Wes Anderson is an American filmmaker known for feature films, commercials, and short films.
Anderson directed the short film Bottle Rocket which was later adapted into his feature length directorial debut film Bottle Rocket (1996). He later directed his sophomore film Rushmore (1998), which established himself as an independent film auteur. He often collaborated with the brothers Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson during that time and founded his production company American Empirical Pictures. He further established his unique style with The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and his first stop-motion film, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
His later works include his second stop-motion film, Isle of Dogs (2018), the anthology comedy The French Dispatch (2021), the science fiction dramedy Asteroid City (2023) and the espionage caper comedy The Phoenician Scheme (2025). Anderson won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023).
As a director Feature films Year Title Director Writer Producer 1996 Bottle Rocket 1998 Rushmore 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums 2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 2007 The Darjeeling Limited 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox 2012 Moonrise Kingdom 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel 2018 Isle of Dogs 2021 The French Dispatch 2023 Asteroid City 2024 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More 2025 The Phoenician Scheme
Producer only The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Executive producer only She's Funny That Way (2014) Escapes (2017) Uncropped (2023)
Short films Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1993 Bottle Rocket Shot in 1992, released in 1993 2007 Hotel Chevalier Prequel to The Darjeeling Limited 2012 Do You Like to Read? Promotional shorts for Moonrise KingdomCousin Ben Troop Screening 2013 Castello Cavalcanti Commissioned by Prada 2023 Asteroid City: Location Featurette Promotional short for Asteroid CityThe Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Netflix shorts based on stories by Roald DahlThe Swan The Rat Catcher Poison
Commercials Year Title Director Writer Company Notes 2004 "My Life, My Card" American Express Starring Wes Anderson as himselfAccording to Matt Zoller Seitz, the author of The Wes Anderson Collection 2008 "Softbank" Softbank Japanese commercial filmed in France 2010 "Apartomatic" Stella Artois Co-directed with Roman Coppola 2012 "Made of Imagination" Sony Xperia Stop-motion animation 2013 "Candy" Prada Co-directed with Roman Coppola 2016 "Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion" H&M Starring Adrien Brody and Garth Jennings. 2024 "100 Years of Meisterstück" Montblanc Starring Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman and Rupert Friend. 2025 "Lets Write" Montblanc Starring Wes Anderson, Rupert Friend, Michael Cera, Waris Ahluwalia & Esther McGregor
Music Videos Year Title Director Artist Notes 2021 "Aline" Written by Christophe, performed by Jarvis Cocker Promotional music video for The French Dispatch
As an actor Film Year Title Role Notes 1996 Bottle Rocket Passenger on busUncredited cameo 1998 Rushmore Student 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums Tennis match commentator 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox Stan Weasel Voice role 2016 SingAdditional Voices 2021 Sing 22024 100 Years of Meisterstück
Documentary Year Title Notes2014One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & the Lost American Film2015Hitchcock/Truffaut2018Always at the CarlyleFriedkin Uncut2023UncroppedAlso executive producer Reception Year Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Budget Box office 1996 Bottle Rocket 86% (6.8/10 average rating) (68 reviews) 67 (24 reviews) $7 million $560,000 1998 Rushmore 90% (8.2/10 average rating) (105 reviews) 86 (32 reviews) $9 million $17.1 million 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums 81% (7.5/10 average rating) (215 reviews) 76 (34 reviews) $21 million $71.4 million 2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 57% (6.1/10 average rating) (226 reviews) 62 (38 reviews) $50 million $34.8 million 2007 The Darjeeling Limited 69% (6.6/10 average rating) (189 reviews) 67 (35 reviews) $16 million $35.1 million 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox 93% (7.9/10 average rating) (246 reviews) 83 (34 reviews) $40 million $46.5 million 2012 Moonrise Kingdom 93% (8.3/10 average rating) (269 reviews) 84 (43 reviews) $16 million $68.3 million 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel 92% (8.5/10 average rating) (318 reviews) 88 (48 reviews) $25 million $174.8 million 2018 Isle of Dogs 90% (8.0/10 average rating) (370 reviews) 82 (55 reviews) $35 million $64.2 million 2021 The French Dispatch 75% (7.1/10 average rating) (312 reviews) 74 (57 reviews) $25 million $46.3 million 2023 Asteroid City 75% (7/10 average rating) (338 reviews) 74 (60 reviews) $25 million $54 million 2025 The Phoenician Scheme 78% (279 reviews) 70 (53 reviews) $30 million $38 million
Frequent collaborators Anderson's films feature many recurring actors, including the Wilson brothers (Owen, Luke, and Andrew), Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Bob Balaban, and Tilda Swinton. Robert Yeoman has served as director of photography for all of Anderson's live-action films, while Mark Mothersbaugh composed Anderson's first four films, with Alexandre Desplat composing all since Fantastic Mr. Fox. Randall Poster has served as music supervisor for all of Anderson's films since Rushmore. His films have often been financed by Steven Rales through his production company Indian Paintbrush.
rowspan=2 Bottle Rocket Rushmore Royal Tenenbaums Life Aquatic Darjeeling Limited Fantastic Mr. Fox Moonrise Kingdom Grand Budapest Hotel Isle of Dogs French Dispatch Asteroid City Henry Sugar Phoenician Scheme Total F. Murray Abraham 3 Waris Ahluwalia Mathieu Amalric Bob Balaban 5 Adrien Brody Seymour Cassel 3 Jarvis Cocker 4 Bryan Cranston 3 Willem Dafoe 6 Rupert Friend 4 Jeff Goldblum Anjelica Huston 5 Scarlett Johansson 3 Harvey Keitel Frances McDormand Bill Murray 10 Edward Norton 5 Larry Pine Tony Revolori 3 Liev Schreiber Jason Schwartzman 7 Fisher Stevens 5 Tilda Swinton Andrew Wilson 3 Luke Wilson Owen Wilson 7 Wallace Wolodarsky 5 Jeffrey Wright 3
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