The 10 Best Florence Pugh Movies, Ranked

Florence Pugh Movies, Ranked

A Marvel superhero, a professional wrestler and one of the most controversial figures of 19th century literature are among the many roles that Florence Pugh has taken on since bursting onto the movie scene as a teenager in 2014. The British actress, now 27, has established herself as one of the most compelling parts of any movie. Above all, she has a savvy knack for knowing how to pick projects and has appeared in well-received films (as well as the celebrated miniseries The Little Drummer Girl).

While her early work was respected, Pugh's career truly took off in 2019 thanks to Midsommar and Little Women. With movies in two drastically different genres, Pugh was able to show her tonal variety on a mainstream level, becoming a household name. Since then, she has taken on diverse projects, ranging from franchise films like Black Widow to smaller passion projects like A Good Person.

Her career is only slated to grow, with recent release of awards contender Oppenheimer (now in digital release) and the forthcoming release of Dune: Part Two in 2024. With that in mind, we’re ranking her 10 best movies of the past decade, from her oft-forgotten horror movie to her Oscar-nominated performance.

Related: Everything We Know About the 2024 Oscars, Including This Year's Host

Best Florence Pugh Movies, Ranked

10. Malevolent (2018)

Before Midsommar, there was Malevolent, Pugh’s first foray into the horror genre. Set in the ‘80s, the film follows siblings Angela (Pugh) and Jackson (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) as they head up a team of fake paranormal investigators, cashing in on the fear of people who believe their homes are haunted. Angela, pretending to be a medium, grows concerned when their latest case spurs on several spooky events and begins to question her own mind. Both a paranormal horror story and a psychological thrill ride, the movie puts Pugh’s scream queen chops on full display.

9. The Falling (2014)

Pugh’s first on-screen role was opposite Games of Thrones’ star Maisie Williams in The Falling, a mystery set at a British girl’s school in the late ‘60s. When Abbie (Pugh), a pregnant teen and Lydia’s (Williams) best friend, experiences sudden fainting spells, other girls at the strict school begin to exhibit similar fainting symptoms en masse. While the school dismisses them as nothing, Lydia grows increasingly concerned. Although Pugh’s role is supporting and ultimately short-lived, it left an impression on audiences and helped launch her career.

8. A Good Person (2023)

Written and directed by Pugh’s ex, Zach Braff, A Good Person is a showcase for Pugh’s ability to garner sympathy under any circumstances. The movie follows Allison (Pugh) a year after a distracted driving accident kills her future brother and sister-in-law. With a broken engagement and a pill addiction, Allison strikes up a rocky, unlikely acquaintanceship with Daniel (Morgan Freeman), her ex’s grieving father. The movie is a moving portrait of loss, responsibility and how we even begin to define what makes a person “good."

7. Black Widow (2021)

Pugh’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe came at the tail end of the studio’s heyday, kicking off Phase 4. Black Widow predates the events of Avengers: Endgame, finally giving one of the most beloved original Avengers a fleshed out backstory. In Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) must face her past as a Russian spy and reunite with her fake spy family (featuring performances from David Harbour and Rachel Weisz). Most important, however, is her reunion with her faux little sister and fellow Black Widow, Yelena Belova (Pugh). Together, the two must come to terms with what was and wasn’t real in their shared upbringing.

Related: The MCU Has Shuffled Its Calendar. Here Are the New Dates for Every Upcoming Marvel Movie

6. Fighting with My Family (2019)

Released during a dump month ahead of Midsommar and Little Women, Fighting with My Family is the often forgotten part of Pugh’s breakout year. In it, Pugh stars as Saraya “Paige” Bevis, a professional wrestler attempting to make her name in the world of WWE. Raised in a wrestling family, her brother Zak “Zodiac Knight” Bevis (Jack Lowden) is also trying to make it in WWE, but he falls short and leaves Paige to navigate the scene on her own. Based on the 2012 documentary of the same name and featuring an appearance from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the movie has something for both devout wrestling fans and wrestling newcomers who are simply fans of family sagas.

5. Don’t Worry Darling (2022)

Despite the movie’s borderline cursed status, Pugh’s performance as Alice in Don’t Worry Darling was still one for the books. As Alice, she played a ‘60s housewife whose idyllic life with her husband, Jack (Harry Styles), isn’t as it seems. When Alice begins to see cracks in their small desert town, located near her husband’s mysterious job, she becomes increasingly aware that something is wrong. Although gossip and behind-the-scenes drama overshadowed some of Don’t Worry Darling’s message, the movie is still an intriguing psychological thriller about the timeless nature of misogyny.

4. The Wonder (2022)

Based on Room author Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name, The Wonder takes Pugh to 1860s Ireland, where a young girl has mysteriously stopped eating. Pugh plays Lib Wright, an English nurse called in to observe the girl, who initially shows no outward signs of distress or negative evidence of the prolonged fast. Still reeling from the Great Famine that ended a decade prior, citizens of the small town are wary of Lib, but her only concern is for the girl. While initially appearing to be a work of magical realism, the story morphs into a tale of psychological and religious reckoning.

3. Lady Macbeth (2016)

One of Pugh’s best roles was also one of her earliest. In Lady Macbeth, Pugh portrays Katherine, a discontented housewife in 1865. Sold into marriage to a much older, cruel man and closely watched by her father-in-law, she begins an affair with someone close to her own age and attempts to gain some control over her household. At only 19-years-old at the time of filming, Pugh gave a shockingly layered depiction of a forced, unhappy marriage and the lengths that people will go to in order to gain and maintain their freedom.

2. Midsommar (2019)

Ari Aster’s sophomore outing was a triumph for the director and a true showcase for Pugh’s versatility as an actress during her breakout year. In Midsommar, she plays Dani, a grad student grappling with her twin sister’s murder-suicide, which resulted in the death of their parents. When she joins her distant boyfriend on a trip to Sweden to observe a midsummer festival, she is shocked to find that they’re enmeshed in a centuries-old pagan cult. As the festivities continue and the couple teeter closer to a breakup, they’re exposed to increasingly extreme practices, including an ultimate display of human sacrifice.

1. Little Women (2019)

Nothing compares to Pugh’s run as Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. Throughout the movie, which takes place in two main timelines, Pugh covers the most developmental ground out of all the March sisters by playing Amy from age 12 into adulthood and marriage. Long considered one of the most despised characters in literature and chronically misunderstood throughout the century-and-half since Little Women was first published, Pugh and Gerwig together won over Amy skeptics and helped make her one of the most nuanced parts of the story. Pugh’s Oscar nod was  indication enough that the character, at last, resonated with the masses.

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