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Mark Waters

Mark Waters

Director and producer, also writer · Born June 30, 1964 (62) · Wyandotte, Michigan, USA

Sundance award nominee · Independent Spirit Award nominee

Mark Stephen Waters (born June 30, 1964) is an American film director and producer. Waters is perhaps best known for directing Just Like Heaven, Freaky Friday, and Mean Girls, and producing 500 Days of Summer. He is the brother of screenwriter Daniel Waters and has been married to actress Dina Spybey since 2000. He is a graduate of the American Film Institute and as of September 2006 has a development deal with Paramount pictures. He directed The Spiderwick Chronicles, filming in Montreal in the fall of 2006. In 2008 he shot "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" in Boston. He has a daughter named Zoe. Waters was one of the 120 invitees to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2006. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mark Waters (director), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 30, 1964 (62)
From
Wyandotte, Michigan, USA
Works as
Director and producer, also writer
Titles
20 on Motif · 26 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 15% in 30 days

What are Mark Waters' films like?

Across their 17 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy13 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 40th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 52nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies

Their Motif 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
Bonds
48%
Self
24%
Morality
12%
Society
7%
Survival
4%
Ideas
3%
Power
2%
Romantic love7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds8 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 17 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 13 · Serious 2 · Dark 2

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

A split, not a type: Grounded 11 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 1

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 3

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

A split, not a type: Steady 7 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 5

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

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 9

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

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 15 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 13 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 14 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
8
Romantic
7
Hopeful
8
Warm
6
Tense
5
Other
15

How their films linger

Feel-good11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Happy11
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous1

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 Mark Waters' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 20 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Mark Waters' titles on Motif; 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

26 credits, 20 with a Motif page.

  • Hershey (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)

    Director

  • La Dolce Villa(2025)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Mother of the Bride(2024)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • He's All That(2021)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Magic Camp(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Orchard House: Home of Little Women(2018)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Bad Santa 2(2016)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Salem Rogers (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Vampire Academy(2014)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Witches of East End(2013)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • Made in Jersey(2012)

    Show 8 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all shows

  • Mr. Popper's Penguins(2011)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • 500 Days of Summer(2009)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Ghosts of Girlfriends Past(2009)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • The Spiderwick Chronicles(2008)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • On the Lot (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2007)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Torchwood(2006)

    Show 1 episode · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows

  • Just Like Heaven(2005)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Sorry, Haters(2005)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Mean Girls(2004)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Freaky Friday(2003)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Warning: Parental Advisory (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Head Over Heels(2001)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • The House of Yes(1997)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Harvest Moon (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • Inversion (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 25 titles, 22 of them dated from 1997 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

$187M worldwide

Highest rated

500 Days of Summer (2009)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Mean Girls (2004)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 25: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting21 of 25: 13 only directing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score38thWriting1 of 25: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing9 of 25: 2 only producing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score38thCinematography1 of 25: 1 only cinematography, 0 with another role

25 titles, 8 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s11 · 1 acting · 10 crew2010s6 · crew2020s4 · 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 Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

2 major nominations and no wins, 1997–2010.

  1. 2010
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Feature
  2. 1997
    • Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic

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 Mark Waters' films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 17; across their 17 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

43rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 17

Approval · how many liked their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 17

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 17

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · director

He's All That (2021)

75th percentile spread · 50% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

500 Days of Summer (2009)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 60/100 and the pacing 52/100 in their films, across 16 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; 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 Motif 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 Mark Waters' work okay for kids?

Across up to 13 Motif titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore12 titles8–54 · median 26 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity13 titles10–49 · median 30 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity12 titles13–61 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs12 titles10–41 · median 31 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense11 titles4–35 · median 19 · mildlighter than most 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 Mark Waters work with?

People who share at least 2 of Mark Waters' Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rolfe Kent shares the most, 9.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles