M. Night Shyamalan filmography

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Shyamalan at a press conference for The Happening in 2008 M. Night Shyamalan 2008 - still 40580.jpg
Shyamalan at a press conference for The Happening in 2008

Indian-American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan wrote, directed, and starred in his first project, the independent film Praying with Anger , while he was a student at New York University; inspired by his cultural upbringing, the movie was released in 1992 and earned him praise at film festivals. [1] [2] His next film, the comedy-drama Wide Awake about a grieving child struggling with his Catholic faith, was completed in 1995 but shelved by the studio Miramax until 1998. [3] [4] During this period, he did an uncredited rewrite of the script for the romantic-comedy She's All That that allegedly "got the movie green-lit" and co-wrote the live-action/animated film Stuart Little (both released in 1999). [5] [6] Also in 1999, he wrote and directed the supernatural drama The Sixth Sense , starring Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient claims he can see and talk to the dead. The three projects were commercially successful, but The Sixth Sense earned Shyamalan international attention and name recognition from critics and audiences, becoming the second-highest grossing film of the year and earning him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. [7] [8]

Contents

He reunited with Willis on the thriller Unbreakable about a seemingly average man, David Dunn, who learns he has superhuman abilities. The film co-starred Samuel L. Jackson and was released in 2000. Like Unbreakable, his science-fiction thriller Signs (2002) and period drama The Village (2004) found financial success and solidified him as a filmmaker known for his twist endings and cameo appearances. [9] [10] [11] The next decade, however, saw a series of critical misfires with Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008), and the higher-budgeted The Last Airbender (2010) and After Earth (2013). [12] In 2015, he had a career resurgence after partnering with Universal Pictures on the found footage horror film The Visit , which made $98.5 million on a $5 million budget he self-funded by taking out a loan against his estate. [13] He worked with Universal again on Split (2016) and its sequel Glass (2019), which with Unbreakable comprise the Eastrail 177 Trilogy , Old (2021), and Knock at the Cabin (2023). [14] He partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures for his latest film, Trap (2024). [15] Since The Visit, he has partly self-financed his films. [16] In television, he directed the pilot of Wayward Pines (2015) and showran Servant (2019–2023).

Films

M. Night Shyamalan's film credits
YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotesRef(s)
1992 Praying with Anger YesYesYesStudent film [1]
1998 Wide Awake YesYesNo [17]
1999 She's All That NoUncredited rewriteNo [18]
The Sixth Sense YesYesNo [19]
Stuart Little NoYesNo [6]
2000 Unbreakable YesYesYes [20]
2002 Signs YesYesYes [21]
2004 The Village YesYesYes [22]
2006 Lady in the Water YesYesYes [23]
2008 The Happening YesYesYes [24]
2010 The Last Airbender YesYesYes [25]
Devil NoStoryYes [26]
2013 After Earth YesYesYes [27]
2015 The Visit YesYesYes [28]
2016 Split YesYesYes [29]
2019 Glass YesYesYes [30]
2021 Old YesYesYes [31]
2023 Knock at the Cabin YesYesYes [32]
2024 The Watchers NoNoYes [33]
Trap YesYesYes [34]
Caddo Lake NoNoYes [35]

Notes

    Television

    M. Night Shyamalan's television credits
    YearTitleDirectorExecutive producerNotesRef(s)
    2015–16 Wayward Pines YesYesEpisode: "Where Paradise Is Home" [36]
    2019–23 Servant YesYesEpisodes: "Reborn", "Jericho", "2:00", "Donkey", "Awake" [37]

    Acting credits

    M. Night Shyamalan's acting credits
    YearTitleRoleNotesRef(s)
    1992 Praying with Anger Dev Raman [1]
    1999 The Sixth Sense Dr. Hill [38]
    2000 Unbreakable JaiCredited as "stadium drug dealer" [38]
    2002 Signs Ray Reddy [38]
    2004 The Village JayCredited as "guard at desk" [38]
    2006 Lady in the Water Vick Ran [38]
    2007 Entourage HimselfEpisode: "Sorry, Harvey" [39]
    2008 The Happening JoeyPlayed a voice on a phone call made by a character [38]
    2010 The Last Airbender FirebenderUncredited [40]
    2016 Split Jai [38]
    2019 Glass Jai [38]
    2019, 2020 This Is Us HimselfEpisodes: "The Pool: Part Two" and "A Hell of a Week: Part Two" [41] [42]
    2019 Servant Delivery manEpisode: "Reborn" [43]
    2021 Old TheoCredited as "hotel van driver" [44]
    2023 Knock at the Cabin Infomercial co-host [45]
    2024 Trap Lady Raven's uncle [46]

    Critical and public response

    Critical and public response to films from M. Night Shyamalan
    YearFilm Rotten Tomatoes [47] Metacritic [48] CinemaScore [49]
    1992 Praying with Anger
    1998 Wide Awake 45% (33 reviews)
    1999 The Sixth Sense 86% (158 reviews)64 (35 reviews)A–
    2000 Unbreakable 70% (173 reviews)62 (31 reviews)C
    2002 Signs 74% (236 reviews)59 (36 reviews)B
    2004 The Village 43% (218 reviews)44 (40 reviews)C
    2006 Lady in the Water 25% (212 reviews)36 (36 reviews)B–
    2008 The Happening 17% (185 reviews)34 (38 reviews)D
    2010 The Last Airbender 5% (192 reviews)20 (33 reviews)C
    2013 After Earth 12% (213 reviews)33 (41 reviews)B
    2015 The Visit 68% (229 reviews)55 (34 reviews)B–
    2016 Split 77% (307 reviews)62 (47 reviews)B+
    2019 Glass 36% (396 reviews)43 (53 reviews)B
    2021 Old 50% (313 reviews)55 (52 reviews)C+
    2023 Knock at the Cabin 68% (235 reviews)63 (54 reviews)C
    2024 Trap 57% (232 reviews)52 (46 reviews)C+

    See also

    References

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    32. Dick, Jeremy (June 11, 2022). "M. Night Shyamalan Wraps Filming on Next Movie Knock at the Cabin". MovieWeb . Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
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    49. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore . Retrieved February 12, 2021. Each film's score can be accessed from the website's search bar.