Take Two: M. Night Shyamalan movie trivia

Here's some more background on each of the questions:

Which movie has a higher Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: Split or Unbreakable?

Unbreakable, which was Shyamalan's follow up movie to The Sixth Sense and starred Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, scored a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Split, Shyamalan's 2017 movie starring James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy, earned a "Certified Fresh" label and a score of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course the two movies are connected, as an ending scene in Split reveals that the movie takes place in the same universe as Unbreakable, which led to Glass in 2019.

True or false: Shyamalan nearly directed a Harry Potter movie?

Believe it or not, this is true, as told by one of Harry Potter's main stars, Rupert Grint. In an interview with British GQ, Grint described his working relationship with Shyamalan after the pair's collaborated on the TV series Servant and Shyamalan's movie Knock at the Cabin, then added they also worked together earlier as Shyamalan was in consideration to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The third Harry Potter movie was ultimately directed by Alfonso Cuaron.

In which of his movies did Shyamalan not make a cameo: After Earth or Old?

Shyamalan takes inspiration from one of his idols, Alfred Hitchcock, and makes frequent cameos in his movie (physically or as a voice actor). He has appeared in 12 of the 15 movies that he has directed (before Trap), with After Earth — the sci-fi movie starring Will and Jaden Smith being one of them (if you're curious, the others are Wide Awake and The Visit, per IMDb).

True or false: M. Night Shyamalan was the youngest Oscar Best Director nominee, 29, for The Sixth Sense?

This is false, as John Singleton owns that record, as he was nominated at the spry age of 24 for his movie Boyz n the Hood, per Academy Awards database.

Which 1999 movie made more at US box office: The Matrix of The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense outgrossed The Matrix in the US, and by a wide margin — more than $100 million. The Matrix made $171.4 million in 1999 and finished as the fifth highest grossing movie of the year, while The Sixth Sense earned $276.1 million and was the second biggest movie in 1999. The only one it trailed was Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace and its $430.2 million (numbers per Box Office Mojo).

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Michael Balderston
Assistant Managing Editor

Michael Balderston is What to Watch’s assistant managing editor and lead movie writer, covering movies coming to theaters, writing movie reviews and highlighting new and classic movies on streaming services; he also covers a range of TV shows, including those in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Slow Horses, Only Murders in the Building, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live and more, as well as the best ways to watch some major US sporting events.

Based outside of Washington, D.C., Michael's previous experience includes writing for Awards Circuit, TV Technology and The Wrap.

Michael’s favorite movie of all time is Casablanca, while his favorite TV show is Seinfeld. Some 2025 favorites include One of Them Days and Black Bag for movies, and The Pitt on TV. Follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I'm watching.

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