David F. Sandberg
Birthdate: Jan 21, 1981
Birthplace: Sweden
David F. Sandberg is a Swedish-born filmmaker who began his career making shorts and non-fiction. He is now a go-to director for Hollywood studio-backed comic book material scoring big box office numbers. Sandberg began his filmmaking career at his local film center in Jönköping, Sweden, Film I Jönköping, and then made shorts and non-fiction films for the Swedish Inheritance Fund.
Moving to the Swedish city of Gothenburg in 2009, Sandberg made animated and non-fiction shorts and TV series with producer Claes Lundin. He drew Hollywood attention with a string of horror short films he released online under the pseudonym “ponysmasher.” His short, Lights Out (2013), was adapted into Sandberg’s first feature with producer James Wan, Lights Out (2016), starring Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Billy Burke, and Maria Bello, earned a remarkable profit with a $149 million global box office on a $4.9 million budget.
David E. Sandberg continued his streak of hits with producer Wan, the even more successful sequel, Annabelle: Creation (2017), with Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, and Miranda Otto, and grossing an astounding $306.5 million on a $15 million budget. Sandberg’s next movie was another smash hit, Shazam! (2019), his first DC Comics movie, and launching a new franchise starring Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer, grossing $366 million globally on an estimated $80 million budget. That success led to the sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) reunites the original cast with new members Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren.
Sandberg was director/producer of the live-action feature version of the PlayStation game, Until Dawn (2025), co-starring Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, and Peter Stormare, produced by Screen Gems and released by Sony Pictures Releasing. Sandberg was director of the horror/sci-fi movie, Below (date to be announced), written by Geoffrey Tock and Gregory Weidman and produced by Netflix Studios/Atomic Monster/Mångata Production.
David F. Sandberg Photos and Videos
Personal life
David E. Sandberg was born and raised in the southern Swedish city of Jönköping. Sandberg has an older brother, Joakim Sandberg, who is a game developer. Sandberg attended multiple grade schools, including Torpa School, where he met his future wife, actor-photographer-designer Lotta Losten, and then Junedal School. He is married to Losten.
Known For
David F. Sandberg Movies
director
Previous (5)
- 2025 |
Until Dawn
A group of friends trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes are chasing and killing them in gruesome ways, must survive until dawn to escape it.
- 2023 |
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
The film continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word "SHAZAM!", is transformed into his adult superhero alter ego, Shazam.
- 2019 |
- 2017 |
Annabelle: Creation
Twelve years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll-maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, where they become the target of the doll-maker's possessed creation, Annabelle.
- 2016 |
Lights Out
Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.
writer
Previous (1)
- 2024 |
Lights Out
A drifting ex-soldier turns underground fighter with the help of a just released ex-con, pitting them both against a crime boss, corrupt cops and hired killers.
actor
Previous (1)
Facts About David F. Sandberg
Movie Geek: David F. Sandberg has noted that he was a movie geek. He made his own amateur movies with his father’s VHS camera and then saved up for his own money by earning money from his video store job.
Shingle: Sandberg owns a production company, Mångata, with wife/partner Lotta Losten.
People Also Searched For
