Taika Waititi has provided audiences with some of the funniest and most entertaining movies of the past decade, and the best Taika Waititi movies deliver his unique sense of humor and quirky style regardless of genre. The New Zealand filmmaker's innate ability to balance comedy and tragedy has helped him build a huge fanbase over the years, making his movies stand out from the crowd with their amusing handling of often serious themes. He doesn’t have the largest filmography, but each of his movies brings something new and unique to the table that sets it apart.

Waititi has found success over the years with not only his audience-pleasing Marvel Cinematic Universe movies but his dramedies too, as he won his first Academy Award for Jojo Rabbit. This propelled Waititi to a whole new level of fame, presenting him with huge career-boosting opportunities (such as Waititi’s upcoming Star Wars project). Now, the director is one of the most beloved auteurs in the industry, as his movies never conform to the typical tropes. Waititi's upcoming soccer movie, Next Goal Wins, is a perfect example of that, as it's a sports comedy based on real-life events. Waititi is always trying something new, and none of his movies are the same, not even his two Thor movies.

7 Eagle Vs. Shark (2007)

As the director’s feature-length debut, it’s no surprise that style in Eagle vs. Shark wasn’t quite as captivating as it would become. The foundations are clear, but the script just isn’t as sharp or as witty as audiences would come to expect from Taika Waititi movies. The film follows a socially-awkward waitress named Lily, who begins an unconventional relationship with a video game clerk named Jarrod - before their connection quickly takes a nosedive. It’s filled with great jokes and charming performances, but with an underwhelming commercial performance of only $1.3 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), it passed many audiences by.

Taika Waititi’s upcoming movies all have a certain widespread appeal that just isn’t found in Eagle vs. Shark. It’s made with a very specific audience in mind, and it’s probably not as relatable for most people as it aims to be. Critical reception was also fairly divided, with the film sitting at 56% on Rotten Tomatoes (which puts it in the "rotten" category). The film isn’t as bad as other screwball comedies of its kind, but when compared with the rest of Waititi’s filmography which generally has mass appeal, Eagle vs. Shark doesn’t come close.

6 Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)

Waititi's involvement with the Thor franchise was the moment that he really made his transition into mainstream cinema, but his second installment was seen as a disappointment that many audiences considered to be the worst MCU entry of 2022. Thor: Love and Thunder lacked some of the sharp storytelling of his previous attempts, bringing Thor and Jane Foster together but not delivering on the villain potential that Gorr the God Butcher has. Just like all Taika Waititi movies, there were so many fun ideas in Thor: Love and Thunder, but Waititi’s fixation on humor and visual gags caused much of the film’s emotional weight to miss.

Thor: Love and Thunder received an underwhelming 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the worst score of all four Thor movies. While comedy helped rejuvenate the franchise, the fourquel went way too far in that direction and opted for a solely comedic adventure that didn’t earn any of its laughs. The movie still made $760 million (via Box Office Mojo), but that’s to be expected with any Marvel release. Thor: Love and Thunder admittedly did a good job of developing Thor and Jane’s relationship timeline, but it would’ve been much more affecting if the drama wasn't undermined with jokes in every scene.

5 Boy (2010)

Although it’s not as well-known as his other projects, Boy remains one of Taika Waititi’s best-written movies to date. It was the filmmaker's first full-length film after Eagle vs. Shark, and every single aspect of the screenwriting had been improved. Chronicling one boy’s attempts to build a relationship with his absent father, Boy has all the quirky humor and mature storytelling that makes the director’s filmography so reliable. The 2010 movie balances the border between comedy and drama in a way that very few writers are able to accomplish, which immediately drew attention to Waititi’s name and placed him on audiences’ radars.

Just as Waititi’s series Reservation Dogs is based on the true story of his childhood in New Zealand, and Boy draws some of this real-world authenticity into its story too. Boy is a real passion project that aims to educate audiences about indigenous culture while providing a narrative that everybody can understand. Despite only making $43 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), the film is a real critics’ favorite with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%. It might not be as flashy or as big-budget as the director’s later works, but it's a touching insight into Waititi's childhood and upbringing nonetheless.

