All 10 Best Joey King Movies Ranked (Best to Worst)

David Leitch’s neon-drenched kinetic brawl turns a Tokyo-to-Kyoto transit into an absurd gauntlet of assassins, slapstick gunplay, and razor-sharp pacing. Adapted from Kōtarō Isaka’s novel, the film thrives on hyper-stylized choreography and an infectious, comic-book rhythm where every passenger harbors a lethal agenda. Amid heavyweights like Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, King commandeers the screen as the Prince, a sociopath masquerading in schoolgirl pastels. Her mastery of deceptively weaponized innocence gives the film its sharpest psychological bite. It stands as King’s definitive transition into adult genre territory, demonstrating her uncanny knack for venomous charisma and pitch-black comedic timing.

Zach Braff’s crowdfunded dramedy explores modern existential dread, faith, and family dissolution through the eyes of a flailing Los Angeles actor. What could have slipped into quirky self-indulgence finds genuine footing through poignant familial exchanges and a sincere examination of mortality. King delivers an astonishingly mature turn as Grace Bloom, Aidan's inquisitive, deeply devout daughter wrestling with impending loss. Going as far as shaving her head for the role, she bypasses sentimental precociousness in favor of raw vulnerability and intellectual curiosity. It remains one of her most emotionally devastating dramatic turns, proving early on that her talent transcended the boundaries of mainstream studio comedies.

Adapting Beverly Cleary’s treasured childhood literature requires capturing unfiltered youth without stumbling into saccharine caricature. Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum preserves that delicate balance, grounding the chaotic misadventures of the Quimby household in real economic anxiety and sisterly friction. At just ten years old, King shoulders the production with infectious, uninhibited dynamism as the irrepressible Ramona. Her physical comedy feels delightfully unvarnished, bouncing off Selena Gomez’s straight-laced Beezus with organic sisterly warmth. It remains a foundational milestone in her filmography, showcasing the expressive range, fearlessness, and magnetic screen command that launched her career into wide industry orbit.

Roland Emmerich delivers an unapologetic love letter to 1990s disaster-action cinema, turning the United States Capitol into a pulverized playground for paramilitary mercenaries and rogue artillery. The film embraces over-the-top melodrama and explosive set pieces with complete kinetic confidence. Paired opposite Channing Tatum as his patriotic daughter Emily, King provides the emotional anchor that prevents the carnage from feeling hollow. Her defiant, flag-waving bravado during the climax became an instant cultural touchstone. Demonstrating poise far beyond her years alongside action veterans, she proved she could hold her own inside explosive studio spectacles without sacrificing genuine emotional authenticity.

Le-Van Kiet crafts a bloody, breathless collision between medieval fairy tale romance and The Raid, stripping away narrative excess in favor of a relentless tower-climbing martial arts brawl. Confined to stone corridors and spiral staircases, the production turns period costuming and improvised weaponry into visceral, bone-crunching action beats. King takes full ownership of the titular warrior, ditching traditional royal passivity to execute bruising, punishing stunt choreography herself. While the script operates on minimal narrative substance, her feral intensity and relentless commitment keep the kinetic engine roaring. It marks an audacious showcase of her blossoming capability as a physical genre headliner.

Vince Marcello’s high school romance sparked an undeniable streaming phenomenon, tapping directly into vintage teen melodrama tropes with bright pastels, breezy slapstick, and heightened hormones. While narratively formulaic, the film balances its guilty-pleasure mechanics with palpable teen longing and friendship loyalties. King carries the entire weight of Elle Evans with boundless charm and electric comedic flair. Her instinct for broad physical comedy and expressive reaction shots rescues the picture from complete cloying predictability. Whatever its critical reception, the project solidified her as a globally recognized star, proving her singular capability to turn modest YA material into a streaming cultural juggernaut.

Arie Posin’s supernatural romantic drama navigates the lingering residue of profound grief, using spectral photography and twilight flashbacks to unpack a love shattered by sudden tragedy. The narrative shifts between sunlit coastal memories and cold hospital rooms, meditating on closure and unfinished conversations. King delivers an earnest, deeply introspective performance as Tessa, anchoring the film’s metaphysical premise with authentic, quiet heartbreak. While the film occasionally stumbles under the weight of predictable sentimental tropes, her nuanced emotional restraint elevates the material. It offers a poignant window into her ability to handle grounded melancholy away from fast-paced action or teenage farce.

Stretching high school drama into an overlong sequel, this installment struggles under the weight of bloated subplots, college admissions anxiety, and convoluted romantic misunderstandings. Yet despite the narrative bloat, the production maintains glossy technical polish and exuberant energy. King remains the indispensable linchpin, wrestling erratic script turns into charming comedic beats through sheer screen charisma. Even when the central relationship drama feels manufactured, her emotional openness keeps Elle relatable and sympathetic. It highlights her rare work ethic as an actor who fully honors the material, elevating commercial sequel obligations through sheer expressive vivacity and boundless energy.

Shot back-to-back with its predecessor, this franchise finale runs on creative fumes, mired in redundant teenage dilemmas, beach-house shenanigans, and an agonizingly indecisive protagonist. The emotional stakes feel stretched thin across an exhausted formula that outstayed its novelty. King still gives every scene her all, trying valiantly to inject genuine heart and bittersweet nostalgia into an increasingly contrived script. Her dedication prevents the finale from being completely unwatchable, but the material simply cannot match her dramatic maturity. The film primarily marks a necessary farewell, freeing King to leave restrictive teen tropes behind for far more challenging adult artistic landscapes.

Revisiting the Owens family legacy decades later presents an enormous narrative mountain, leaning heavily into Gothic whimsy, generational sisterhood, and atmospheric witchcraft. While curiosity surrounding the property remains exceptionally high, unreleased legacy sequels inherently face intense creative scrutiny and the danger of nostalgic pandering. King’s casting positions her alongside iconic screen royalty, providing a platform to explore dark, quirky familial dynamics. Ranking at the bottom solely due to its unproven execution, the production nevertheless represents an intriguing creative junction for King, testing how well her modern screen presence integrates into beloved supernatural cinematic lore.