Every M. Night Shyamalan Movie, Ranked (From Worst to Best)

M. Night Shyamalan is a director known for his signature suspenseful thrillers with plot twists. Read on to learn more about the established director's career along with a streaming guide on where to watch every title in the United States using popular services like Max, Netflix, Prime Video and so much more!

Born in Mahé, India, M. Night Shyamalan's breakthrough film was released in 1999 with The Sixth Sense which was a massive commercial and critical success, earning him a reputation as a talented writer-director to keep an eye on. He experienced continuing success following the releases of 2000’s Unbreakable, Signs in 2002 and The Village two years afterwards. Shyamalan's early career was marked with high expectations and comparisons to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Steven Spielberg… So much so that Newsweek famously referred to Shyamalan as being “the next Spielberg” in 2002.

However, M. Night Shyamalan's subsequent films failed to live up to the hype and his reputation began to suffer. For a period of about seven years, M. Night Shyamalan released flop after flop beginning with Lady in the Water in 2006 through to The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth. 

Going into the mid 2010s and beyond, M. Night Shyamalan's films including The Visit and Split were received positively by critics and audiences alike, indicating a gradual comeback. The filmmaker has shown a willingness to experiment with different genres as evidenced in 2021’s Old which is a horror-thriller based on a graphic novel. Josh Hartnett starred in Shyamalan's thriller Trap in 2024 alongside the director's daughter, Saleka. While it remains to be seen whether M. Night Shyamalan will be able to recapture the magic of his early career, his recent successes demonstrate that he still has the talent to create gripping and entertaining films.