For decades, George Clooney dominated the big screen as one of Hollywood’s finest actors and most eligible bachelors. Clooney was loved and admired on and off-screen by his ever growing fans. A versatile actor, Clooney has worked extensively in blockbusters and independent films. Throughout his five-decade career, Clooney has received eight Oscar nominations, four of which were in acting categories.
A few of his most famous roles include playing Dr. Doug Ross on NBC’s ER (1994–1999), portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman & Robin (1997), and joining the Ocean’s film series’ ensemble cast as its titular character Daniel “Danny” Ocean. However, besides his passion for acting and success at it, Clooney also loves to make movies. As a filmmaker, he has directed nine feature-length films from 2002 to 2023. Here’s every George Clooney-directed movie and what the critics and audiences thought about them.
9. Suburbicon
IMDb Rating: 5.8/10
Tomatometer: 27%
Popcornmeter: 26%
The 2017 black comedy crime film Suburbicon is George Clooney’s lowest-rating film. The original script for the film had been written as far back as 1986 by the Coen Brothers. Clooney and Grant Heslov combined their ideas and story into the final screenplay. Suburbicon is set in the late 1950s in a seemingly idyllic suburban neighborhood. The plot follows Gardner Lodge (played by Matt Damon), a seemingly ordinary family man whose life spirals into chaos after a home invasion leads to the death of his wife, Rose (Julianne Moore).
However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the invasion wasn’t random. Gardner has conspired with his wife’s twin sister, Margaret (also played by Julianne Moore), and hired mobsters to kill Rose so he could collect insurance money and be with Margaret. When Gardner refuses to pay the killers, things go south, and the insurance agent, Bud Cooper (Oscar Isaac), becomes suspicious. A secondary plot highlights the racial tensions in the neighborhood as its first Black family moves in, leading to violent and ugly reactions from the White residents. Suburbicon was rated low by critics, who believed its plot was too predictable.
8. The Midnight Sky
IMDb Rating: 5.7/10
Tomatometer: 50%
Popcornmeter: 26%
George Clooney followed Suburbicon with his 2020 science fiction film The Midnight Sky. Although it fared better critically, it generally received mixed to average reviews. However, audiences were less enthused, leaving it with below-average reviews. The Midnight Sky was adapted from Lily Brooks-Dalton’s 2016 novel Good Morning, Midnight. Set in the year 2049, Earth has suffered a mysterious global catastrophe, making it uninhabitable.
George Clooney leads the cast as Augustine Lofthouse, a terminally ill scientist. Lofthouse remains at an Arctic observatory while most of humanity evacuates underground. His goal is to warn a returning spaceship, Aether, about Earth’s unlivable conditions. The Midnight Sky also starred Felicity Jones, who played Iris “Sully” Sullivan, later revealed to be Clooney’s character’s daughter. David Oyelowo and Kyle Chandler also join Aether’s crew as Commander Gordon Adewole and pilot Tom Mitchell, respectively.
7. The Monuments Men
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Tomatometer: 30%
Popcornmeter: 44%
Besides directing the film, George Clooney led The Monuments Men ensemble cast as Lieutenant Frank Stokes. The film is loosely based on the true story of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) program. The program consisted of a group of art historians, museum curators, and soldiers tasked with recovering priceless artwork and cultural treasures stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
Set during the final years of the war, the film follows a team of unlikely heroes, including characters played by Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, and Bob Balaban, as they race against time to prevent Hitler and the Nazis from destroying or hiding stolen masterpieces. Despite receiving low to average critical reviews, The Monuments Men was a commercial success. It grossed $156.4 million from an estimated $70–91 million production budget.
6. Leatherheads
IMDb Rating: 6.0/10
Tomatometer: 53%
Popcornmeter: 38%
Leatherheads (2008) is a sports comedy set in 1952. It follows the early days of professional American football when the sport was struggling to gain legitimacy. George Clooney also leads Leatherheads‘s cast as Jimmy “Dodge” Connelly, an aging charismatic football player. Dodge tries to save his failing team, the Duluth Bulldogs, by recruiting a college football star and war hero, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski).
