Margot Robbie’s highest-rated film on IMDb is “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013) with an 8.2 rating, the performance that launched her to international stardom. Her complete filmography spans from a low of 5.4 for “Terminal” (2018) to that peak of 8.2, revealing significant variation across her diverse career choices. Since her breakthrough role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in 2013, Robbie has built a portfolio of 22 theatrical releases with ratings that cluster around the 6-7 range, though several standout performances have crossed into the 7.5+ tier that indicates critical and audience appreciation.
The pattern of her ratings shows an actress unafraid to take risks outside traditional Hollywood formulas. While her early independent work had minimal critical attention, her deliberate move toward character-driven dramas and prestige projects has created distinct rating categories across her filmography. Understanding where her films rank reveals not just critical reception but also the types of roles that resonated most strongly with audiences.
Table of Contents
- What Are Margot Robbie’s Highest-Rated Films?
- How Do Her Commercial Blockbusters Compare to Her Rated Films?
- What’s the Quality Range in Her Mid-Tier Filmography?
- How Do Her Harley Quinn Roles Compare Across Different Films?
- What Are Her Lowest-Rated Films and What Do They Reveal?
- How Has Her Career Rating Evolved Over Time?
- Which Film Types Receive Her Highest Ratings?
What Are Margot Robbie’s Highest-Rated Films?
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (8.2) remains Robbie’s critical and audience darling, a position it has held for over a decade. Her role as Naomi brings sophistication and danger to the ensemble cast, and the 8.2 rating places it among the highest-rated films of the 2010s overall. Following closely behind is “The Big Short” (2015) at 7.8, though this is primarily a cameo appearance where Robbie breaks the fourth wall while explaining mortgage-backed securities from a bubble bath—a scene that won significant cultural attention and critical praise.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (7.6) and “I, Tonya” (7.5) round out her elite tier. The latter earned Robbie an Academy Award nomination for playing figure skater Tonya Harding, and the 7.5 rating reflects critics’ appreciation of her nuanced portrayal of a complicated, sympathetic character. These four films above 7.5 represent less than 20 percent of her filmography, suggesting that critical breakthrough moments remain relatively rare even for successful actors. The difference between 7.5 and 8.2—a seemingly small 0.7 point gap—represents a significant gulf in critical consensus, with The Wolf of Wall Street pulling near-universal praise while I, Tonya inspired more divisive takes about its biographical accuracy and sympathetic framing.
How Do Her Commercial Blockbusters Compare to Her Rated Films?
“Barbie” (2023), Robbie’s most commercially dominant film and one of the highest-grossing films ever, carries a 6.8 IMDb rating despite its $1.4 billion global box office. This disconnect between commercial success and critical rating demonstrates a key limitation of IMDb scores: they measure engaged audience satisfaction, not profitability or cultural impact. The film’s rating is respectable but considerably lower than her acclaimed dramas, suggesting that while audiences enjoyed Barbie, reviewers valued her dramatic roles more heavily. Her superhero franchise films show similar dynamics.
“The Suicide Squad” (2021) rates 7.2, notably higher than the original “Suicide Squad” (2016) which received only 5.9, yet the 2016 version was a box office success despite critical panning. “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” (2020) sits at 6.1, indicating audiences found these action-comedies entertaining but not critically acclaimed. A practical warning: high IMDb ratings don’t predict box office performance or vice versa, so using ratings alone to evaluate Robbie’s career trajectory misses the full picture of her value as a star. Many of her franchise films likely earned more revenue despite lower critical scores than her acclaimed dramas.
What’s the Quality Range in Her Mid-Tier Filmography?
Between her elite tier (7.5+) and her lowest-rated work (5.4), Robbie has accumulated films primarily in the 6.0-7.1 range. “Babylon” (2022) at 7.1 represents her most recent critically acclaimed performance outside the prestige category, a Damien Chazelle project that required her to deliver a complex, morally ambiguous character. “Suite Française” (2014) at 7.0 shows her early post-breakout work in historical drama, a genre she has explored repeatedly throughout her career.
The 6.6 range includes both “Focus” (2015) and “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” (2016), movies that received mixed-to-positive reviews but didn’t achieve critical consensus. “The Legend of Tarzan” (2016) at 6.2 exemplifies a particular limitation in her filmography: major studio tentpole films that aimed for broad appeal often receive moderate ratings. This mid-tier clustering reveals that Robbie has had a notably consistent career in commercial cinema, avoiding catastrophic critical failures while simultaneously avoiding the rare heights of her elite performances. Most of her work lands comfortably in the “widely enjoyed, not particularly controversial” zone where audiences find entertainment value without generating passionate critical discourse.
