Margot Robbie's Best Movies Ranked: Why I, Tonya Beats Barbie at #1

Here is the answer most lists bury: the best Margot Robbie movie is not the billion-dollar Barbie, and it is not The Wolf of Wall Street, the breakout that made her famous. By the critical consensus that runs across Rotten Tomatoes and awards-season trackers, the top of any honest margot robbie best movies ranked countdown is I, Tonya — her transformative, Oscar-nominated turn as Tonya Harding. That is the role that proved she could disappear into a character and carry an entire film on her back.

This list ranks by acting craft and critical merit, not box-office muscle or sheer fame. So yes, Barbie is here, and yes, that infamous Wolf of Wall Street scene is here — but you will see exactly why they land where they do. Nothing withheld.

What are Margot Robbie's best movies, ranked?

For anyone who just wants the order before the deep dive, here is the margot robbie best movies list, from #10 up to her single greatest performance:

10. Suicide Squad (2016)
11. Bombshell (2019)
12. Babylon (2022)
13. Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
14. Birds of Prey (2020)
15. The Big Short (2015)
16. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
17. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
18. Barbie (2023)
19. I, Tonya (2017)

Now, the case for each — with the Rotten Tomatoes scores, Oscar nods, and specifics most margot robbie movies ranked pieces skip.

10. Suicide Squad (2016)

A messy film that birthed a star turn. The movie sits at just 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Robbie's debut as Harley Quinn was the breakout that critics agreed rose above the wreckage. It made her a comic-book icon overnight and set up two more outings with the character. As a film, it is her weakest entry; as a career hinge, it is one of her most important.

9. Bombshell (2019)

Robbie earned her second acting Oscar nomination here — Best Supporting Actress — as a composite young Fox News producer caught in the Roger Ailes scandal. The film itself drew lukewarm reviews (67%), but her single elevator scene is among the most quietly devastating things she has filmed. Proof that the margot robbie best performances ranked conversation does not always match the movie's overall score.

8. Babylon (2022)

Damien Chazelle's chaotic ode to early Hollywood split critics down the middle (57%), yet Robbie's Nellie LaRoy is pure live-wire star power. If you like maximalist, go-for-broke acting, this is essential viewing. If you prefer restraint, you will understand the divided reviews.

7. Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

Robbie plays Elizabeth I opposite Saoirse Ronan's Mary, vanishing under smallpox scars and a thinning hairline. The film is uneven (62%), but it is another data point in her career-long pattern: she is fearless about looking unglamorous when the part demands it.

6. Birds of Prey (2020)

Harley Quinn, unleashed and finally given a film built around her. At 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, this is the best-reviewed of her DC outings and the one where her comic timing, stunt work and manic charisma all click. It is the most fun entry on this margot robbie top 10 movies list.

5. The Big Short (2015)

Her shortest appearance — and one of her most quoted. Adam McKay's financial-crisis comedy (89%) hands Robbie a fourth-wall-breaking cameo, sipping champagne in a bubble bath while explaining subprime mortgages. It is a tiny role with an outsized cultural footprint, and a reminder of how much she can do with how little.

4. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The movie that answered the question "what movie made Margot Robbie famous?" Cast opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's 79%-rated black comedy, the then-unknown Australian held her own in one of the decade's most talked-about debut scenes. It is her most famous early film and a genuine star-is-born moment — it simply ranks below the performances where she leads rather than supports. Fans of high-wire ensemble crime stories should pair it with our best heist movies rundown.

3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Robbie plays Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino's 86%-rated love letter to 1960s Los Angeles. Her performance is built on warmth rather than dialogue — the famous sequence of Tate watching herself on a cinema screen is wordless and luminous. Some critics wanted more lines; the counter-argument is that the radiance is the point.

2. Barbie (2023)

The cultural juggernaut. Greta Gerwig's Barbie grossed roughly $1.44 billion worldwide — making it, by a mile, Robbie's most famous and highest-grossing movie — and earned an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes plus a Best Picture nomination she shares as a producer. So why is it #2 and not #1? Because the film's emotional engine is shared across a huge ensemble and a once-in-a-generation marketing moment. Robbie is wonderful and was notoriously snubbed for an acting nomination, but I, Tonya is the purer showcase of her as a performer. For another billion-dollar phenomenon, see the highest-grossing movie of all time.

1. I, Tonya (2017)

Here is the surprise #1, stated plainly: I, Tonya is Margot Robbie's best movie. At 90% on Rotten Tomatoes — her highest-rated leading role — it earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and put her firmly in the conversation as a serious dramatic lead. As Tonya Harding, she is profane, vulnerable and unrecognizable from the glamour the public knew, aging across decades and skating through an unreliable-narrator structure that would sink a lesser actor. This is the film where she stopped being "the breakout from Wolf of Wall Street" and became a top-billed force critics ranked first. On the margot robbie best movies imdb boards and across professional critics alike, it remains the performance that defines her range.

If you want more deep-dive star rankings in this vein, our Ryan Gosling best movies — her Barbie co-star — and Timothée Chalamet best movies lists use the same craft-first method. You can also browse the wider zendaya movies and tv shows guide.

The bottom line

Rank Margot Robbie by box office and Barbie wins. Rank her by fame and Wolf of Wall Street takes it. But rank her by acting craft — the thing this margot robbie top rated movies list cares about — and the answer to "what is Margot Robbie's best movie?" is I, Tonya. Three Oscar nominations in, with no win yet, she is overdue. The performance that will most likely close that gap looks a lot like Tonya Harding.

Further reading: Margot Robbie on Wikipedia · Where to watch on JustWatch.

Sources

• Margot Robbie filmography - Wikipedia
• List of awards and nominations received by Margot Robbie - Wikipedia
• I, Tonya - Rotten Tomatoes (90%)
• Barbie (2023) - Box Office Mojo (worldwide gross)
• I, Tonya (2017) - Box Office Mojo
• I, Tonya - Wikipedia