Kirsten Dunst’s 10 Best Movies (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

Kirsten Dunst has had a long and successful film career.

Though the actress began gaining recognition as a child, appearing in films including Little Women and Jumanji, her appeal grew as she starred in teen comedies including Bring It On, Get Over It, and Crazy/Beautiful.

Dunst’s career only continued to skyrocket there when she played Mary Jane in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, and took on leading roles in iconic 2000s movies including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Marie Antoinette. Today, Dunst can be found executive producing and starring as Krystal Gill in the Showtime dark comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

To celebrate her long career, we thought it was time to look at Dunst’s highest-rated works to date. Rather than picking our own favorites, however, we’re turning to Rotten Tomatoes for answers.

The movie review aggregation website has given every Dunst film a Tomatometer score. This percentage, based on the positive and negative ratings of reviewers, is what we’ll be using to count down to her best.

With that said, it’s time to grab some popcorn, sit in front of the big screen, and watch Kirsten Dunst’s best movies to date. Here they are, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

10 Melancholia (2011): 80%

Two sisters attempt to deal with their separate life struggles (including a failed marriage and depression) in this 2011 sci-fi drama. Unfortunately, the pair must also prepare for the planet that is set to crash into the earth.

Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg played the siblings, and their hard work paid off. Critics praised Melancholia‘s acting, unique story, and dazzling visuals.

9 Midnight Special (2016): 83%

Midnight Special sees a religious cult and the government searching for a boy who has special powers while his father tries to keep him safe. Dunst plays the biological mother of the child, who abandoned him when he was young.

The ambitious journey and well-acted script had this film becoming a stand-out.

8 Wag The Dog (1997): 85%

If you jump back a couple of decades, you’ll find Dunst taking on a role in this  ’97 political satire black comedy.

Wag the Dog finds a spin doctor and a film producer working together to create a false war in order to keep citizens’ interests away from a real presidential sex scandal. Dunst plays a character who stars in the fabricated news footage.

The movie’s smart, funny, and interesting narrative left critics content.

7 Anastasia (1997): 85%

Though Dunst has devoted most of her efforts to live-action films, the actress has also appeared in a handful of animated hits. One of these is the 1997 musical drama Anastasia.

Loosely based on the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the story follows a royal girl who escapes a sorcerer’s attack at the palace. Unfortunately, Anastasia forgets who she is after hitting her head on the platform of a train. The narrative picks up years later as two con-men prepare to present an adult Anastasia at court as the long-lost princess, unaware of her authentic past.

Though Meg Ryan voices adult Anastasia, Kirsten Dunst plays her as a child. The charming tale remains one of the most iconic non-Disney animations of the ’90s.

6 Spider-Man (2002): 90%

As mentioned, Dunst plays aspiring actress and Spider-Man’s longtime crush, Mary Jane Watson, in the 2002 film adaption of the Marvel Comics character.

The original installment in the series has Peter Parker gaining spider-like abilities and super-strength after being bitten by a mutated spider. He must figure out how to balance his everyday life with his new crime-fighting powers.

Mixing heart and excitement, viewers were eager for a follow-up film.

5 Little Women (1994): 92%

Though Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is continuing to gain popularity, the other most iconic rendition of the story came in 1994.

The period drama follows the four March sisters as they grow up and chase after their futures in mid-19th-century Massachusetts. In this version, Dunst plays the youngest sister, Amy March.

Boasting an intelligent script and a warm tone, this adaption left critics impressed.

4 Spider-Man 2 (2004): 93%

Of course, Dunst reprised her role in the 2004 Spider-Man sequel. This time around, Parker must face the evil Dr. Otto Octavius, who is seeking revenge after an experiment-gone-wrong kills his wife.

Critics praised Spider-Man 2 for introducing a complex villain and lending a deeper focus to the characters’ emotions.

3 Hidden Figures (2017): 93%

Hidden Figures is a biographical drama that focuses on the black female mathematicians who helped NASA rise to the top of the Space Race.

Dunst serves in a supporting role as Vivian Mitchell, a supervisor who assigns lead character Katherine to Al Harrison’s Space Task Group.

Critics applauded the film for focusing on an underappreciated story. They also enjoyed the engaging and heartfelt script.

2 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004): 93%

This 2004 romantic sci-fi tragicomedy follows a couple that decides to go through a memory-erasing process after suffering through a painful breakup. However, they soon discover that forgetting the past can’t change what actually happened.

Though Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star as the leading couple, Dunst plays the receptionist at the company that erases their minds. She soon gets caught up in a love story of her own.

The imaginative and touching narrative resonated with its viewers. Additionally, the leads’ performances were too genuine to overlook.

1 Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989): 97%

Topping off the list as Dunst’s highest-rated film of all time is the 1989 Japanese coming-of-age fantasy known as Kiki’s Delivery Service.

The movie follows a 13-year-old girl who is sent with her cat to a town where she trains to become a witch. Though she hopes to create a courier service with her broomstick-flying powers, she starts to reconsider her future after her magic starts to fade.

A teenage Kirsten Dunst voiced the titular character in the English version of the film distributed by Disney in the late ’90s. The movie’s heartwarming story enchanted critics.

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