One is a talented writer and filmmaker from Baltimore, the other is a child actor turned director. Whose Hollywood career has been the most successful?
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Ron Howard has higher total adjusted box office and average adjusted box office. His biggest commercial successes are Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Da Vinci Code. Barry Levinson's commercial hits are Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam. Levinson has 9 movies which grossed under $50M, Howard has 3.
Edge: Ron Howard
Critical Success 
Score is based on critics' scores as aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes and user scores from IMDB.
Barry Levinson has some well reviewed films: Diner, Rain Man, and Liberty Heights. Ron Howard edges him out with the likes of Parenthood, Apollo 13, and Frost/Nixon. Levinson also has 5 movies rated under 50%, Howard has only 1.
Edge: Ron Howard
Both directors have been successful in this category. Ron Howard has Apollo 13 (9 noms, 2 wins), A Beautiful Mind (8 noms, 4 wins), and Frost/Nixon (5 noms, 0 wins). Barry Levinson has The Natural (4 noms, 0 wins), Rain Man (8 noms, 4 wins), and Bugsy (10 noms, 2 wins). Ron Howard has 4 Director's Guild nominations and 2 wins, Levinson has 3 nominations and 1 win. Levinson has 3 films on AFI lists, Howard has 2. Neither man has directed an NFR selection. Levinson has directed 19 films and written 8 of them, Howard has also directed 19, and written only 2.
Edge: Ron Howard
Final Verdict! Final showdown score is the sum of the three categories' scores.
Ron Howard's consistency beats Barry Levinson's roller coaster.
Winner: Ron Howard
