Margot Robbie's Top 15 Movies of All Time

Margot Robbie didn’t just “break out” and settle in – she ricocheted. One year she’s turning a volatile comic-book wildcard into pop culture wallpaper; another, she’s disappearing into a period drama with the kind of calm precision that makes you forget the billboards. The through-line isn’t a brand. It’s nerve: glossy when it suits her, jagged when it doesn’t.

This list is a tour of that whiplash on purpose – the films where she weaponizes charm, picks fights with the camera, or quietly steals a scene while everyone else is still warming up. Some choices are obvious crowd-pleasers, some are the “wait, she was that good?” picks, but all of them show the same trick: making big swings look effortless while you’re still trying to clock how she did it.

15. Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

This is the Margot Robbie entry that looks like it’s going to hand you a warm mug of nostalgia and then quietly swaps it for a bill. The film lives in that uneasy space between “beloved children’s classic” and “oh no, that’s a real family with real consequences,” and it’s much more interested in the latter. Robbie plays Daphne Milne with a controlled ache – she’s not there to steal scenes, she’s there to hold the emotional floor steady while everything around her gets commodified. The movie itself can be a little polite at times, like it’s scared of upsetting the Pooh-shaped apple cart, but when it gets honest, it stings. Robbie is especially good at the kind of sadness that doesn’t announce itself; it sits behind a practical decision and refuses to leave. It’s not the flashiest film on this list, but it has bite, and she gives it a backbone.

14. Asteroid City (2023)

If you’ve ever wanted to watch an existential crisis arranged with a ruler, congratulations, you’re here. Asteroid City is gorgeous, funny, and intentionally artificial, like a postcard that starts talking back when you stare too long. The story stacks a play inside a film inside a behind-the-scenes frame, and at some point you stop trying to “solve” it and just let it do its strange little dance. Margot Robbie pops in briefly, but it doesn’t feel like a lazy cameo – it feels like a deliberate ghost, a moment designed to haunt the edges. She doesn’t get the runway some other actors do, yet she still makes the appearance count by adding a soft emotional dent to a movie that often keeps feelings tucked under symmetry. Is it Anderson at his most approachable? Not really. Is it mesmerizing anyway? Absolutely. And Robbie’s blink-and-linger presence is part of why it sticks to your brain later.

13. The Big Short (2015)

This film basically grabs you by the collar and says, “Pay attention, this is important,” then distracts you with celebrities so you don’t run away. Margot Robbie’s bubble-bath cameo is the most famous example of that move, and it still works because it’s cheeky and kind of vicious. She explains mortgage-backed securities like it’s casual gossip, and the scene lands a sneaky punch: if it can be packaged this smoothly, imagine how easily it was sold when real money was on the line. The movie is angry, but it hides the anger behind jokes, edits, and little performances like this one – sweet coating, bitter center. Robbie is great here not because she “acts a lot,” but because she nails the tone: charming enough to keep you listening, sharp enough to make you uncomfortable. It’s a tiny slice of screen time that people remember years later, which is its own kind of power.

12. Suicide Squad (2016)

Let’s be honest: this movie is a mixed bag with a great Halloween costume legacy. But Harley Quinn? Harley Quinn shows up like she’s been waiting in the wings for years, tapping her foot, ready to hijack the whole operation. Margot Robbie’s performance is the reason the character didn’t just “work” – she imprinted, instantly, even when the film around her is wobbling between tones. Harley here is funny, dangerous, and weirdly tender in the worst possible places, and Robbie plays her like a person who’s allergic to stillness. The movie’s mission setup is straightforward supervillain-business, but Harley feels like a different genre sneaking into the frame: part tragic clown, part romantic disaster, part walking punchline that hurts. The film itself can be messy, but her commitment isn’t – she’s locked in, start to finish, like she signed a contract with chaos and honors it. Whatever you think of Suicide Squad, it’s hard to deny who walked away with the spotlight.

