Think of this as the cinematic equivalent of scrolling through Zendaya’s greatest hits while judging everything with affection. No grand claims, just a quick, cozy dive into the movies where she really leaves a mark.
Trying to sum up Zendaya’s film career always feels a little unfair to the rest of Hollywood – she makes the whole thing look suspiciously easy. One moment she’s stealing scenes in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the next she’s carrying an entire emotional battlefield in Dune, and somehow she does both with the same calm energy of someone choosing a latte flavor.
This list walks through the films where she’s left the clearest fingerprints: the blockbusters everyone quotes, the smaller projects that reveal what she can do when the camera sits still, and the roles that hint at where she’s headed next. Think of it less as a ranking and more as a chance to revisit the moments when Zendaya slipped into a role and made it feel like it had been written just for her.
10. Frenemies (2012)
High-school drama meets Disney Channel whimsy in this triple-tale of friendship, rivalry and questionable decisions with Zendaya sliding in as Halley, one third of a messy friendship triangle that feels like adolescent chaos distilled into 86 minutes. The movie hops between plotlines – a fashion-blog duo, a boy-and-dog story, and a tomboy-swap fiasco – so nothing lands quite cleanly, but that’s almost the point. Sometimes it leans into clichés hard: overheard secrets, sudden betrayals, exaggerated teen angst. But there’s a charm to the chaos: a sort of “we got carried away, and so did you” energy. Halley isn’t the hero; she’s more like the friend you call at midnight when nothing else feels right – a bit flawed, a bit impulsive, but always real enough to care.
9. Zapped (2014)
Imagine a world where a smartphone app could make people obey your every command – that’s the messy, magical premise this comedy leans on, and Zendaya’s Zoey tries to navigate it with as much wit as teenage dignity can muster. The film rides high on goofy ideas (mind-controlling phones, teenage jealousy, dance-offs), and a lot of it lands somewhere between fun and facepalm. Zoey’s moral arc – using power and then realizing maybe that’s not the way – gives the story a backbone, even when the jokes stretch too far. It’s not high art, but there’s a kind of innocent pleasure to watching her scramble to do the right thing while the world (or at least her high school) spins out of control. A reminder that sometimes goofy comedy needs nothing more than a little heart.
8. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
When high-school awkwardness meets superhero high stakes, things get weird, but in a good way. Zendaya turns in a surprisingly grounded performance as MJ, giving the film a steady, knowing presence that balances all the swinging, fighting and teen-drama around her. The movie juggles a lot: villains, webs, school lockers, identity crises. It doesn’t always stick the landing, but there are moments where everything clicks. Her chemistry with the rest of the cast, especially the nervous-wonderful Peter Parker, turns some predictable arcs into something with real warmth. It’s not perfect – the villain gets lost under the spectacle – but when it works, it feels like you’re watching something that could’ve only come together in that awkward, exciting collision of high school and heroics. | © Marvel Studios
7. Malcolm & Marie (2021)
Two people, one house, one long night – that’s pretty much all this film is, a verbal grenade detonated between love, ego, regret and truth. Zendaya plays Marie, a woman who arrives home with her partner after his movie premiere, only for what should have been a celebration to spiral into confessions, accusations, and raw vulnerability. The film isn’t subtle, dialogue hits hard, moods swing fast, and silence becomes as loaded as shouting. It’s messy, painful, sometimes brilliant, sometimes exhausting. But there’s power in that mess, especially in how Zendaya carries Marie’s emotional fallout with poise yet jagged edges. Whether you love or loathe it, the movie never lets you forget you're watching two people peel back layers until they're raw.
6. The Greatest Showman (2017)
This film wears bright costumes, bigger hats, and even bigger ambitions, and Zendaya waltzes into the circus spotlight as a performer with a voice and presence that cuts through the glitter. The story doesn’t pretend to be historically accurate, and it swings between big musical numbers and dramatic liberties like it’s renovating reality on a budget of show tunes. Her character’s arc – fighting for acceptance amid prejudice – adds a layer of grit beneath the polished spectacle. The movie doesn’t always resolve its themes cleanly. Sometimes it trades nuance for spectacle, glossing over problems in favor of choreography and cheer. Still, when Zendaya sings or steps into the ring, there’s a confidence and brightness that makes the flaws easier to forgive. Under the spotlights, for a while, the circus feels real.