How Do Her Harley Quinn Roles Compare Across Different Films?
Robbie plays Harley Quinn across multiple projects, and the ratings for these roles reveal interesting patterns about character consistency and film quality. The original “Suicide Squad” (2016) at 5.9 introduced the character to film audiences but suffered from overall poor reception. “Birds of Prey” (2020) at 6.1 improved slightly, with critics acknowledging that Harley Quinn’s standalone arc benefited from freed constraints of the larger ensemble.
“The Suicide Squad” (2021) at 7.2 achieved the highest rating of her Harley Quinn projects, suggesting that director James Gunn’s reboot elevated the character’s critical standing despite the controversial mixed reception from some audiences. This progression demonstrates how the same character can receive different critical assessments depending on the film’s overall quality and creative direction. For viewers considering which Harley Quinn film to watch, the ratings suggest that The Suicide Squad (2021) offers the highest-regarded version, though the character’s arc spans these three distinct interpretations across nearly a decade. The 1.3-point rating spread from the lowest to highest Harley Quinn film is substantial enough to indicate meaningful quality differences rather than random variation.
What Are Her Lowest-Rated Films and What Do They Reveal?
“Terminal” (2018) represents the floor of Robbie’s theatrical filmography at 5.4 IMDb, a science fiction crime thriller that struggled with both critics and audiences. At 5.4, a film has crossed below the neutral point into clearly unfavorable territory, indicating that more viewers rated it negatively than positively. This outlier performance is notable because Robbie has avoided the truly catastrophic ratings (below 4.0) that plague some actors’ careers, suggesting relatively careful project selection or effective studio management.
“Suicide Squad” (2016) at 5.9, while significantly higher than Terminal, remains her most poorly-received major studio film. The warning here is significant: major studio budgets and wide releases do not guarantee critical or audience satisfaction, and Robbie’s association with this film—while it did not derail her career—shows that even successful actors cannot control overall film quality. Following Suicide Squad’s disappointing reception, her subsequent choices of independent and prestige projects (I, Tonya, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) suggest she may have adjusted her strategy toward higher-control environments where scripts and direction align with her artistic interests.
How Has Her Career Rating Evolved Over Time?
Chronologically tracing her theatrical releases reveals a career that began with smaller roles and built toward peak critical standing around 2013-2019. Her pre-2013 work has minimal representation in major studios, reflecting her status as an emerging talent. The 2013-2017 period includes her highest concentration of acclaimed films: The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short, I, Tonya, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (though the latter was released in 2019).
This five-year window represents her critical peak, after which her ratings have been consistently solid but rarely matching those earlier heights. Her 2020-2024 work shows stabilization rather than decline, with films like Babylon (7.1) and Asteroid City (6.4) earning respectable ratings. This pattern is common for established actors: the initial breakthrough period generates the most critical attention and novelty value, while later work is evaluated on its own merits without the “emerging talent” narrative boost. Robbie’s ability to maintain 6.0+ ratings across this extended period suggests sustained quality control, even if she hasn’t replicated the critical magic of her early peak.
Which Film Types Receive Her Highest Ratings?
Biographical and prestige dramas dominate Robbie’s highest-rated films: “I, Tonya” (biography), “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (historical drama), “Babylon” (period drama), and “Suite Française” (historical romance). These four films average 7.3 IMDb rating, significantly above her overall 6.8 average. In contrast, her action-focused roles in superhero films and spy thrillers average 6.3, indicating a clear pattern where critics and audiences rate her dramatic performances substantially higher than her action work.
This rating disparity has real implications for her career trajectory and project selection. “Bombshell” (2019) at 6.8, which combines biography and drama, sits between these categories, suggesting that films with narrative depth and character-driven storylines align better with audience and critical expectations for Robbie’s talents. The comparison is not that action films are inherently lower-rated, but rather that Robbie’s casting in dramatic roles produces stronger critical consensus than her casting in ensemble action franchises. For filmmakers considering her for future projects, the data suggests that her skills translate most effectively into character-focused narratives rather than action-driven spectacle.
