Summary
- Margot Robbie’s career skyrocketed in a short amount of time, landing prestigious roles and earning two Oscar nominations.
- While she has delivered standout performances in movies like Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, not all of her films have been equally successful.
- Robbie’s range as an actress is evident, as she has excelled in both adult dramas like The Wolf of Wall Street and family-oriented films like Peter Rabbit, proving her versatility.
From The Wolf of Wall Street and Birds of Prey to Barbie, Australian actress Margot Robbie has come to dominate Hollywood. Like many stars from her country, Robbie got her start on the soap opera Neighbours. However, unlike some actors who spend years working their way up, Robbie was catapulted to the top of the pile in a staggeringly short amount of time. Landing a role in the much-hyped but quickly canceled ABC series Pan Am quickly became stealing scenes in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Margot Robbie’s most recognizable roles now are as two live-action versions of beloved IPs; the DCU’s Harley Quinn and Barbie.
Margot Robbie demonstrated shrewdness for the industry, establishing her own production company and picking several prestigious projects as well as taking control of Harley Quinn in a way that no other actor signed up to the DCU at the time was able to. On top of that, she’s also committed to providing opportunities for up-and-coming women writers and directors, such as Cathy Yan and Emerald Fennell. This has allowed Robbie to find success, with two Oscar nominations and a filmography including work with directors Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Greta Gerwig. Her movies aren’t all equal though, and the best Margo Robbie movie stands out from the pack.
23 I.C.U. (2009)
- Not available for streaming
Margot Robbie’s movie debut came in the form of a little-seen Australian horror movie named I.C.U. She played one of a trio of teenagers who ended up being the unsuspecting voyeurs to a murder while spying on their neighbors. It’s one of the hundreds of Rear Window knock-offs, and it’s also one of the lesser interesting versions of that classic film. There’s a reason this one is typically overlooked in discussions of Margot Robbie movies.
22 Terminal (2018)
On paper, the appeal of 2018’s Terminal to Margot Robbie seems clear: a stylish neo-noir thriller about assassins featuring a major twist and tons of stylish costumes. The final product, however, has been better executed in other movies. The Tarantino influence is clear, but the movie doesn’t match up to his movies. It’s a classic case of style over substance, but the style isn’t always impressive. Robbie is fine and certainly has it in her to be a classic femme fatale in the mold of Barbara Stanwyck or Lauren Bacall, but Terminal doesn’t give her the room to breathe. She’s reduced to window dressing, which feels like the biggest crime of all.
21 Suicide Squad (2016)
Robbie took on the iconic role of Harley Quinn in the DCU movie Suicide Squad. The behind-the-scenes drama that befell David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad led to dramatic and costly reshoots to change the film’s tone, multiple edits including one done by a trailer company, and the continuing panic from Warner Bros. over the expensive franchise’s ultimate direction. Robbie ends up being a bright spot for much of Suicide Squad as she proves herself to be the perfect Harley Quinn. It’s no wonder Warner Bros. let her have full reign over the character after this, both in the now-cult-classic Birds of Prey movie and the James Gunn sequel The Suicide Squad.
20 The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
- Rent now on Prime Video & Apple TV
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan stories have been the stuff of film history for decades, so it’s no surprise that Hollywood is so keen to reboot it in the blockbuster age. 2016’s The Legend of Tarzan attempted to launch a mega-franchise centered on the ape-man icon, but the project didn’t reach the levels of previous efforts. Audiences wanted to see this version of this character, as the movie made $356 million on a $180 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). However, even with this Margot Robbie movie’s attempts to circumnavigate the deep-seated colonialist themes of the stories, critics shredded the film, giving it a 35% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes.
19 Dreamland (2019)
In 2019, Dreamland tells the story of a woman wanted for bank robbing and murder and the stepson of a lawman named Eugene who finds her and offers to help her get to Mexico when she tells him what she claims happened at the robbery. When Eugene ends up involved in a robbery himself, things spiral out of control. The movie premiered on the festival circuit but only got a limited release and went quickly to home streaming. Rotten Tomatoes critics give it a middle-ground 60% rating, and it isn’t one of the best Margot Robbie movies, being an OK drama in which she performs well but, ultimately, Dreamland is a movie that pales in comparison to many of Robbie’s others.
