13 Best Julia Roberts Movies You Need To See This Year

Without almost any arguments, Julia Roberts films are among the best one can see. Rising to stardom with the 1990 comedy “Pretty Woman,” she has always been one of the best actresses who seem to play all the roles.

Thanks to this, she has a box office total of over $2.8 billion and she has already been paid $25 million for her role as Katherine Anne Watson in the 2003 film “Mona Lisa Smile”, which was at a leading actress in a film at the time. More so, she has won many awards to date including Oscars, Golden Globes, British Academy Film Awards and many more in an ongoing career since 1987.

After starring in more than 50 films over a career spanning three decades, here are 13 Julia Roberts movies you should see this year.

Best Julia Roberts movies

1. Steel Magnolias (1989)

This is a very important film for Julia Roberts because it was the film that gave the actress her first Golden Globe Awards, which would be followed a year later by Pretty Woman. Also, Robeher was nominated for the first time for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Still pretty young in her acting career when she starred as Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie, she is the daughter of Drum (Tom Skerritt) and M’Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field). Due to its rather straightforward storyline which is about a group of women in a community and how they deal with the loss of one, it’s a film that can easily be overlooked. Even at that, Roberts’ performance is one to remember.

2. Pretty Woman (1990)

This film propelled Julia Roberts to international fame and earned her the Golden Globe for Best Actress and numerous other nominations.

Roberts plays Vivian Ward, a prostitute Edward Lewis asks her to be his escort for a week on his business trip. Ward would show parts of her that are not associated with prostitutes. During the week, they are all in love. The film was critically and commercially successful as it was made on a budget of $14 million and earned $460 million worldwide.

3. The Pelican’s Memoir (1993)

Based on John Grisham’s 1992 political thriller The Pelican Brief of the same name discusses corruption in American society and shows that even the most important political figures can be implicated.

Julia Roberts stars as Darby Shaw, a brilliant law student whose legal case regarding the murders of two supreme justices appears to be more than theory. After escaping death multiple times, she teams up with columnist Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) to find out why she’s being prosecuted and who wants her dead over a legal case that’s just theory or not? Her performance in this film earned her a nomination for the MTV Best Actress Award for the year 1993.

4. Something to Talk About (1995)

The film talks about the ideals of society and changing the culture of marriage, the roles of each partner and their families, separation and its impact on the lives of people related to marital separation.

In this film, Julia takes on the character of Grace Bichon, who caught her husband in an extramarital affair, but whom his family and society expect from him, forgive and respect marriage whatever it is. Over time, she would be questioned about her commitment to the marriage, while her parents’ marriage is also experiencing difficulties.

5. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

Julia Roberts stars as Julianne Porter, a young woman who has just been called upon to be best wife at her best friend’s wedding. Also in love with the groom, she strives to sabotage the engagement to get him before it’s too late. In her comedic arrangements, she makes the couple realize that they are truly in love after some skepticism about the whole marriage at first. She discovers that the groom is not in love with her. She then goes on to help convince his fiancée that she should marry her best friend.

Her performance in this film earned her a Golden Globe, an MTV Movie Award and a Satellite nomination, as well as the Blockbuster Award for Favorite Actress (Comedy) for 1997.

6. Stepmother (1998)

Julia Roberts stars as Isabel who is Luke’s (Ed Harris) new girlfriend after his divorce from Jackie (Susan Sarandon). Now her main challenge is to bring and accept Luke and Jackie’s children as she loves them.

Roberts won the Blockbuster Award in the Favorite Actress category for 1998 and was also nominated for Nickelodeon’s Favorite Actress Award for her role in this film.

7. The Runaway Bride (1999)

In this 1999 American romantic comedy, Roberts stars as a woman named Maggie Carpenter who is so scared of marriage that she leaves three fiancés at the altar. His fear stems from the many failed relationships.

Now she’s about to try to remarry for the fourth time, but there’s someone else, a reporter who wrote a false report about her but now seeks to correct it by locating her. They start to get too close.

8. Confession of a Dangerous Spirit (2002)

Also a biopic, this is one of Julia Roberts’ films based on the fictional life of someone who claimed to be a former CIA assassin, Chuck Barris. Alongside actors such as George Clooney and Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts stars as Patricia Watson, a mysterious agent encountered by Chuck (Sam Rockwell). The two have an affair, but she may not be all she’s made out to be.

This role was offered to Nicole Kidman, but due to her very tight schedule at the time, it was given to Roberts.

9. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Julia Roberts was paid 25 million dollars to play her role in this film. She plays Kathrine Anna Watson, a graduate student who taught art history at the ultra-conservative Wesley University.

The film touches on the topic of feminism and explains how women are made to see different spheres of life according to a certain standard and they are not allowed to think for themselves.

10. Valentine’s Day (2010)

As a movie, Valentine’s Day isn’t one of Julia Roberts’ films that would elicit excitement. However, as almost always, Roberts delivers with the ease with which she is known.

In this Garry Marshall directed romantic comedy, which has actors like Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Emma Roberts, and more, Julia Roberts (Kate Hazeltine) who is a captain in the US Army meets Holden Wilson as Bradley Cooper, who believes Roberts really enjoys long-distance travel, is coming home for Valentine’s Day. But is she?

Her role in the film earned her an People’s Choice nomination in the Favorite Actress category in 2010.

11. Eat, Pray and Love (2010)

A romantic comedy-drama film based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of the same name. Although it wasn’t the critics’ favorite film, it still managed to be a financially successful film, grossing $204.6 million on a budget of $60 million.

In the film, Roberts portrays Elizabeth Gilbert, a recently divorced woman struggling to find meaning in her life and what she really wants out of life. She is literally finding peace, which perhaps comes down to the prayer, the meal and the true love she finds in Indonesia.

12. mirror mirror (2012)

It’s a retelling of the popular Brother Gimm’s story, Snow White, but with several twists. In this fantasy adventure film, Roberts plays the role of Clementianna, a very beautiful woman married to the widowed King (Sean Bean) who is the father of Snow White (Lily Collins).

Roberts in this film tries to lure the prince who is in love with his stepdaughter, Snow White, to fall in love with her because he comes from a very wealthy kingdom. However, she must ensure that the white snow is dead in order to remain the most beautiful in the land. For her performance, Roberts was nominated for Favorite Villain at the Nickelodeon Children’s Award.

13. Ben’s Back (2018)

It’s also not a popular film with critics, nor is it the most financially successful film. Nevertheless, the casting is rather good, with in particular Julia Roberts (Holly Burns-Beeby) and Lucas Hedges (Ben Burns-Beeby).

In the film, Holly Burns has to deal with the challenges that come with a son, Ben, who has just come out of rehab and returns home to live with her for a while. Happy to see her son and thinking that he has now solved his problems, things can suddenly go back very badly.