Dakota Johnson has had one of the craziest Hollywood journeys out of all of her peers. The American actress and producer made her debut in films with a small role in a dark comedy film Crazy in Alabama, in which she starred with her mother Melanie Griffith. Johnson didn’t get her big break until the 2015 romantic drama Fifty Shades of Grey, which became a global hit for its sensual scenes. But after doing the Fifty Shades trilogy, Johnson really showed off her acting chops in many dramatic films including The Lost Daughter and Our Friend, and in the future, she is all set to star in a Sony Spider-Man spin-off film Madame Web. So, if you also love Johnson’s performances here are the 10 best movies starring Dakota Johnson that should be on your watchlist.
10. Suspiria (Prime Video)
Synopsis: A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the troupe’s artistic director (Tilda Swinton), an ambitious young dancer (Dakota Johnson), and a grieving psychotherapist (Lutz Ebersdorf). Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.
9. The High Note (Freevee)
Synopsis: Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights, and Maggie (Dakota Johnson), her overworked personal assistant. While stuck running errands, Maggie still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager (Ice Cube) presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.
8. Bad Times at the El Royale (Rent on Prime Video)
Synopsis: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, and Chris Hemsworth lead an all-star cast in this powerful thriller filled with gripping suspense and startling revelations. Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell.
7. Black Mass (Max)
Synopsis: Three-time Oscar nominee Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Finding Neverland, the Pirates of the Caribbean films) stars as notorious mobster James “Whitey” Bulger in the drama Black Mass, directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart).
The film also stars Joel Edgerton (The Great Gatsby, Zero Dark Thirty) as FBI Agent John Connolly; Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) as Whitey’s brother, powerful State Senator Billy Bulger; Rory Cochrane (Argo) as Steve Flemmi, Whitey’s closest partner in crime; Jesse Plemons (TV’s Fargo) as Whitey’s main henchman, Kevin Weeks; and Kevin Bacon (Crazy, Stupid, Love. TV’s The Following) as FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles McGuire.
In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster Jimmy Bulger (Depp) to collaborate with the FBI in order to eliminate their common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Bulger to evade law enforcement while escalating his power to become the most feared crime lord in Boston and one of the most dangerous gangsters in U.S. history.
6. A Bigger Splash (Rent on Prime Video)
Synopsis: In A BIGGER SPLASH, rock legend Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) is recuperating on the volcanic island of Pantelleria with her partner Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) when iconoclast record producer and old flame Harry (Ralph Fiennes) unexpectedly arrives with his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson) and interrupts their holiday, bringing with him an A-bomb blast of nostalgia from which there can be no rescue. A BIGGER SPLASH is a sensuous portrait of desire, jealousy and rock and roll, under the Mediterranean sun.
5. Cha Cha Real Smooth (Apple TV+)
Synopsis: Fresh out of college and without a clear life path going forward, 22-year-old Andrew is stuck back at home with his family in New Jersey. But if there’s one thing that belongs on his nonexistent résumé, it’s how to get a party started, which lands him the perfect job of motivational dancing at the bar and bat mitzvahs for his younger brother’s classmates. When Andrew befriends a local mom, Domino, and her daughter, Lola, he finally discovers a future he wants – even if it might not be his own. Cooper Raiff writes, directs and stars alongside Dakota Johnson, Brad Garrett, Leslie Mann and newcomers Vanessa Burghardt and Evan Assante in this tale of unconventional love that brims with emotional honesty.
4. Our Friend (Prime Video)
Synopsis: Our Friend tells the inspiring and extraordinary true story of the Teague family – journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his vibrant wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and their two young daughters – and how their lives are upended by Nicole’s heartbreaking diagnosis of terminal cancer. As Matt’s responsibilities as a caretaker and parent become increasingly overwhelming, the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) offers to come and help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life-altering decision proves greater and more profound than anyone could have imagined.
3. The Social Network (Paramount+ & MGM+)
Synopsis: David Fincher’s The Social Network is the stunning tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. Shot through with emotional brutality and unexpected humor, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website’s unfathomable success. With a complex, incisive screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and a brilliant cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, The Social Network bears witness to the birth of an idea that rewove the fabric of society even as it unraveled the friendship of its creators.
2. The Peanut Butter Falcon (Prime Video, Paramount+ & MGM+)
Synopsis: A modern Mark Twain style adventure story, THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON tells the story of Zak (Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, who runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending the professional wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). A strange turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler (LaBeouf), a small time outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor (Johnson), a kind nursing home employee charged with Zak’s return, to join them on their journey.
1. The Lost Daughter (Netflix)
Synopsis: A woman’s beach vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront the secrets of her past. Directed & Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal the cast includes Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris, Peter Sarsgaard, Dagmara Dominczyk & Paul Mescal.
