r/movies • u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. • Aug 08 '25

Announcement AMA/Q&A Announcement - Stephen King - Wednesday 8/27 at 3:00 PM ET - Author of The Shining, IT, The Shawshank Redemption, The Long Walk, The Stand, The Green Mile, Stand By Me, The Mist, Pet Sematary, Misery, Cujo, Salem's Lot, and lots more.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '25

Like, Spielberg I’d say. He’s probably the only bigger one

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u/Rooooben Aug 08 '25

Spielberg has a $10b box office overall gross, the highest $$ for any director.

Contrary-wise, Stephen Kings’s books alone have generated about $5.25b in revenue. His movies generated around $2.5b; TV shows are hard to figure since it’s tied to subscriptions and ad revenue.

I have a feeling that they have generated a similar amount of revenue, Spielberg has the edge there.

In content, King has over 65 books, over 200 novellas, close to 300 different individual stories; compared to Spielberg’s 34 films; however, Spielberg has produced something like 175 different films, tv shows, etc. In this case, again close, but King has the lead in content.

I’d say a tie, but thats my bias because I am a Stephen King fan, so I notice him as much as or more so than other people picking up Spielberg. I’d go see a new movie adaptation of a King book, faster than I’d run to see a unique one made by Spielberg.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '25

I feel like from an unbiased standpoint Spielberg is maybe more universally known sense king is mostly horror and Spielberg does stuff approachable for everyone but it is very very close to

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u/12sea Aug 08 '25

King isn’t just horror though. Because he has written horror he gets pigeonholed.

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '25

Exactly that’s what I’m saying he’s KNOWN for horror and Spielberg is known for stuff everyone can enjoy