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Gil Kenan

Gil Kenan

Director, producer and writer · Born October 16, 1976 (50) · London, England, UK

Oscar nominee

Gil Kenan (Hebrew: גיל קינן; born October 16, 1976) is a British–American filmmaker. He is best known for directing Monster House (2006), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. He has also collaborated with director Jason Reitman in co-writing the Ghostbusters films Afterlife (2021) and Frozen Empire (2024), the latter he also directed, as well as Saturday Night (2024). Description above from the Wikipedia article Gil Kenan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
October 16, 1976 (50)
From
London, England, UK
Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 12 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 155 days to Oct 26Down 24% in 30 days

What are Gil Kenan's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
41%
Society
19%
Survival
16%
Self
9%
Ideas
8%
Morality
7%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 1

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 2

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2

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

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1

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

Casual 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Hopeful
4
Warm
4
Thrilling
3
Joyful
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet3
  • 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 Gil Kenan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (4).

Subscription and free streaming for Gil Kenan'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

12 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • Saturday Night(2024)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire(2024)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • A Boy Called Christmas(2021)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Ghostbusters: Afterlife(2021)

    Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Poltergeist(2015)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • City of Ember(2008)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Monster House(2006)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Lark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Astro Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Ghostbusters: Night Shift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • Idle Hands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Inside Monster House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 12 titles, 8 of them dated from 2002 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

$204M worldwide

Highest rated

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Midcredits 78th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing7 of 12: 5 only directing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score58thWriting4 of 12: 0 only writing, 4 with another roleProducing6 of 12: 3 only producing, 3 with another role

12 titles, 4 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

2000s3 · crew2010s1 · 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 MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

Nominated for an Oscar in 2007, Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.

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 Gil Kenan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed1

Most loved · writer, producer

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Midcredits 78th · 73% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 63/100 and the pacing 53/100 in their films, across 7 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 Gil Kenan's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles31–44 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles9–37 · median 23 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles15–60 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles7–48 · median 23 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense7 titles33–70 · median 53 · moderateheavier 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 Gil Kenan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Gil Kenan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jason Reitman shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles