As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockbusters and genre films, including Roar (1981), Cujo (1983), Flesh and Blood (1985), Die Hard (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), and Basic Instinct (1992).

His earliest works were made while studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy with Dutch avant-garde director Adriaan Ditvoorst.

In 1999, he oversaw the commercially successful remake of The Haunting, which received generally negative reviews from critics at the time.

[7] In 1999 it was announced that he would direct The Adaptive Ultimate for 20th Century Fox, with Nicole Kidman attached to star but her schedule was too busy to commit at the time.

[9] None of the projects were produced, though the latter was reportedly further developed with Artists Production Group for Warner Bros.[10] More recently, de Bont was attached as the director of an early version of The Meg,[11] the Point Break sequel Indo,[12] the live action Mulan, which would have starred Zhang Ziyi,[13] as well as a proposed remake of 1961's Five Minutes to Live written by Raul Inglis.

[14] De Bont's passion project, a film titled Riders in the Sky, about Indian tribes in the Midwest has been stuck in development hell for many years.