However, a determined reporter, Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), is investigating whether Carter’s war heroics were exaggerated. As she digs deeper, a love triangle develops between Dodge, Lexie, and Carter. Leatherheads’ critical ratings were mixed to average, with the audience score falling below average. The film also bombed at the Box Office, grossing only $41.3 million against a production budget of $58 million.
5. The Tender Bar
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
Tomatometer: 51%
Popcornmeter: 69%
George Clooney’s 2021 coming-of-age drama The Tender Bar was based on J. R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir. Actor Tye Sheridan was cast to portray the older J. R. Moehringer, with Ben Affleck playing his uncle, Charlie Maguire. The Tender Bar follows the story of J.R. who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s under the guidance of his charismatic Uncle Charlie. Charlie, a bartender and owner of the local bar “The Dickens,” becomes a father figure to J.R.
Actress Lily Rabe plays J.R.’s mother, who is determined to give her son a better future. She pushes him to study law at either Yale or Harvard despite their financial struggles. Meanwhile, J.R. struggles with his absent father, an unreliable radio DJ known professionally as “The Voice,” who constantly lets him down. Although the film received generally average reviews, Ben Affleck’s performance was praised, earning a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
4. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Tomatometer: 79%
Popcornmeter: 75%
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) was George Clooney’s feature directorial debut. Its screenplay was adapted from Chuck Barris’s 1984 unauthorized autobiography. The biographical spy film starred Sam Rockwell (who portrayed Barris), Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, and George Clooney. The movie centers around the fictional life of Chuck Barris, a real-life television producer and game show host. The late Barris was known for creating The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game and hosting the then-NBC amateur talent game show The Gong Show.
In Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Chuck Barris, while struggling to make a breakthrough in television, is recruited by the CIA as a covert assassin. Barris is trained and sent on international missions to eliminate targets while using his TV career as a cover. However, he struggles with paranoia, identity crisis, and the pressure of leading a double life. While juggling his professional work, Barris juggles between maintaining relationships with his girlfriend (Barrymore) and a seductive fellow operative, Patricia Watson (Roberts). Despite bombing at the Box Office, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was a critical success.
3. The Boys in the Boat
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Tomatometer: 57%
Popcornmeter: 97%
As of early 2025, The Boys in the Boat is George Clooney’s last directed film. The Boys in the Boat is a biological sports drama adapted from Daniel James Brown’s 2013 nonfiction book. The plot tells the true story of the University of Washington’s rowing team, composed of working-class young men. These men overcame incredible odds to compete at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Set in the mid-1930s, the film follows Joe Rantz (portrayed by Callum Turner) and his teammates as they struggle with financial hardship, rigorous training, and personal challenges under the guidance of their dedicated coach, Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton). Despite their underdog status, they defy expectations and face off against elite rowing teams. The team had a dramatic victory against Nazi Germany’s team in Hitler’s Berlin at the 1936 Olympics.
2. The Ides of March
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Tomatometer: 83%
Popcornmeter: 73
George Clooney’s 2011 The Ides of March featured a star-studded cast led by Ryan Gosling and Clooney. The political drama was adapted from Beau Willimon’s 2008 play Farragut North. The Ides of March follows Stephen Meyers (Gosling), a young and ambitious press secretary working for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), a Democratic presidential candidate.
As the Ohio primary approaches, Meyers gets caught in a web of political manipulation, betrayal, and scandal. When he learns a damaging secret about Morris, Meyers must decide between his personal morals and career ambitions. The Ides of March also starred Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, and Marisa Tomei. With Clooney co-writing The Ides of March’s screenplay, the film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012.
1. Good Night, and Good Luck
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Tomatometer: 93%
Popcornmeter: 83%
The 2005 historical drama Good Night, and Good Luck is George Clooney’s most critically acclaimed movie. Shot in black and white, the film depicts the conflict between veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow (portrayed by David Strathairn) and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s. It focuses on Murrow’s efforts, along with his CBS news team, to challenge McCarthy’s anti-communist witch hunts. Good Night, and Good Luck also starred Robert Downey Jr., Clooney, Jeff Daniels, and Tate Donovan. The film also earned Clooney two Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. If you enjoyed reading about the ranking of George Clooney’s films, check out how critics ranked every Angelina Jolie-directed film.
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