1. The Avengers
She was welcomed into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her immensely stunning entrance in 2010’s Iron Man. The Avengers gave Scarlett Johansson her first chance to shine as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, as she effortlessly did the role and won people’s hearts.
2. Jojo rabbit
In the fall of 2019, Scarlett Johansson worked with Taika Waititi, the New Zealand-born director of the 2017 movie Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi’s Golden Globe-nominated Jojo Rabbit, in which she co-stars with another Marvel Cinematic Universe alum, Sam Rockwell, is a far cry from superhero fare. Jojo Rabbit is a bold World War II-era satire in which Roman Griffin Davis plays a lonely German boy whose only friend is an oafish replica of Adolf Hitler who only appears in his imagination. Jojo’s life is flipped upside down when he discovers that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), is hiding a tiny Jewish child from the Nazi government in their attic.
3. Lost in translation
Scarlett Johansson stars as Charlotte, a young woman who travels to Tokyo with her emotionally absent photographer husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), in yet another comedy with exceptionally bleak love undertones. Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a faded, middle-aged movie star starring in an exclusive Japanese advertising campaign, meets Charlotte at her hotel and notices a new sense of vigor in her presence. Lost In Translation is both a quirky, often humorous comedy and a thought-provoking, sometimes off-putting drama about a mismatched friendship that grows into something even more unexpected.
4. Her
Spike Jonze, whose screenplay for this award-winning dramedy won an Academy Award in 2014, considers whether a person could fall in love with Siri (a concept that isn’t as absurd as it sounds) as a heartbreaking, yet endearing exploration of how far our obsession with technology may take us in the near future. She is also an acting master, with Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson displaying remarkable chemistry despite never being in the same room.
5. Ghost world
Thora Birch is the titular character in this Terry Zwigoff adaptation of the Daniel Clowes comic, and the film ultimately gravitates around her (and Steve Buscemi). Johansson, on the other hand, is definitely the breakthrough star. Rebecca is bored, disinterested, and deadpan, and her infamously dry and sardonic voice fits her wonderfully. She’s witty and sarcastic, but she’s also oddly optimistic and even eager to grow and mature… even if it means moving away from her best friend.