Scarlett Johansson is a household name and has become widely loved among audiences of many genres. Johansson's movies include everything from understated dramas like Marriage Story to action-packed sweeping epics like Avengers: Endgame. Her filmography features an impressive range of genre-defining and record-breaking movies.

Johansson has grown in popularity significantly over the years. Recognized as an indie star from Lost in Translation in the early 2000s, she has since become one of her generation's most reliable box office draws. Johansson's work in the Marvel universe proves she isn't afraid to be a part of a wider ensemble, a mentality that's served her well in a variety of roles. While the actress has appeared sporadically on TV, typically in voice roles, her film appearances have come to define her career.

20 The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Mary Boleyn

While The Other Boleyn Girl is one of only a few historical dramas in Johansson's filmography — and noteworthy as a result — the movie received mixed reviews from critics. The film is ambitious in its adaptation of the original book, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and features a talented cast alongside Johansson, including Natalie Portman and Benedict Cumberbatch. In the film, Johansson plays Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's (Portman) sister, who prefers life outside of the court.

The movie is a fictionalized retelling of Mary, King Henry VIII's mistress, and her sister Anne, who ended up as his ill-fated second wife (and mother of Elizabeth I). The biggest problem that critics had with the film was that they considered it more melodrama than historical drama, although they praised the acting of both Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman in their roles.

19 We Bought a Zoo (2011)

Kelly Foster

We Bought a Zoo was a hit when released in 2011. It's a staple among family-friendly movies and worked very well for its time. Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a man who has lost his wife and decides to make a fresh start with his two kids. When they find the perfect place, they learn they also have to buy the old zoo on the property as well and he agrees, which is when he meets the zoo's head keeper, Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson), and he vows to make the zoo work.

The movie is a typical family drama, with Benjamin's son struggling with the move, Benjamin facing several obstacles on his road to making his new life work, and Johansson playing the love interest. Reviews were mostly favorable, with critics praising Damon's performance, although Cameron Crowe's movie was seen as too cutesy, with little standing in the way. Johansson earned a Teen Choice Awards nomination for Choice Movie Actress: Drama.

18 Hail, Caesar! (2016)

DeeAnna Moran

Hail, Caesar! plays out as a dark comedy mystery surrounding an ensemble cast in 1950s Hollywood. The movie follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a studio fixer trying to figure out what happened to a missing star actor who was in the middle of filming a biblical epic. This actor. Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) was abducted and held by a group of Communist blacklisted screenwriters who demanded $100,000 for his return.

The cast is amazing, with different characters dropping in and out of the story, including Scarlett Johansson as DeeAnna Moran, an actress who becomes pregnant while her film is in production. She is brilliant in the role, playing a beautiful and classy mermaid in her movie (based on Esther Williams) while being a crass, wise-mouthed actor when the cameras are not rolling. Critics praised the film's dark humor, and the Oscars nominated it for Production Design.

17 Asteroid City (2023)

Midge Campbell

Wes Anderson's 2023 film Asteroid City was widely discussed before its release because of its star-studded cast, featuring actors like Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, and more. The film is a typical Wes Anderson story, taking place in a retro-futuristic version of the 1950s and a mockumentary about the creation of a play called Asteroid City. The characters are all mostly part of the play, with Jason Schwartzman as widower Augie Steenbeck and his four kids, as well as a woman he meets named Midge Campbell.

Scarlett Johansson plays Midge, a world-weary actress with a daughter. Midge and Augie fall in love as the play progresses. Critics mostly praised the movie, although at a lesser level than some of Anderson's other releases. Most of the praise goes to Anderson's style, with critics saying fans will love it, but it might prove off-putting for people who are not used to his filmmaking. Johansson earned a People's Choice Awards nomination for The Comedy Movie Star of the Year.

16 Lucy (2014)

Lucy Miller

Lucy truly is one of Johansson's biggest roles, even if on the lower side popularity-wise. In Lucy, Johansson plays the title character, an American studying in Taiwan who is convinced to smuggle some synthetic drugs for her boyfriend. She agrees to become a drug mule and has a bag of the drugs sewn into her abdomen. When someone kicks her in the stomach, it sends the drugs into her system, which gives her powers of telepathy, telekinesis, pain insensitivity, and negated emotions.