11. Birds of Prey (2020)

This one has breakup energy, but not the sad playlist kind, it's more like the “I’m reinventing myself and you can’t stop me” kind, with glitter and blunt objects. Birds of Prey is messy on purpose, narrated like Harley’s brain is editing the movie in real time, and that’s exactly what makes it fun instead of exhausting. Margot Robbie leans into Harley’s ridiculousness without turning her into a cartoon, which is a narrow tightrope and she walks it in platform boots. The plot throws her into a collision with Black Mask and pulls in Black Canary, Huntress, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain, but the real pleasure is watching these characters bounce off Harley’s chaos and still come out feeling like themselves. It’s bright, loud, and kind of rude (compliment), with action that goes for style points and often earns them. Not everything lands perfectly, but the film’s confidence is infectious, and Robbie feels like she’s having a blast while still giving Harley an actual emotional engine. If you want Harley with more personality than “Joker-adjacent,” this is the one that delivers.

10. The Suicide Squad (2021)

If the earlier Suicide Squad felt like a party where the playlist kept changing mid-song, this one shows up with a clear agenda: gross-out comedy, war-movie grit, and a surprisingly tender streak hiding under the blood. James Gunn turns the team into disposable chaos agents, and the film has the confidence to actually follow through on the “disposable” part. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn gets a mini-arc that plays like a fairy tale told by someone who’s read too many true-crime headlines – sweet, unhinged, and then abruptly sharp when it needs to be. She’s hilarious without begging for laughs, and when the movie slows down for her, it doesn’t feel like a detour; it feels like the film admitting Harley has a brain under the glitter. Not everything lands (it’s intentionally messy), but the highs are high, and the energy rarely droops. It’s loud, violent, ridiculous, and oddly sincere about its weird little heart.

9. Suite Française (2015)

Occupation-era romance is usually where movies go to look pretty and say sad things politely, and Suite Française definitely knows how to light a candle and make misery look elegant. The central story leans into yearning and restraint, and the whole film has that sweeping “war changes everything” atmosphere – sometimes moving, sometimes a bit too well-behaved for its own good. Margot Robbie comes in as Celine Joseph with a different kind of energy: restless, flirty, reckless, and very aware of the power games happening in every room. Her subplot adds a sharper edge to the village tension, because Celine isn’t playing for dignity, she’s playing to survive, to be seen, to feel something other than fear. The movie can feel like it’s walking carefully around its own darker impulses, but Robbie doesn’t; she makes Celine messy in a way that fits the setting. Even when the film is more “handsome period drama” than gut-punch, she brings a pulse of danger that keeps it from floating away.

8. About Time (2013)

The time-travel hook is cute, sure, but the real trick is how this movie quietly sneaks up on you with feelings you didn’t agree to. It’s warm, romantic, occasionally corny in that Richard Curtis way, and then it blindsides you with how seriously it takes everyday life. Margot Robbie plays Charlotte, and she’s basically the film’s “what if?” in human form: charming, magnetic, and just out of reach in a way that feels painfully plausible. She doesn’t overplay it; she lets Charlotte be fun and real enough that the later choices actually matter, rather than feeling like the script herded everyone into position. The movie itself is at its best when it stops chasing plot mechanics and just watches people love each other badly and then better. Robbie’s role is smaller than the main romance, but she leaves a clean imprint. It's one of those early performances where the star quality is obvious without being announced. It’s sweet, it’s wistful, and it earns its tears without acting smug about it.

7. Bombshell (2019)

This film doesn’t whisper; it points straight at the camera, clears its throat, and says exactly what it’s about. Sometimes that bluntness works beautifully, sometimes it feels like it’s underlining itself in red marker but the performances keep it gripping. Margot Robbie plays Kayla Pospisil, a fictional composite character, and she’s the nerve ending of the movie: ambitious, eager, terrified, and trying to calculate the rules while the rules keep shifting. Robbie is genuinely great here, especially in the scenes that trap her in that specific nightmare of “be agreeable, but not too much; be confident, but not threatening; be grateful, always.” When the film leans into exposition, it can get a little stiff, but when it centers the human damage, it’s hard to shake. Robbie doesn’t make Kayla a symbol; she makes her a person who’s trying to keep her career alive while her stomach is screaming at her. Uncomfortable in the right way, and surprisingly affecting even when the movie is at its most on-the-nose.

6. Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

Two queens, two survival strategies, and an entire court system designed to punish whichever one blinks first – Mary Queen of Scots has a great pitch, even when it stumbles in the execution. The film is lush, political, and occasionally clunky in how it moves pieces around the board, but it’s never boring to look at, and the central rivalry does a lot of heavy lifting. Margot Robbie’s Elizabeth I is the most fascinating mess in the room: sharp, paranoid, lonely, and constantly performing authority like it’s armor she can’t take off. She commits hard to the physicality and the insecurity underneath the crown, and the performance makes Elizabeth feel less like a museum figure and more like a person trapped inside a role the world refuses to let her quit. The movie takes liberties and sometimes rushes emotional beats, but Robbie brings a brittle intensity that keeps Elizabeth’s scenes tense, even when the plotting smooths things over. Uneven film, strong work – especially when the mask slips and the fear shows.

5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Sun-bleached Los Angeles, the radio humming, and two guys drifting through 1969 like they’re trying to outrun the future with a cigarette and a joke. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino in hangout mode – half love letter, half daydream, and occasionally a little too pleased with itself. Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate is intentionally gentle and luminous, more presence than plot engine, which some people find frustrating and others find kind of haunting. She’s very good at making “a normal, happy day” feel precious, because the movie’s dread is baked into the calendar. It’s messy, indulgent, and weirdly sweet in the middle of all that swagger, like a director flexing and then, unexpectedly, softening.

4. Babylon (2022)

This movie doesn’t ease into the party – it dives headfirst into the pool with its clothes on and yells, “LET’S MAKE CINEMA,” while everything catches fire behind it. Babylon is Damien Chazelle at maximum volume: gorgeous, exhausting, sometimes brilliant, sometimes so over-the-top it dares you to tap out. Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy like a live wire in heels – ferocious, funny, reckless, and painfully alive even when the film is spinning out. When it works, it’s intoxicating; when it doesn’t, it’s still fascinating in that “I can’t believe they got away with this” way. Robbie’s performance is the anchor for all the chaos as she’s not polishing the character, she’s letting her be loud, desperate, and human, which makes the highs soar and the lows actually hurt.

3. Barbie (2023)

Hot pink can be a weapon, apparently, and this movie swings it like it’s doing both comedy and therapy in the same outfit change. Barbie starts as a sugar-rush fantasy and then gets oddly earnest about identity, expectations, and the awkward moment when “perfect” stops being fun. Margot Robbie nails that tonal tightrope: she’s hilarious when the joke needs precision, and genuinely affecting when the movie lets the plastic gloss crack. The performance works because she never plays Barbie as a brand mascot; she plays her as someone waking up inside a role she didn’t write, trying to figure out what’s real without losing the sparkle. It’s not a subtle film, and it doesn’t pretend to be (sometimes it’s a megaphone, sometimes it’s a hug) but Robbie keeps the center warm and specific.

2. I, Tonya (2017)

A sports movie, a tabloid tornado, and a punchline that keeps turning back into a tragedy – I, Tonya is mean, funny, and way more sad than it initially lets on. Margot Robbie plays Tonya Harding with this constant push-pull between bravado and exhaustion, like she’s always bracing for the next hit (literal or public). She’s terrific at the sharp-edged comedy, but the real sting is in the quieter moments where Tonya realizes no amount of talent can out-skate the story people want to tell about her. The film’s mockumentary style can feel gleefully ruthless, yet Robbie makes Tonya more than a spectacle – she makes her someone you can’t shrug off. It’s a performance that demands attention, not because it’s flashy, but because it’s fearless about being ugly, angry, and wounded all at once.

1. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Three hours of money, mania, and moral rot, filmed with the kind of energy that makes bad behavior look like a carnival – until you remember it’s not a carnival, it’s a crime scene. The Wolf of Wall Street is wildly entertaining and deeply uncomfortable in the same breath, which is basically the whole point (and also why it starts arguments at dinner parties). Margot Robbie’s Naomi Lapaglia enters the film like a warning sign wrapped in glamour, and she plays Naomi as sharp, strategic, and very aware of the cage she’s being placed in. The performance isn’t just “hot wife in a Scorsese movie” – she’s volatile, funny, furious, and, when the mask drops, genuinely frightening in how much she’s had to absorb. It’s a star-making turn because she matches DiCaprio’s chaos without getting swallowed by it, and she leaves the film with bruises you actually feel.