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Daniel Kwan

Daniel Kwan

Director, writer and producer · Born February 10, 1988 (38) · Westborough, Massachusetts, USA

3 Oscars · Golden Globe nominee · BAFTA Award nominee · 7 other major award bodies

Daniel Kwan (born February 10, 1988) is an American filmmaker and one-half of the filmmaking duo known as the Daniels, alongside Daniel Scheinert. He began his career as a director of music videos, including ones for "Houdini" (2012) by Foster the People and "Turn Down for What" (2013) by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, both of which earned Grammy Award nominations. Kwan co-wrote and co-directed the absurdist comedy dramas Swiss Army Man (2016) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The latter became A24's highest-grossing film and earned him several accolades, including Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Daniels (directors), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 10, 1988 (38)
From
Westborough, Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 22% in 30 days

What are Daniel Kwan's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
34%
Bonds
28%
Ideas
22%
Survival
16%
Friendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 2 · Serious 2 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 1 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 3

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 1

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 2

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

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 3

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

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1

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

A split, not a type: Casual 2 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 1 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
3
Joyful
2
Triumphant
2
Hopeful
2
Contemplative
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Hopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous3

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 Daniel Kwan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Daniel Kwan'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

27 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Untitled Daniels Event Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Skeleton Crew(2024)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows

  • Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Everything Everywhere All at Once (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Thanks · as Self

  • Everything Everywhere All at Once(2022)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia(2020)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens(2020)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all shows

  • On Becoming a God in Central Florida(2019)

    Show 1 episode · Consulting Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows

  • Snowy Bing Bongs Across the North Star Combat Zone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Executive Producer

  • Legion(2017)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Swiss Army Man(2016)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Pound Hole (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Interesting Ball (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Editor · Writer · as Daniel

  • Possibilia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Writer

  • Broomshakalaka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Executive Producer

  • Pockets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer

  • My Best Friend's Wedding/My Best Friend's Sweating (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Puppets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Producer · Writer · Actor

  • Dogboarding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Writer

  • Happy Holidays (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Writer

  • Your Boyfriend's Funeral (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Writer

  • Fast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Cinematographer · Special Effects

  • Tides of the Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Swingers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Writer · as Jon Favreau

  • Infomercials (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Balance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · as Boy

  • Untitled Paul Dano Comedy Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

Career shape

A full career of 27 titles, 25 of them dated from 2009 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

$148M worldwide

Highest rated

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Midcredits 95th

Film career

  • 2014Screen debut· Interesting Ball

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting6 of 27: 0 only acting, 6 with another roleDirecting21 of 27: 5 only directing, 16 with another role · typical Midcredits score75thWriting14 of 27: 0 only writing, 14 with another roleProducing8 of 27: 4 only producing, 4 with another roleCinematography1 of 27: 0 only cinematography, 1 with another roleEditing1 of 27: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew2 of 27: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

27 titles, 17 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 14 of them.

By decade

2000s4 · 3 acting · 4 crew2010s15 · 3 acting · 15 crew2020s6 · 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

3 Oscars and 9 other major awards from 22 major nominations, 2015–2023.

WinNomination
  1. 2023
    • Oscar, won · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, won · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, won · Best Original Screenplay
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Director - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay (Original)
    • +5 other major bodies · 8 wins
      • Directors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
      • Writers Guild Award, won · Original Screenplay
      • Producers Guild Award, won · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Director
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Original Screenplay
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Director
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Feature
      • Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Screenplay
  2. 2020
    • Sundance award, nominated
  3. 2017
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
  4. 2016
    • Sundance award, won · Dramatic
    • Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic
    • Sundance award, nominated
  5. 2015
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Music Video

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 Daniel Kwan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 77th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed1

Most divisive · director, writer

Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia (2020)

97th percentile spread · 49% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer, producer

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Midcredits 95th · 81% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 68/100 and the pacing 42/100 in their films, across 3 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 Daniel Kwan's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 43 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 51 · moderateMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 57 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 16 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 38 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Daniel Kwan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Daniel Kwan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Daniel Scheinert shares the most, 4.

Directors

Cinematographers

Producers