Johansson mostly becomes a superhero in this sci-fi action film. The movie was a huge success, making $469 million on a $40 million budget, and there are some big ideas behind the story. Although critical reviews claimed it erred on the "silly" side somewhat, they also praised Johansson's performance and charm as helping the movie succeed despite the often outrageous script. Johansson received nominations from the Jupiter Awards, MTV Movie Awards, and the National Society of Film Critics.

15 Fly Me to the Moon (2024)

Kelly Jones

Fly Me to the Moon is an Apple TV+ exclusive movie from 2024 starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in a 1960s historical romance about the NASA Apollo 11 mission to the moon. In the movie, Johansson stars as Kelly Jones, an advertising executive offered a job by a covert operative working for President Richard Nixon. They are preparing for the Apollo 11 space mission to the moon, but they want to create a fake moon landing video in case this one fails so they don't lose public interest.

She is forced to help and meets Cole Favis (Tatum), a launch director at the Kennedy Space Center, who disagrees with Jones's plans to promote the event. Of course, this is a romantic comedy, so these two are destined to try to get together against their better judgment. Critics awarded the movie with a 65% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, praising Johansson and Tatum's chemistry above all else.

14 Chef (2014)

Molly

Chef is written and directed by Jon Favreau, who also stars in the film. It's definitely a smaller movie for Johansson. However, Chef received positive reviews, and it also serves as a fun reunion for Favreau, Johansson, and Robert Downey Jr., as all three worked together on Iron Man 2. Chef is a road comedy-drama film that follows Carl (Favreau) as he quits his job at an upscale restaurant, whose owner refuses to let him update the menu, despite scathing reviews from a prestigious food critic.

Carl then sets out and decides to drive a food truck across the country from Miami to Los Angeles, and he finds success every step of the journey, proving that he still has the skills and desire to succeed as a top-level chef. Johansson has a small role in the movie as Molly, the hostess at the restaurant that Carl quits. The movie was a small box office success but received high praise from critics, with praise for the "charming cast" and "funny script."

13 The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Birdy Abundas

The Man Who Wasn't There is a unique Coen brothers film shot in black and white. It stands out thanks to its retro crime noir vibes. Set in 1949, Billy Bob Thornton is the lead, playing Ed Crane, a barber who leads an ordinary life in a small California town. He suspects his wife, Doris (s McDormand), is having an affair with her boss. When a stranger comes into town and offers Ed a new business idea called "dry cleaning" in exchange for a $10,000 investment, he decides to blackmail his wife's lover.

As expected in a Coen brothers movie, everything goes wrong, and bizarre things begin to happen in unexpected ways. The film was a box office failure, with speculation that people didn't want to see a movie in black and white. However, critics loved The Man Who Wasn't There, calling it "stylish but emotionally distant." Scarlett Johansson's role was as a teenager who wants to play the piano, and who makes a at Ed, resulting in his eventual downfall.

12 Isle of Dogs (2018)

Nutmeg

Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion animated film by Wes Anderson, released five years before Johansson and Anderson worked together on Asteroid City. Johansson has done a fair amount of voice acting in her career, including in 2013's Her. Her skills are on full display in Isle of Dogs, and the movie is also aided by the sheer fun of getting to see another stop-motion film by Anderson after Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The movie tells the story of a near future where the "canine flu" spreads throughout Japan, and the city's mayor orders all dogs to be shipped off and banished to Trash Island. However, this includes Spots, a male dog who served as the bodyguard of the mayor's orphan nephew. This leads the boy, Atari, to go to Trash Island to find and rescue his dog. Johansson plays Nutmeg, a dog who belongs to a student named Tracy. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.

11 Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

Avengers: Infinity War was incredibly successful upon its release in 2018, making over $2 billion by the end of its run and forever changing the MCU with Thanos' snap. Infinity War features a relatively small part for Johansson thanks to its large ensemble cast. However, Black Widow's survival at the end of the film after the snap does set her up for a major role in Avengers: Endgame. In this movie, Thanos arrives on Earth, looking for the Infinity Stones, allowing him to eliminate half of all living beings in the universe.

Black Widow, who had been on the run since Captain America: Civil War, comes out of hiding and s forces with Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest of the disbanded Avengers to protect the planet. However, in one of the most shocking endings in movie history, they fail, and the bad guy wins. Infinity War earned one Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects and was highly praised, although it was only half of a complete story.