Biography
Christopher Joseph Columbus (born September 10, 1958) is an American filmmaker. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania, Columbus studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After writing screenplays for several teen comedies in the mid-1980s, including Gremlins, The Goonies, and Young Sherlock Holmes, he made his directorial debut with a teen adventure, Adventures in Babysitting(1987). Columbus gained recognition soon after with the highly...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Werwulf
2026
Executive Producer
A werewolf horror film set in 13th century England with dialogue true to the time period. Plot TBA.

The President's Cake
2025
Executive Producer
It’s “draw day” across Iraq, when schools select students for the honour of bringing items to their mandatory local celebrations of President Saddam H...

The Thursday Murder Club
2025
Director, Producer
Four septuagenarian friends who live in a retirement community and, led by a former spy, form the Thursday Murder Club to solve cold cases for fun. Bu...

Nosferatu
2024
Producer
A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

Music by John Williams
2024
as Self - Filmmaker
His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro ...

Child Star
2024
as Self - Director
Explore the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight through the lens of some of the world’s most famous former child stars. Through celebrity in...

Dìdi (弟弟)
2024
Executive Producer
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can't ...

David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived
2023
as Self (archive footage)
As Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the Harry Potter films, David Holmes' work has been seen worldwide by millions of people. Tragically an on-set a...

Chupa
2023
Producer
While visiting family in Mexico, a lonely boy befriends a mythical creature hiding on his grandfather's ranch and embarks on the adventure of a lifeti...

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again
2022
Executive Producer
Nick Daley is following in his father's footsteps as night watchman at the American Museum of Natural History, so he knows what happens when the sun g...

The Exiles
2022
Executive Producer
Brash and opinionated, Christine Choy is a documentarian, cinematographer, professor, and quintessential New Yorker whose films and teaching have infl...

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts
2022
as Self
An enchanting making-of story told through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through...

Cusp
2021
Executive Producer
In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer.

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two
2020
Director, Producer, Screenplay
Kate Pierce is reluctantly spending Christmas with her mom’s new boyfriend and his son Jack. But when the North Pole and Christmas are threatened to b...

Yes, God, Yes
2020
Executive Producer
Alice, a young innocent Catholic girl, is tempted into masturbating after an AOL chat suddenly turns sexual, however is conflicted as the act would be...

Showbiz Kids
2020
as Self (archive footage)
A documentary chronicling the shared experiences of prominent former child stars and the personal and professional price of fame and failure on a chil...

Scoob!
2020
Executive Producer
In Scooby-Doo’s greatest adventure yet, see the never-before told story of how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined forces...

The Lighthouse
2019
Executive Producer
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

The Christmas Chronicles
2018
Producer
Siblings Kate and Teddy try to prove Santa Claus is real, but when they accidentally cause his sleigh to crash, they have to save Christmas.

I Kill Giants
2017
Producer
Sophia, a new high school student, tries to make friends with Barbara, who tells her that “she kills giants,” protecting this way her hometown and its...

Patti Cake$
2017
Producer
Straight out of Jersey comes Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, an aspiring rapper fighting through a world of strip malls and s...

Menashe
2017
Executive Producer
Within Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community, a widower battles for custody of his son.

It Had to Be You
2016
Executive Producer
Sonia is a jingle writer who's always dreamt of a big and exciting life. Surprised by a sudden proposal and subsequent ultimatum from her easy-going b...

Tallulah
2016
Producer
Desperate to be rid of her toddler, a dissatisfied Beverly Hills housewife hires a stranger to babysit and ends up getting much more than she bargaine...

The Young Messiah
2016
Producer
Tells the story of Jesus Christ at age seven as he and his family depart Egypt to return home to Nazareth. Told from his childhood perspective, it fol...

The Witch
2016
Executive Producer
In 1630, a farmer relocates his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of a forest where strange, unsettling things happen. With suspicion and pa...

Mediterranea
2015
Producer
Ayiva recently left his home in Burkina Faso in search of a way to provide for his sister and his daughter. He takes advantage of his position in an i...

Pixels
2015
Director, Producer
Video game experts are recruited by the military to fight 1980s-era video game characters who've attacked New York.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
2014
Producer
When the magic powers of The Tablet of Ahkmenrah begin to die out, Larry Daley spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on...

From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures
2014
as Self
Chris Walas and Howie Mandel, the voice of Gizmo, describe the laborious development of Gizmo and the Gremlins and the painstaking work required to br...

Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous: Making Gremlins
2014
as Self
This new retrospective features new interviews with director Joe Dante, star Zach Galligan, writer Chris Columbus, executive producers Steven Spielber...

Little Accidents
2014
Executive Producer
In a small American coal town living in the shadow of a recent mining accident, the disappearance of a teenage boy draws three people together—a survi...

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
2013
Executive Producer
In their quest to confront the ultimate evil, Percy and his friends battle swarms of mythical creatures to find the mythical Golden Fleece and to stop...

Daniel Radcliffe: Being Harry Potter
2012
as Self
Made-for-television documentary about Daniel Radcliffe and his role as Harry Potter.

Applebaum
2012
Director, Executive Producer
Based on Ayelet Waldman’s Mommy Track Mysteries series of books, Applebaum centers on Juliet Applebaum (Rachelle Lefevre), a former public defender wh...

