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
Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
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.
United Artists/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Box Office
Spielberg: $10 billion+
Scorsese: $2 billion+
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Box Office: Steven Spielberg
This shouldn't surprise anyone—as Spielberg is the highest-grossing director in cinematic history.
Pikawil, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Oscar Nominations (Films: All Categories)
Spielberg: 147
Scorsese: 101
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).
Oscar Wins (Films: All Categories)
Spielberg: 35
Scorsese: 20
Oscar Wins (Films: All Categories): Steven Spielberg
Spielberg's nominations win has translated into a victory in this battle as well.
BAFTA Wins (Films: All Categories)
Spielberg: 22
Scorsese: 23
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.
Kundun (1997), Touchstone Pictures
Movies 90+ Rotten Tomatoes
Spielberg: 12
Scorsese: 14
Movies 90+ Rotten Tomatoes: Martin Scorsese
Note: Scorsese's number does include documentaries.
The King of Comedy (1982), 20th Century Fox
Fewest "Rotten" Movies
Spielberg: 4
Scorsese: 2
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%)
Oscar Nominations (Actors & Actresses)
Spielberg: 17
Scorsese: 26
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.
"Sight And Sound" Greatest Directors
Spielberg: 0
Scorsese: 1
David Livingston, Getty Images
"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.
Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Best Director Oscar Nominations
Spielberg: 9
Scorsese: 10
Michael Loccisano, Getty Images
Best Director Oscar Nominations: Martin Scorsese
Very close—but Scorsese takes this one.
And speaking of close victories...
Best Director Oscar Wins
Spielberg: 2
Scorsese: 1
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.
Best Picture Oscar Nomination
Spielberg: 11
Scorsese: 10
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).
Best Picture Oscar Wins
Spielberg: 1
Scorsese: 1
Best Picture Oscar Wins: Tie
Spielberg's only Best Picture win as director was Schindler's List and for Scorsese it was The Departed.
Universal, Schindler's List (1993)
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
Spielberg: 5
Scorsese: 3
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.
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (Highest Ranked)
Spielberg: 8
Scorsese: 4
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.
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?
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