The Joker has been a cinema darling up until Folie à Deux. Thankfully, there’s plenty of palate cleansers for those who are still reeling from that film’s butchering of the character. While Heath Ledger is widely lauded as the definitive onscreen Joker, we’re still debating the best cinematic portrayal of the character. Take a look at our list below and see which actor you think made the best Crown Prince of Crime.
Best Joker movies as of 2025
The best Joker movies give us the character’s full range of menace, chaos, comedy, and destruction. Performances from the lead actors tend to make or break these films, though I’m not sure much could have saved Suicide Squad, which didn’t make this list. This writer does try to be a little understanding of Jared Leto‘s predicament, since it’s nearly impossible to give an Oscar-winning performance with a rough script. (We’re still giving a side eye to his method-acting approach, though.) Alternatively, even the best script can flop without the right actors, which is why the best Joker movies feature some of the most outstanding performances.
The Dark Knight
Starting at the top of the list is not just the best Joker film, but the best Batman film, the best superhero film, and maybe even the best film of 2008. Directed by Christopher Nolan from a script co-written with his brother Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight picks up after Batman Begins. Batman (Christian Bale) essentially has Gotham under control, managing to juggle crime fighting and his secret life as Bruce Wayne. That is, until a villain called the Joker arrives. He seizes control of Gotham’s criminal underworld and ultimately sets out to put Batman to the ultimate test.
Heath Ledger‘s performance as the Joker was nothing short of outstanding. While other actors have also done a great job at playing the Joker, Ledger completely embodied him in a performance that was nothing short of extraordinary — menacing, unpredictable, somehow comedic, and utterly unhinged. While many actors have given memorable turns as the character, Ledger stepped into the role with such skill that it was hard to see the actor. Though he tragically passed away before the movie’s release, Ledger was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While The Dark Knight had a stacked cast, including Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, and Cillian Murphy, exceptional direction by Christopher Nolan, and a fantastic script, it was Ledger’s performance that made the movie something truly unforgettable.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Rarely do films achieve a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Not to say Rotten Tomatoes is ever the arbiter of what’s good, but it is a helpful tool for gauging fan and critic response. And fans obsess over Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. One of the best Joker movies, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, is animation glory. Released in 2000, the movie is a direct-to-video production from Warner Bros. Animation. Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) is the new Batman in a futuristic Gotham, mentored by an older Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy). Just as Terry begins to get the hang of the role, the city is rocked by the shocking return of the Joker, who was long believed to be dead.
Mark Hamill is often overlooked in the lineage of Joker actors, but his voice work alone earns him a place on any best Joker performance list. Chilling and darkly funny, he delivers an utterly unpredictable portrayal. Aside from his performance, everything about this animated movie is outstanding, including the film’s shocking reveal that cements it as one of the most memorable Joker movies ever. The script, you guys, the script! With stellar voice acting and direction, outstanding animation, and a story darker than most animated superhero films, this movie lives up to DC’s reputation for being allergic to happiness. Okay, sure, we hear that. But it brings us happiness. 10/10.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Easily one of the best Batman movies, Mask of the Phantasm also falls under the category of the best Joker movies ever produced. And even if you disagree with that, it’s hard to refute that it’s one of the best things to come out of the DC animated universe.
This 1993 movie starts us in a 1940s Gotham, when Batman is wrongfully accused of a series of brutal mob murders, shaking Gotham City. As he fights to clear his name, Batman faces off against a mysterious new villain called the Phantasm. While the Joker (voiced brilliantly by Mark Hamill) isn’t necessarily front and center here, we’d still consider this a Joker movie. The film almost had a Joker origin story woven into it, but the writers didn’t want to detract from the primary storyline. Still, there is a little easter egg featuring Jack Napier in the movie that hints at an origin story.
Batman
After witnessing his parents’ murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) has taken it upon himself to fight crime as the hero in disguise known as Batman. But of course, a demented “new” villain seizes control of the criminal underground and begins terrorizing Gotham with his sadistic mechanics. “New” is in quotations for a reason, but we’ll keep this spoiler-free. Batman was released in 1989 and was directed by Tim Burton with Oscar-winning production design by Anton Furst. That should give you enough to know that this movie packs a punch with style, though it falls short in terms of substance. That’s okay, though; it’s 1989. It’s all about style.
While this film has the perfect setup for Batman’s origin and the character’s live-action relaunch, the best part about this movie is the Joker’s origin and live-action relaunch. Michael Keaton is great as Batman and was absolutely an icon for the time, but it’s Jack Nicholson as the Joker who has become a cinematic legend. And while this movie and its sequel, Batman Returns, struggled to stand up next to Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, they did pave the way for the modern superhero movie. You should 1) still absolutely watch it and 2) watch this without comparing it to the newer films.
Joker
Released in 2019, Joker takes a much different approach to the character and feels more like a psychological thriller than a superhero or supervillain movie. It’s a controversial one among fans. Directed by Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the script with Scott Silver, Joker tells an alternate story of this infamous villain, set in 1981, crime-ridden and recession-stricken Gotham. Here, we follow Arthur Fleck, a struggling clown and comedian who suffers from a neurological disorder that causes him to experience uncontrollable laughing fits. A series of terrible events sends Arthur deeper into nihilism, ultimately sparking a countercultural revolution against the wealthy.
There’s a lot more to it than that, but the film deconstructs the character and rebuilds him as a more tragic figure than a pure evil one. Seriously, this backstory is painfully brutal. And in watching this, we gain a deeper insight into the character’s hatred and his desire to dismantle the entire system. Honestly, you might walk away from this film on his side to some extent. And of course, Joaquin Phoenix‘s portrayal as the Joker is both pitiful and terrifying. While a very different take on the character, it’s outstanding and worth watching the film for his acting alone. The Joker was a box office sensation, grossing over a billion dollars worldwide.
How we chose the best Joker movies
This list wasn’t difficult to narrow down, since there aren’t too many Joker films out there. Fan and critical reception influenced our picks, but it was the performances that solidified our choices for the best Joker movies.