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
There’s something instantly entertaining about a superhero movie that pretends it’s just a school trip until everything inevitably collapses. MJ drifts through the chaos with that perfectly dry delivery, the kind that sounds like she’s unimpressed by both international landmarks and interdimensional threats. Peter spends the whole story trying to figure out life while an actual supervillain throws illusions at him, and MJ keeps slipping in comments that land harder than most of the action scenes. Her growing suspicion, her sideways glances, the way she seems two steps ahead emotionally – it gives the movie a pulse. And even when the plot gets tangled in its own twists, she brings a grounded charm that holds the whole thing together. By the time the big reveal hits, you’re already rooting for her more than half the superheroes onscreen.
4. Dune (2021)
There’s a strange thrill in realizing a character can reshape an entire film despite barely appearing in it. Chani slips into Paul’s visions like a warning, a guide, or maybe even a temptation, but never once seems trapped by the prophecy surrounding her. When she finally steps into the real narrative, there’s a calm, almost defiant strength in the way she moves through the desert that makes the politics feel small by comparison. The film itself is dense and heavy, full of whispered motives and impossible expectations, yet her brief presence cuts through all of it with startling clarity. She makes Arrakis feel lived-in instead of mythologized, like someone who understands its rhythms better than the people claiming to own it. Her final moments with Paul hint at a story that isn’t as neat as destiny wants it to be. And honestly, that tiny fracture in the prophecy is what gives the film its emotional weight.
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
With multiverse mayhem bursting out of every corner, it’s almost surprising the movie still finds room to focus on something as small and human as the way two teenagers cling to each other when everything falls apart. MJ becomes the anchor in a story stuffed with villains, nostalgia, and more Spider-Men than anyone expected, grounding every impossible twist with a look or a frustrated sigh. She doesn’t need a suit or a superpower to matter; she just reads the moment correctly while the universe folds in on itself. Her scenes snap everything back into place emotionally, reminding you that the stakes aren’t just cosmic but deeply personal. Even when the script risks drowning in spectacle, she cuts through the noise with genuine warmth and blunt honesty. And in the final stretch, the heartbreak she carries lands harder than any portal-opening cameo. It turns a massive event film into something unexpectedly intimate.
2. Dune: Part Two (2024)
What really hits in the second chapter is how sharply the story pivots once Chani stops being a dream and becomes a voice pushing against the machine built around Paul. Zendaya plays her with a restrained fury, the kind that says she’s been listening to people justify violence with prophecy for far too long. The grandeur of the battles, the shifting alliances, the enormous sandworms, all of it feels secondary the moment she challenges the narrative everyone else accepted. She brings the epic back down to eye level, making the consequences real in a way the first film only teased. Her chemistry with Paul becomes tangled and uneasy, full of hope and suspicion pressed together. And when she refuses to be rewritten into someone else’s destiny, the entire story tilts on its axis. It’s the rare blockbuster where emotional defiance feels more explosive than anything blowing up on screen.
1. Challengers (2024)
Every now and then, an actor lands a role so sharp and chaotic that it instantly becomes the centerpiece of their career, and Tashi is exactly that for Zendaya. She slices through the film with an unapologetic confidence, calling every emotional play like she’s coaching her own personal Grand Slam. The love triangle is messy in all the best ways, built on old grudges, unresolved chemistry, and competitive hunger that never really cools. But it’s Tashi’s intensity – magnetic, calculating, charming, and occasionally ruthless – that keeps the whole story spinning. She refuses to soften even when everything else around her frays, and the film leans into that energy with full commitment. There’s heat in every scene, not just romantic but psychological, the kind that makes you lean forward without realizing it. And when it reaches its feverish final moments, she stands at the center like someone who always knew exactly where the match was headed.