only to William Wyler who directed 36 actors and actresses to an Oscar nomination.

Martin Scorsese Films FactsGetty Images

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"Sight And Sound" Greatest Directors

Spielberg: 0

Scorsese: 1

Steven Spielberg attends a premiereDavid Livingston, Getty Images

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"Sight And Sound" Greatest Directors: Martin Scorsese

The prestigious Sight and Sound magazine has been putting out a "Greatest Films of All Time" list every 10 years since 1952. In 2002, they conducted a poll to determine the "Greatest Directors of All Time". Based on a poll of directors, Scorsese came in tied for 9th—with David Lean and Jean Renoir.

Spielberg didn't make the list.

Martin ScorseseMontclair Film, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Best Director Oscar Nominations

Spielberg: 9

Scorsese: 10

Steven Spielberg speaks onstageMichael Loccisano, Getty Images

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Best Director Oscar Nominations: Martin Scorsese

Very close—but Scorsese takes this one.

And speaking of close victories...

Martin Scorsese factsGetty Images

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Best Director Oscar Wins

Spielberg: 2

Scorsese: 1

Director Steven Spielberg attends the 88th Annual Academy AwardsKevin Winter, Getty Images

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Best Director Oscar Wins: Steven Spielberg

We could argue that Scorsese should have won for Raging Bull and Goodfellas—but the numbers are the numbers, and Spielberg takes this one.

30th Deauville American Film Festival: 'The Terminal'. Close-up of Stephen Spielberg.Getty Images

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Best Picture Oscar Nomination

Spielberg: 11

Scorsese: 10

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Best Picture Oscar Nomination: Steven Spielberg

Just to be clear, we're talking movies that they directed (if we include as a producer, Spielberg's number goes up to 13).

Universal Studios Hollywood Hosts The Opening of 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter'Getty Images

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Best Picture Oscar Wins

Spielberg: 1

Scorsese: 1

Martin Scorsese factsGetty Images

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Best Picture Oscar Wins: Tie

Spielberg's only Best Picture win as director was Schindler's List and for Scorsese it was The Departed.

Screenshot of Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth - from Schindler's List (1993)Universal, Schindler's List (1993)

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AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies

Spielberg: 5

Scorsese: 3

Martin Scorsese factsGetty Images

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AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies: Steven Spielberg

In 1998, The American Film Institute did a poll and put out their list of the 100 best American movies. They updated the list in 2007—and on that 2007 list, Spielberg had five films, while Scorsese had three.

'The Land Before Time' Los Angeles Premiere.Getty Images

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AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (Highest Ranked)

Spielberg: 8

Scorsese: 4

US film director Steven Spielberg, Headshot.Getty Images

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AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (Highest Ranked): Martin Scorsese

Looking at that updated 2007 list: Raging Bull is listed at #4, while Schindler's List stands at #8.

Futurama FactsGetty Images

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And The Winner Is... Martin Scorsese

Spielberg: 7

Scorsese: 9

Adding up all the categories, Scorsese edges out Spielberg by a score of 9 to 7. So, are the numbers right? Is Martin Scorsese the better director? What do you think?

Director Martin Scorsese speaksPeter Kramer, Getty Images


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