MRQE Ranks: Johnny Depp's Best to Worst Movies

1

Ed Wood (1994)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Hollywood visionary Tim Burton pays homage to another Hollywood visionary, albeit a less successful one, in this unusual fictionalized biography. T... [MORE]

2

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Cast: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss

Director: Wes Craven

Synopsis: A decade of wisecracking sequels have not diminished the power of this striking horror film from the director of Scream. Teenagers in a small town ... [MORE]

3

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical thriller comes to the big screen in this adaptation directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, Helen... [MORE]

4

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Cast: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo

Director: Mike Newell

Synopsis: This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny D... [MORE]

5

Finding Neverland (2004)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Nick Roud, Radha Mitchell

Director: Marc Forster

Synopsis: Following up his critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, director Marc Forster took on this biography of playwright James Matthew Barrie, the scribe w... [MORE]

6

Rango (2011)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina

Director: Gore Verbinski

Synopsis: A pet chameleon who has lived his entire life in the confines of a cozy glass terrarium discovers adventure beyond his wildest imagination in this ... [MORE]

7

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands opens as an eccentric inventor (Vincent Price) lovingly assembles a synthetic youth named Edward (Johnny Depp). Ed... [MORE]

8

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport

Director: Gore Verbinski

Writer: Ted Elliott, Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie, Terry Rossio

Synopsis: Following his surprise-hit American remake of The Ring in 2002, director Gore Verbinski took on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pe... [MORE]

9

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Darlene Cates

Director: Lasse Hallstrom

Synopsis: Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom's follow-up to the underrated Once Around earned far more attention than its predecessor thanks to the judicious c... [MORE]

10

Corpse Bride (2005)

Director: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson

Synopsis: Tim Burton returns to the dark but fanciful animated style of The Nightmare Before Christmas with this stop-motion black comedy. Victor (voice of J... [MORE]

11

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Director Tim Burton brings his unique vision and sensibility to Roald Dahl's classic children's story in this lavish screen interpretation. Willy W... [MORE]

12

Dead Man (1995)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, Mili Avital

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Synopsis: A dark, bitter commentary on modern American life cloaked in the form of a surrealist western, Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man stars Johnny Depp as William... [MORE]

13

Benny & Joon (1993)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn, Julianne Moore, Oliver Platt

Director: Jeremiah Chechik

Synopsis: Johnny Depp was nominated for a Golden Globe for his astonishing performance in Benny & Joon, though the entire cast is equally impressive. Benny (... [MORE]

14

Before Night Falls (2000)

Cast: Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn

Director: Julian Schnabel

Synopsis: For his sophomore feature film effort, visual artist Julian Schnabel chronicles the life of one of Cuba's most charismatic literary voices, the lat... [MORE]

15

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Casper Van Dien, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Washington Irving's tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman gets a few new twists in a screen adaptation directed by Tim Burton. In this ve... [MORE]

16

Don Juan DeMarco (1994)

Cast: Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Geraldine Pailhas, Bob Dishy

Director: Jeremy Leven

Writer: Jeremy Leven

Synopsis: A psychiatrist treats a most unusual patient, only to find that the doctor is the one who gains the most from their sessions in this philosophical ... [MORE]

17

Public Enemies (2009)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum

Director: Michael Mann

Synopsis: Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43, director Michael M... [MORE]

18

Chocolat (2000)

Cast: Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Carrie-Anne Moss, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina

Director: Lasse Hallstrom

Synopsis: The most tempting of all sweets becomes the key weapon in a battle of sensual pleasure versus disciplined self-denial in this comedy. In 1959, a my... [MORE]

19

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy

Director: Gore Verbinski

Synopsis: Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) returns to the screen for another round of supernatural adventures on the high seas in this spirited sequel to t... [MORE]

20

From Hell (2001)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Ian Richardson, Robbie Coltrane

Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Synopsis: The true-life horror story of Jack the Ripper gets a new spin in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Camp... [MORE]

21

Cry-Baby (1990)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Polly Bergen, Iggy Pop

Director: John Waters

Synopsis: John Waters does a quirky spin on '50s nostalgia in Cry-Baby, his musical homage to Rebel Without a Cause and +Romeo and Juliet. Set in Baltimore i... [MORE]

22

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Synopsis: Director Robert Rodriguez returns to the characters of his breakthrough hits El Mariachi and Desperado in this grand scale south-of-the-border acti... [MORE]

23

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Gary Busey, Ellen Barkin, Christina Ricci

Director: Terry Gilliam

Synopsis: Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King) directed this colorful, stylized, pseudo-psychedelic $21-million adaptation of the 1971 Hu... [MORE]

24

The Man Who Cried (2000)

Cast: Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton

Director: Sally Potter

Synopsis: In this historical drama with music, a gifted singer (Oleg Yankovsky) from a Jewish village in Russia travels to the United States in 1927, leaving... [MORE]

25

Blow (2001)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Jordi Molla, Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths

Director: Ted Demme

Synopsis: Following the life of cocaine-trafficking pioneer George Jung in a way that recalls Martin Scorsese's Casino, Blow recounts the man's days from his... [MORE]

26

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Cast: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell

Director: Terry Gilliam

Synopsis: Set in the present day, director Terry Gilliam's fantastical morality tale follows the traveling show of the mysterious Dr. Parnassus (Christopher ... [MORE]

27

Secret Window (2004)

Cast: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles S. Dutton

Director: David Koepp

Synopsis: From writer/director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) comes this filmed adaptation of Stephen King's novella Secret Window, Secret Garden, one of four ... [MORE]

28

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport

Director: Gore Verbinski

Writer: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio

Synopsis: Director Gore Verbinski and the crew set sail once again for this, the third chapter in the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Captain... [MORE]

29

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Matt Lucas

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Director Tim Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) team up to deliver this visually dazzling take on the c... [MORE]

30

The Rum Diary (2011)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins

Director: Bruce Robinson

Synopsis: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas star Johnny Depp returns to the wild world of Hunter S. Thompson in writer/director Bruce Robinson's adaptation of t... [MORE]

31

The Ninth Gate (1999)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner, Barbara Jefford

Director: Roman Polanski

Synopsis: An authority on rare books is drawn into a confrontation with the forces of darkness in this thriller directed by Roman Polanski. Dean Corso (Johnn... [MORE]

32

Dark Shadows (2012)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Thomas McDonell

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Entombed for 200 years after betraying vengeful witch Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), 18th Century vampire Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) returns t... [MORE]

33

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally

Director: Rob Marshall

Synopsis: Flamboyant seafarer Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) lands himself in a bit of a bind after being lured onto Blackbeard's (Ian McShane) ship by enigmatic... [MORE]

34

The Tourist (2010)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, Steven Berkoff

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Synopsis: American tourist Frank (Johnny Depp) meets a mysterious beauty who drags him into a dangerous world of intrigue and espionage while traveling throu... [MORE]

35

The Libertine (2004)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, Paul Ritter, Stanley Townsend

Director: Laurence Dunmore

Synopsis: A man who lives for pleasure finds his hedonism betrays him in time in this film adaptation of the play by Stephen Jeffreys. The second Earl of Roc... [MORE]

36

The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Joe Morton, Donna Murphy, Nick Cassavetes

Director: Rand Ravich

Synopsis: Science fiction blends with domestic horror in this thriller. Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp) is an astronaut on a routine mission in space when som... [MORE]