Watch Order
0 / 12 watchedTwelve key directing features in release order.
About Chris Columbus
Chris Columbus started as the writer of Gremlins and The Goonies, then became the director of Home Alone in 1990 and Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993. Those hits set his pattern of warm, kid centered comedy built around strong lead performances, from Macaulay Culkin to Robin Williams.
He launched Harry Potter on screen with the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001 and Chamber of Secrets in 2002, then moved between fantasy and comedy with Percy Jackson in 2010, Pixels in 2015 and The Thursday Murder Club in 2025. Release order works best because each film is standalone, and it shows how his family film style adapted over three decades.
Good to know
Every entry here stands alone, so there is no plot order to untangle. Pair the two Home Alone films together for Christmas, and the two Harry Potter films together for the start of that saga. Stepmom, Bicentennial Man and Only the Lonely are gentler dramas worth grouping on a separate night. Percy Jackson, Pixels and The Thursday Murder Club each start their own story and need no prior viewing.