4 Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)

Hunt for the Wilderpeople was Waititi's first attempt at making a movie on a larger budget than he was used to, but that never prevented him from adhering to his indie roots and forging something quiet and intimate in nature. Not only is Hunt for the Wilderpeople among the best movies of Waititi’s career, but it was also a huge platform for Julian Dennison to give his star-making lead performance. Alongside Sam Neill as his father, Dennison plays a young boy on his adventures through the New Zealand wilderness after becoming the subject of a police investigation.

The only thing holding Hunt for the Wilderpeople back from being one of the best Taiki Waititi movies is its performance with general audiences. Despite the huge critical acclaim (as proven by the Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%), audiences didn't flock to see the unusual comedy. It grossed just under $24 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), preventing it from ever gathering the traction that it needed to become a real hit. Unfortunately, as powerful and intimate as Hunt for the Wilderpeople may be, the movie has struggled to find an audience in the almost two decades since its release.

3 Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor Ragnarok left a great MCU legacy, immediately cementing itself as one of the greatest movies in the franchise - not only because of its highly-entertaining storyline but also because of Waititi’s razor-sharp screenplay and hilarious character work. Waititi permanently changed the way that Thor’s character is perceived in the MCU, writing him with much more humanity and vulnerability than he previously had been. The film was a smash hit, grossing over $855 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo) and earning a huge 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. This made it one of the most successful MCU movies ever, both critically and commercially.

There’s no doubt that Waititi’s involvement is what made Thor: Ragnarok such a booming success. He understood the characters for who they are as individuals, rather than who they could be as superheroes - and this made every single interaction more believable and entertaining. Thor had been fundamentally changed as a character, but Waititi ensured that this transformation never felt forced or rushed. Ragnarok actually feels like a comic book at times, with its bizarre narrative and bold visual palette blending together to create an experience unlike any other in the genre.

2 What We Do In The Shadows (2014)

When it comes to the mockumentary genre, there are only a handful of movies that genuinely feel like classics. Films such as This Is Spinal Tap and Borat paved the way for a long time, but Waititi genuinely changed the game with What We Do In The Shadows - and that’s why it’s one of the most important Taika Waititi movies. The filmmaker knows exactly how to position the camera and direct his actors to make every single scene as hilarious as possible, with each joke landing perfectly. There aren’t many comedies out there whose scripts are as unrelentingly funny as What We Do In The Shadows.

Waititi’s film is an unconventional vampire movie that takes all the tropes of the genre and subverts them, which makes for plenty of unexpected laughs. Although its initial performance of $7.4 million was extremely underwhelming, What We Do In The Shadows rapidly became a cult classic within the genre. Not only can this be seen by its 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, but also by the success of its spin-off TV series of the same name. The show has acquired 17 nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and that alone proves just how beloved this series has become - and that wouldn’t have been possible without the original movie’s long-lasting success.

1 Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Although Waititi’s filmography is filled with hilarious comedies and poignant dramas, it wasn’t until Jojo Rabbit that the director finally got the recognition he deserved. While the film has grown famous for one specific scene that changes Jojo Rabbit’s tone entirely, the whole movie is a beautiful meditation on life, freedom, and the power of friendship. It chronicles the difficult life of young Jojo, a lonely German boy who finds a Jewish girl hiding from Nazi forces in his attic - forcing him into a moral conflict between his duty to the country and his compassion for his new friend.

Despite not being Waititi’s most critically-acclaimed movie (with 80% on Rotten Tomatoes), it’s the project that finally saw his writing recognized at the Academy Awards. He won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, beating out movies like The Irishman and Little Women in the category. Jojo Rabbit's blend of comedy and tragedy is a perfect example of Waititi’spowerful writing, as he navigates an incredibly sensitive topic with the perfect combination of respect and lightheartedness, which allows his story to soar high above other Taika Waititi movies. Despite the controversy surrounding its central themes, it’s impossible to deny that Jojo Rabbit is the filmmaker's most noteworthy and profound film.