The Help
2011
Producer
Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson ...

French Exchange
2011
Executive Producer
15-year-old Jack is on a French Exchange trip with his school. But his mum won't stop ringing to check-up on him. On his last night, his host falls il...

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
2010
Director, Producer
Accident prone teenager, Percy discovers he's actually a demi-God, the son of Poseidon, and he is needed when Zeus' lightning is stolen. Percy must ma...

The Cove
2009
Thanks
The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the ...

I Love You, Beth Cooper
2009
Director, Producer
A valedictorian's declaration of love for a high-school cheerleader launches a night of revelry, reflection and romance for a group of graduating seni...

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
2009
Producer
Hapless museum night watchman Larry Daley must help his living, breathing exhibit friends out of a pickle now that they've been transferred to the arc...

Fog City Mavericks
2007
as Self
Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco is a compelling exploration of the legendary filmmakers who call the San Francisco Bay Area home i...

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
2007
Executive Producer
The Fantastic Four return to the big screen as a new and all powerful enemy threatens the Earth. The seemingly unstoppable 'Silver Surfer', but all is...

Night at the Museum
2006
Producer
Chaos reigns at the natural history museum when night watchman Larry Daley accidentally stirs up an ancient curse, awakening Attila the Hun, an army o...

No Day But Today: The Story of 'Rent'
2006
as Self
Feature length documentary about Jonathan Larson and "Rent"'s journey from Broadway to the screen. Featuring director Chris Columbus, the entire cast,...

Rent
2005
Director, Producer
This rock opera tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in late 1980s East Village, New York, USA. The film centers...

Fantastic Four
2005
Executive Producer
During a space voyage, four scientists are altered by cosmic rays: Reed Richards gains the ability to stretch his body; Sue Storm can become invisible...

Christmas with the Kranks
2004
Screenplay, Producer
When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip ...

The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
2004
as Self
A 2004 documentary on the first three “Harry Potter” films detailing the behind-the-scenes journey of making them.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
Producer
Year three at Hogwarts means new fun and challenges as Harry learns the delicate art of approaching a Hippogriff, transforming shape-shifting Boggarts...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
Director, Executive Producer
Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger aw...

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2001
Director, Executive Producer
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with ...

Monkeybone
2001
Executive Producer
After a car crash sends repressed cartoonist Stu into a coma, he and the mischievous Monkeybone, his hilarious alter-ego, wake up in a wacked-out ways...

Bicentennial Man
1999
Director, Producer
Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the ...

Stepmom
1998
Director, Producer
Jackie is a divorced mother of two. Isabel is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie’s ex-husband Luke, forced into the role of unwelcome stepmother t...

Jingle All the Way
1996
Producer
Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company, is constantly kept busy at his job, disappointing his son. After he misses his son's karate exposi...

Nine Months
1995
Director, Screenplay, Producer
When he finds out his longtime girlfriend is pregnant, a commitment-phobe realizes he might have to change his lifestyle for better or much, much wors...

Mrs. Doubtfire
1993
Director
Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard, estranged from his exasperated spouse, is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his k...

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
1992
as Man in Toy Store (uncredited)
Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card—despite problems f...

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
1992
Director
Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card—despite problems f...

Only the Lonely
1991
Director, Screenplay
Danny Muldoon, a Chicago policeman, still lives with his overbearing mother Rose. He meets and falls in love with Theresa Luna , whose father owns the...

Home Alone
1990
Director
Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. Wh...

Gremlins 2: The New Batch
1990
Characters
Young sweethearts Billy and Kate move to the Big Apple, land jobs in a high-tech office park and soon reunite with the friendly and lovable Gizmo. But...

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
1989
Screenplay
A little boy whose dreams transcend reality is sucked into his own fantasy, which is everything he has dreamed of, until he unleashes an old secret th...

Heartbreak Hotel
1988
Director, Writer
When a teen tries to set up a band at his school, his mother - who was a big fan of Elvis Presley - gets in a wreck. He and his band members then deci...

Adventures in Babysitting
1987
Director
When plans with her boyfriend fall through, high school senior Chris Parker ends up babysitting the Anderson kids, Brad and Sara. What should be a qui...

Young Sherlock Holmes
1985
Screenplay
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet as boys in an English Boarding school. Holmes is known for his deductive ability even as a youth, amazing his clas...

The Goonies
1985
Screenplay
Young teen Mikey Walsh and his friends set off on a quest to find Pirate One-Eyed Willie's treasure in hopes of saving their homes from demolition.

Gremlins
1984
Writer
After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unlea...

Reckless
1984
Writer
Teenager Johnny Rourke is reckless. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, he breaks the law and girls' hearts with equal cool. Cheerleader Tracey Pres...
I Think I'm Going to Like it Here
1980
Director
Chris Columbus's NYU student film follows a naïve freshman from the Midwest as he becomes acclimated to his first year at NYU. Preserved by the Academ...
Untitled Labyrinth Sequel
N/A
Producer
Sequel set inside the weird fantasy realm of Jim Henson's Labyrinth. Plot TBA.

Miraculous
N/A
Director
The story of the movie will be based around Ladybug and Cat Noir's origins and how they both fell in love while including more details.
Untitled The Goonies Sequel
N/A
Producer
A Christmas Carol
N/A
Producer
A retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas ghost story.