18 Peter Rabbit (2018)
People who grew up reading Beatrix Potter’s beloved tales of adorable animals in the quaint British countryside saw them come to life in the Hollywoodized adaptation of Peter Rabbit. The deliberate quietness of the stories had been replaced by a veritable assembly line of kids’ movie clichés. James Corden voices the eponymous bunny and delivers a performance that splits between pathos and arrogance. The real-life humans, particularly Domhnall Gleeson, fare better, but it’s hard not to watch Peter Rabbit and think of the Paddington movies, which fared better. Robbie doesn’t get as much to do as the voice of Flopsy Rabbit, but her performance proves she’s suited to family-oriented pictures as well as adult dramas like Wolf of Wall Street
17 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)
While fans and critics found the first Peter Rabbit movie slightly disappointing thanks to its veering away from the source material, the Peter Rabbit sequel received much higher praise. The movie left Sony Pictures Animation, and the sequel brought back the main cast and improved on its connection to the classic Beatrix Potter stories. This time around, Bea is writing books based on Peter and his friends, but the rascal rabbit doesn’t like being painted as a villain in the proposed stories. Peter Rabbit 2 made nowhere near what the first movie made, thanks to theater closures, but the reviews were better.
16 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
Based on a book by Kim Barker, Tina Fey stars as a dissatisfied journalist who takes a short assignment as a war correspondent in Afghanistan and finds her calling amid the chaos of the American occupation of the country during their war on global terrorism. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is aiming for something sharper than it ultimately ends up being and often seems too timid to tackle the rawness of its central hook. The stark contrast between the hard partying of the well-protected American journalists to the backdrop of an endlessly bombed nation isn’t given the room it needs to breathe. Robbie doesn’t get much to do, playing a BBC correspondent who befriends Fey.
15 Focus (2015)
- Rent now on Prime Video & Apple TV
One of the highlights of Suicide Squad was the chemistry between Margot Robbie and Will Smith, so if you enjoyed that then Focus is the movie for you. Taking its inspiration from conman capers like Charade, Focus paired up Smith and Robbie as a pair of grifters with Robbie being trained in the tutelage of the scam by Smith’s seasoned veteran. The locations are sunny and gorgeous, the banter is fun, and the crimes themselves are juicy to watch unfold. It’s a good, if not great, movie that’s buoyed by the crackling sparks between its two highly attractive and charming stars.
14 Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)
- Rent now on Prime Video & Apple TV
Don’t expect anything especially radical in this biopic of beloved children’s author A.A. Milne and his son for whom the world of Winnie the Pooh was created. It stridently follows the rulebook of the biographical genre, right down to Robbie in a spouse role that seems mandatory for such narratives. What lifts Goodbye Christopher Robin up is its examination of the impact that celebrity has on the lives of the famous and their families. The media frenzy that followed Milne and would plague his son well into adulthood thanks to the popularity of the books inspired by his childhood is shown as a fracturing and contradictory force.
13 About Time (2013)
Richard Curtis is a key figure in the rom-com genre and About Time sees him in top form. Domhnall Gleeson, who seems tailor-made for the Hugh Grant-esque leading role, plays a man who finds out that all the men of his family have the secret ability to travel back in time, which he uses to try and improve his life. The luminous Rachel McAdams is the real draw here, and it’s yet another of the Margot Robbie movies where she has a small but key role. Still, if someone wants a good old-fashioned weepie romance to curl up with on a rainy weekend. About Time is exactly what they need.
12 Amsterdam (2022)
David O. Russell is synonymous with Oscar success, and when he announced his 2022 movie with Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington as the leads, it seemed to be a shoo-in. However, thanks to polarizing critics and audience reviews, the movie never reached the levels of his previous movies. It ended up as a box office bomb, making only $31.2 million off an $80 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). However, as with most Margot Robbie movies, she was still a standout in the movie, and Amsterdam had one of the most star-filled casts of any movie in recent memory.
11 Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
- Rent now on Prime Video & Apple TV
Josie Rourke’s re-imagining of the rivalry between Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I plays it pretty loose with historical fact, but the subversion of well-worn stories allows for an examination of how the tales of women of the past are typically portrayed. Mary Queen of Scots has a keen awareness of how women’s bodies were weaponized, be it the status of Elizabeth as the virgin queen or Mary being shamed by the clergy for her alleged wantonness. Robbie and Saoirse Ronan chew the scenery, adding some soapy delights to what could have been a staid history lesson.
