Kirk Jones (b. Oct 31, 1964 in Bristol, England) is an English film director and screenwriter. Kirk Jones grew up in Long Ashton, Bristol and attended Newport Film School from 1985–87, specializing in directing drama and television commercials. He graduated in 1987 after winning a National Student Film award and started to work for a London based production company as a production runner and later as assistant film editor. Whilst working in the cutting room, he continued to write and direct his own films and, after collecting a Silver award at the Creative Circle Awards for his Mercedes commercial in 1990, he was invited to join Xenium Productions as a director. His Absolute Vodka film, which he wrote and directed was awarded a Silver in 1991 and Kirk began directing commercials full time in London and Europe, working for agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty and Mother. Kirk’s producer, Glynis Murray set up Tomboy Films in 1991 and he joined her soon after. Awards at NABS in ‘94 and a Silver at the Creative Circle Awards followed and Kirk continued to direct commercials for clients including The National Lottery, National Westminster Bank, Reebok, & HSBC. His campaign for Heinz won a Silver Lion at Cannes in ’96 (Best Campaign) and his Reebok campaign won awards at both The Creative Circle and the British TV Advertising Awards in ‘98. Kirk was nominated for a BAFTA as ‘Best Newcomer’ in 1999 for his first feature film WAKING NED, which he both wrote and directed. Proportionate to budget Waking Ned was the second highest grossing film in the world that year (behind ‘The Blairwitch Project’) and won awards in the U.S and Europe. These included: New York Comedy Film Festival for Best Feature, Grand Jury and Critics Prize for Best Feature at Comedy d’Alp in France and Audience Award for Best Feature at Paris Film Festival. In 2004 Kirk directed his second feature film NANNY MCPHEE for ‘Working Title’ and ‘Universal Pictures’. Starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, it was a top ten highest grossing film in the UK with $30m and took $135m worldwide. In 2008 Kirk wrote and directed his third film EVERYBODY’S FINE. Starring Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell, it is an adaptation of an Italian film and was released through Miramax 2009 and Disney worldwide in 2010.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 31, 1964 (61)
- Bristol, England, UK
- Director, writer and producer
- 6 on MovieCove · 8 credits in all
What are Kirk Jones' films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 4 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 4
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 2
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet1
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 Kirk Jones' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Kirk Jones' 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
8 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page.
I Swear(2025)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Everybody's Fine(2009)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Malamaal Weekly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Nanny McPhee(2005)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Waking Ned Devine(1998)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all filmsMr Benn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 8 titles, 7 of them dated from 1998 to 2025.
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 major nominations and no wins, 2000–2026.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay (Original)
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Outstanding British Film of the Year
- BAFTA Award, nominated
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 Kirk Jones' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 6 titles divides audiences: 2 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 6 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 Kirk Jones' work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.
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 Kirk Jones work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kirk Jones' MovieCove titles; Henry Braham shares the most, 3.
- Henry BrahamShared titles: Everybody's Fine (2009), Nanny McPhee (2005), Waking Ned Devine (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Henry Braham
- Glynis MurrayShared titles: Everybody's Fine (2009), Nanny McPhee (2005), Waking Ned Devine (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Glynis Murray