Best Jon Favreau Movies and TV Shows of All Time

Jon Favreau didn't just go big time. He is the big time. If you want to make a list of people who have defined Hollywood and the film industry over the last 20 years, the Queens, New York, native is at the top of the list. 

From his humble beginnings as an actor and stand-up comedian to his later career as a writer, director and producer of some of the biggest box-office hits, Favreau has been in our lives since the early 1990s. He is the mind behind one pop-culture phenomenon after another, and his work is not genre-specific. He's made everything from romantic comedies to action movies to Christmas movies to dramas to comic-book movies. 

These are the 10 best Jon Favreau movies and TV shows of all time, including his roles as an actor, director, and, in one case, as the host of a TV show. 

10. Iron Man 2

Release date: May 7, 2010

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johannson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Favreau

Budget: $170 million-200 million

Box office: $623.9 million 

Bottom line: The early years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were more about making safe bets, and the serviceable "Iron Man" sequel came out before the first versions of "Captain America" and "Thor" did in 2010. That was mainly because it was sure to be a hit following the success of "Iron Man" in 2008 and the middling returns (and reviews) on "The Incredible Hulk" starring Edward Norton. 

While the fan and critical response to "Iron Man 2" wasn't great when it was first released — two years seems like an absolute rush to put out a sequel in today's world — opinions on the movie have considerably lightened up over the years. This is thanks in no small part to the introductions of Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) and War Machine (Don Cheadle). 

9. Rudy

Release date: Oct. 15, 1993

Director: Donald Anspaugh

Starring: Sean Astin, Ned Beatty, Charles S. Dutton, Lili Taylor, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Robert Prosky

Budget: $11 million

Box office: $22.8 million 

Bottom line: Even before becoming a star, Jon Favreau found his way into GOAT-type projects specific to their genre. For his first speaking film role, Favreau appeared in "Rudy," one of the greatest sports movies of all time. 

Favreau is instantly unforgettable as D-Bob, the tutor/eventual best friend to Notre Dame walk-on football player Rudy Ruettiger. For most of us over a certain age (30 to 35 years old) this was our first encounter with Favreau. Call it love at first sight. 

8. Made

Release date: July 13, 2001

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, Sean Combs, Famke Janssen, Faizon Love

Budget: $5 million

Box office: $5.5 million

Bottom line: Jon Favreau's largely forgotten directorial debut reunited him with his "Swingers" co-star Vince Vaughn and features the duo as Los Angeles-based mafia types who have to go to New York to complete a job for the boss.

While you may not have seen or heard of "Made" in quite some time, you get the bare bones of what Favreau's career as a director was made on — action set pieces paired with heartfelt connections between the leads. 

7. Spider-Man Trilogy (2017-2021)

Release date: Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7, 2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 2, 2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (Dec. 17, 2021)

Director: Jon Watts

Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau

Budget (for all three films): $535 million

Box office (for all three films): $3.93 billion

Bottom line: Jon Favreau has appeared as Iron Man's bodyguard/driver Happy Hogan in eight movies within the MCU, but nowhere did that role take on more importance than in the latest trilogy of Spider-Man movies starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

There's something about the combination of Holland and Favreau that really is special, and if you're looking for the proof, each movie in the series has grossed more at the box office than the previous movie, setting records for both Sony and Marvel. The last entry, "Spider-Man: No Way Home," grossed approximately $1.9 billion following its release in December 2021, putting it at No. 7 on the list of the highest-grossing films of all time. 

But nothing can top Favreau having to remind Gwyneth Paltrow she was in a Spider-Man movie while on her cooking show. Paltrow had completely forgotten she was in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." 

6. Chef

Release date: May 9, 2014

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr. 

Budget: $11 million budget

Box office: $46 million 

Bottom line: Jon Favreau's answer to making a string of big-budget movies in the late 2000s and early 2010s was writing and directing the micro-budget (by his standards) "Chef," which turned into a critical darling and surprise box-office hit in 2014. 

Favreau gets a huge lift from a pretty amazing supporting cast of A-Listers for a movie of this size, including Scarlet Johansson, Robert Downey Jr. and Dustin Hoffman. Just a sweet, feel-good movie. 

 

5. Dinner for Five

Release date: July 6, 2001 (IFC)

Creator: Jon Favreau

Starring: Jon Favreau

Bottom line: "Dinner for Five" ran for five seasons on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) and featured Jon Favreau and four guests from the entertainment industry talking shop at real restaurants, ordering off real menus and being served by real waiters. The format was simple, with five cameras at least 10 feet from the table, and only Favreau and his four guests dining and talking in an empty restaurant. 

Of the roughly 200 guests Favreau drank, dined and conversated with over five years, 28 guests appeared twice. Only three guests appeared three times — Kevin James, director Peter Berg and Favreau's "Swingers" co-star Vince Vaughn.

And only one guest ever appeared four times — comedian/actor and "Made" co-star Faizon Love. 

4. Elf

Release date: Nov. 7, 2003

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner, Bob Newhart

Budget: $33 million

Box office: $235 million 

Bottom line: Jon Favreau made one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time in 2003 with "Elf" starring Will Ferrell. The story of Buddy the Elf is about a human raised by Santa's elves who doesn't realize he's human.

The movie proved to be the gateway to big-budget Hollywood movies for Favreau after he turned the $33 million budget into $235 million at the box office and untold hundreds of millions since via streaming and rentals. 

3. Iron Man

Release date: May 2, 2008

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb, Clark Gregg, Jon Favreau

Budget: $145 million

Box office: $540 million 

Bottom line: It's crazy to think now, but if a major MCU release made $540 million at the box office today, it would be considered an abject failure. When "Iron Man" was released in 2008, those numbers represented not only success, but success you could build an entire franchise of movies on. 

"Iron Man" was a big risk for all involved, a kind of make-or-break film for the careers of Jon Favreau as director, Kevin Feige as producer and star Robert Downey Jr. They all made it. 

2. Swingers

Release date: Oct. 18, 1996

Director: Doug Liman

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Heather Graham, Ron Livingston

Budget: $200,000

Box office: $4.6 million

Bottom line: Jon Favreau wrote the screenplay for "Swingers" in two weeks after his father bought him screenwriting software, then went to work raising money for its production and enlisting others to his cause.

It was a group that included future A-List actor Vince Vaughn, and unknown director Doug Liman, who went on to helm box-office hits like "The Bourne Identity" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (although you and I both know "Edge of Tomorrow" is his best movie).  

The reason "Swingers" proved to be a launching pad for all these careers is because it's funny, rewatchable and incredibly heartfelt. You'll find it on lists of the greatest comedies of all time and the greatest Los Angeles movies of all time. 

1. The Mandalorian

Release date: Nov. 12, 2019 (Disney+) 

Creator: Jon Favreau

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Amy Sedaris, Katee Sackhoff, Werner Herzog, Gina Carano, Emily Swallow

Bottom line: "The Mandalorian" marked the second time in Jon Favreau's career a major IP worth billions of dollars turned to him in hopes of launching a new era. It's also the second time he delivered beyond even the greatest expectations of not only the people who invested their money in him, but of the respective fandoms. 

Just like what happened after "Iron Man" launched the MCU in 2008, "The Mandalorian" launched the Disney+ streaming app in 2019 and became a pop culture phenomenon. Headed into its third season premiere on March 1, 2023, "The Mandalorian" is the streaming app's signature show.

And you can credit most of that success to Favreau, who began creating the character of Grogu (Baby Yoda) in 2012 when he learned Disney had acquired the rights to the "Star Wars" universe for $4 billion.