10 Suite Française (2015)
Suite française is a novel written by Irène Némirovsky, a Jewish-French writer who was murdered at Auschwitz and whose work wasn’t published until 1998. The film adaptation was hyped up as an awards’ contender but fell when its distributor, The Weinstein Company, imploded. It’s a shame because Suite Française is an understated and old-school period drama. Robbie has a very small role, and the movie is mostly a vehicle for the always-exemplary Michelle Williams. The romance subplot may prove too saccharine for some but as a story of a community held in the growing stranglehold of fascism, it is often intensely compelling.
9 The Suicide Squad (2021)
The first Suicide Squad movie was not received favorably by fans or critics, although when it comes to Margot Robbie movies, she remained a highlight in her performance as Harley Quinn. That is likely why she was one of only two team members who returned in the sequel as main characters. With James Gunn taking over as the director, the movie ended up rebounding massively for the DCU. The movie didn’t do well at the box office because it hit during the pandemic, but The Suicide Squad was highly praised by critics and hit a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Robbie once again as a highlight.
8 Babylon (2022)
In 2022, Damien Chazelle followed up his Oscar-contending La La Land with another love letter to classic movies. This time, he took on the era when silent films went out of flavor and talkies took over. What resulted was the destruction of certain people’s careers and the rise of others. However, while the movie was supposed to be an awards contender and one of the best Margot Robbie movies, it ended up controversial. The movie showed the bad more than it showed the good, and what was supposed to be a love letter to Hollywood looked more like a critical indictment of the dark side of the industry. Robbie played actress Nellie LaRoy, someone who shined brightly and fell just as fast. It only picked up three Oscar nominations.
7 Z for Zachariah (2015)
Robert C. O’Brien’s post-apocalyptic children’s novel Z for Zachariah is a classic of the genre and one that has delighted and terrified kids for decades. For the film adaptation, director Craig Zobel (The Hunt) aged up the protagonist, played by Robbie, and added an entirely new character to what is normally a two-person tale. Indeed, the movie of Z for Zachariah doesn’t bear much resemblance to the book it’s adapted from, but that doesn’t make the film itself a disappointment. Robbie’s grounded performance and her chemistry with both Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor keep the story grounded in a bleakness and ceaseless anxiety that nails the tone of the novel.
6 Birds of Prey (2020)
Robbie produced and helped to shepherd Birds of Prey to the big screen, and the result is one of the best Margot Robbie movies of the modern DC era. Director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson concocted an eye-burning mish-mash of rowdy girl gang movie, riotous comedy, bloody pastel music video, and Looney Tunes cartoon. Robbie is given way more room to explore the manic energy and conflicted ambition of Harley, and she has an incredible cast to bounce off of, including Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor, Rosie Perez, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
It’s a real delight to see a modern superhero movie so wholeheartedly embrace its feminine energy as well as the aesthetic of a teenage girl’s trapper keeper, albeit with a lot more violence. There’s a fizziness to Birds of Prey that carefully conceals a deeper emotional core, tackling the importance of family in whatever form it takes. It’s a shame that the film didn’t set the box office alight as it deserved, but thanks to its success on VOD and DVD, we may see more of Yan and Robbie’s vision for Harley and DC in the near future.
5 Bombshell (2019)
When it was announced Jay Roach and Charles Randolph were making a film about sexual harassment at Fox News under the rule of Roger Ailes, many wondered if it was too soon to tackle such a topic. The film seems uninterested in tackling the true horrors and long-lasting damage created by Fox News and instead goes for a faux-empowerment tale of rich white women standing up to a bad man. The central trio of actresses is excellent and helped the movie pick up two Oscar nominations, but Robbie fares better than most in the movie, though she’s playing a fictional character which ends up undercutting the supposed edge of the narrative,
4 Barbie (2023)
2 actresses almost played Barbie before Margot Robbie, but after 2018, she worked closely with Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach to bring Mattel’s iconic doll to life on the big screen. When Barbie malfunctions in Barbieland, she has to venture to the Real World on a journey of self-discovery, and soon finds out that it’s very different from her pink-coated utopia. When Ken (Ryan Gosling) learns about patriarchal concepts that don’t exist in Barbieland, he vows to inform the other Kens, something that threatens Barbieland’s very foundation of female empowerment.
Not only does Robbie look like Stereotypical Barbie, but she brings a considerable gravitas to a role that requires vacillating between embodying an idealized synthetic woman and her more human counterpart. Gerwig’s script requires Robbie to handle irreverent humor, slapstick physical comedy, and heart-wrenching drama often from scene to scene. Fortunately, Robbie is more than up to the challenge and becomes the beating heart of the movie, which is one reason why it was so successful at the box office.