George Lucas

16 films directed 12 Awards 2 Nominations

Biography

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and entrepreneur. Lucas is known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.

After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Lucas wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his earlier student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was the film American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful, and received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.

Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), had a troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced and co-wrote the Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s.

Most directed genres

Recurring actors

Awards and nominations

2026 Knight of the Legion of Honour
2015 Disney Legends
2013 Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award
2009 California Hall of Fame
2006 Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame
2005 AFI Life Achievement Award
1981 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
1978 Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay Nominated
1977 Inkpot Award
1974 Academy Award for Best Director Nominated
— Honorary Palme d'Or
— Kennedy Center Honors
— National Medal of Arts
— Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The career in numbers

US$ 361 mi Total budget from 6 film(s) with data
US$ 3.5 bi Total box office from 6 film(s) with data
US$ 60 mi Average budget from 6 film(s) with data
US$ 577 mi Average box office from 6 film(s) with data
6.9 Average rating from 7 film(s) with data
9.6× Return on investment from 6 film(s) with data

Budget and box office do not exist for every film in our records. Averages are computed over the films that carry the figure, and the count beside each one says how many.

Films directed

Film	Year	Budget	Box office	Rating
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith	2005	US$ 113 mi	US$ 850 mi	7.5
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones	2002	US$ 120 mi	US$ 649 mi	6.6
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace	1999	US$ 115 mi	US$ 1.0 bi	6.6
Star Wars	1977	US$ 11 mi	US$ 775 mi	8.2
American Graffiti	1973	US$ 777,000	US$ 140 mi	7.0
THX 1138	1971	US$ 777,000	US$ 2 mi	6.4
Bald: The Making of 'THX 1138'	1971	—	—	6.7
Filmmaker	1968	—	—	7.3
Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB	1967	—	—	6.0
anyone lived in a pretty [how] town	1967	—	—	5.4
The Emperor	1967	—	—	7.0
6-18-67	1967	—	—	5.9
Freiheit	1966	—	—	5.8
1:42.08	1966	—	—	5.8
Herbie	1966	—	—	6.9
Look at Life	1965	—	—	6.1

Directors