Guillermo del Toro first directed the 1985 short horror film ‘Doña Lupe.’ He went on to direct another short film titled ‘Geometria’ in 1987. Del Toro made his feature-length directorial debut in the 1993 Mexican independent horror drama film ‘Cronos.’ The film saw critical acclaim upon release and earned an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He was also the writer of the film. In 1997, he directed the American science fiction horror film ‘Mimic.’ The film opened to a mixed critical reception and grossed over $25.5 million on a $30 million budget. He next directed the 2001 gothic horror film ‘The Devil's Backbone.’ The film was widely praised by critics and earned a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The following year, he directed the American superhero horror film ‘Blade II’ written by David S. Goyer. The film was a sequel to the 1998 film ‘Blade’ and opened to a mixed critical reception. Nevertheless, the film did decent business at the box office and grossed over $155 million on a $54 million budget. In 2004, he wrote and directed the American superhero film ‘Hellboy.’ The film garnered praise from critics and grossed over $99.8 million on a $60–66 million budget.
After directing films like ‘Pan's Labyrinth’ (2006) which earned him 2 Academy Award nominations and ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ (2008), he wrote the 2012 epic high fantasy adventure film ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ directed by Peter Jackson. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film turned out to be a massive box office success, grossing over $1.017 billion on a $200–315 million budget. Del Toro went on to write and direct films like ‘Pacific Rim’ (2013), ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ (2013), ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ (2014), and ‘Crimson Peak’ (2015). In 2017, he wrote, directed, and produced the American romantic fantasy film ‘The Shape of Water.’ The film saw wide critical acclaim upon release and was a massive commercial success, grossing over $195.3 million on a budget of $19.5–20 million. The film also earned 13 Academy Award nominations, winning in 4 categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. He next wrote and produced films like ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ (2019), ‘The Witches’ (2020), and ‘Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans’ (2021). In 2021, he wrote, directed, and produced the American neo-noir psychological thriller film ‘Nightmare Alley.’ Even though the film opened to a positive critical reception, it failed to perform at the box office.