Skip to content
MovieCove
Jon M. Chu

Jon M. Chu

Director, producer and actor · Born November 2, 1979 (46) · Palo Alto, California, USA

Critics Choice Award winner

Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for directing the romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians" (2018) and the musical fantasy "Wicked" (2024), the former being one of the first films by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent. For his direction for "Wicked," Chu won the National Board of Review Award for Best Director and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Director. An alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, other films he has directed often include musical elements, including the dance films "Step Up 2: The Streets" (2008) and "Step Up 3D" (2010), the musicals "Jem and the Holograms" (2015) and "In the Heights" (2021), as well as the live concert films "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" (2011) and "Justin Bieber's Believe" (2013). Description above from the Wikipedia article Jon M. Chu, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 2, 1979 (46)
From
Palo Alto, California, USA
Works as
Director, producer and actor
Titles
25 on MovieCove · 43 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 16% in 30 days

What are Jon M. Chu's films like?

Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Genres

Documentary7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 19th percentile
: browse their Documentary movies
Drama4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 63rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 45th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 56th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
27%
Society
26%
Bonds
16%
Ideas
13%
Power
9%
Morality
9%
Identity6 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity6 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 18 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 15 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 8

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 8 · Charged 6 · Intense 4

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 11 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 10 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 2

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 12 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 18 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
9
Hopeful
13
Warm
7
Contemplative
4
Thrilling
4
Other
13

How their films linger

Feel-good12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy11
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous1
  • Cyclical2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jon M. Chu's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jon M. Chu's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

43 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 19 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Oh, the Places You'll Go! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2028)

    Director

  • Wicked: For Good(2025)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Wicked: One Wonderful Night(2025)

    Executive Music Producer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked(2024)

    Thanks · as Self

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Wicked(2024)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Character Conversations (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • The Company You Keep(2023)

    Show 10 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Thai Cave Rescue(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Justin Bieber: The New Me(2021)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • In the Heights(2021)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Home Before Dark(2020)

    Show 20 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows

  • Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho(2019)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Good Trouble(2019)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • Crazy Rich Asians(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Now You See Me 2(2016)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Dance Camp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Producer

  • Jem and the Holograms(2015)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss(2014)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Justin Bieber's Believe(2013)

    Director · as Self

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • G.I. Joe: Retaliation(2013)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • Dear Mr. Watterson(2013)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Step Up: Revolution(2012)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Justin Bieber: Never Say Never(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • The LXD: The Secrets of the Ra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Step Up 3D(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers(2010)

    Show Creator

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows

  • The Miley and Mandy Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Step Up 2: The Streets(2008)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Gwai Lo: The Little Foreigner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Silent Beats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Freaked(1993)

    as Giant Stuey Monster

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Crazy Rich Asians (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • Hot Wheels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Executive Producer

  • Permanent Record (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • Play-Doh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • Split Fiction (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • The Goxfather (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • The Great Chinese Art Heist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • The LXD: Rise of the Drifts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • The Woman in Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Untitled Britany Spears Biopic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 42 titles, 30 of them dated from 1993 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Wicked (2024)

$764M worldwide

Highest rated

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

Wicked (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting4 of 42: 4 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting29 of 42: 21 only directing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score58thProducing14 of 42: 6 only producing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thMusic1 of 42: 1 only music, 0 with another roleOther crew2 of 42: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

42 titles, 8 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 8 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · acting2000s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew2010s14 · crew2020s11 · 2 acting · 9 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

Won a Critics Choice Award in 2025, Best Director.

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Jon M. Chu's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 20; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 59th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Approval · how many liked their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Reach · how many have seen their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Midcredits score across 25 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th12
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

14 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser14
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · actor, director

Justin Bieber's Believe (2013)

99th percentile spread · 74% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, composer

Wicked: One Wonderful Night (2025)

Midcredits 94th · 77% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 57/100 and the pacing 39/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Jon M. Chu's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles7–54 · median 31 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles10–37 · median 30 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles7–46 · median 44 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles11–32 · median 26 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense7 titles11–49 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Jon M. Chu work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jon M. Chu's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Cynthia Erivo shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers