Instinctively, you might be inclined to answer that headline question with Catherine Hardwicke, who kicked off the TWILIGHT movie series to considerable worldwide success. But… nope.
How about Penny Marshall (BIG, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN)? Maybe Nora Ephron (SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, JULIE & JULIA)? Oscar-winning ass-kicker Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER, POINT BREAK)?
The answer, of course, is Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who made her feature debut on KUNG FU PANDA 2. The Dreamworks sequel didn’t make a massive impact with Po’s punches here in the US this summer, but went on to collect $645 million at the global box office. Ska-ching!
Perhaps more surprising — the second place slot goes to Phyllida Lloyd (??) with a $610 million worldwide tally… for MAMMA MIA! Apparently the planet is united in ABBA.