Dakota Fanning: A Hollywood Comeback in 2024

Dakota Fanning's Early Success and Rise to Prominence

Believe it or not, Dakota Fanning is dominating Netflix's top 10 this January. Between her surprising streaming success and two soon-to-be hits on the horizon, Fanning is primed for a 2024 Hollywood comeback.

Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington have tea in The Equalizer 3

Fanning caught everyone's attention in 2001 thanks to her Screen Actors Guild-nominated performance in I Am Sam, a Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer-starring drama. Following that early success, Fanning became one of the early 2000s most prolific child actors, landing roles in acclaimed indies and Hollywood blockbusters alike, from Uptown Girls (2003) and Man on Fire (2004) to the Tom Cruise-led 2005 War of the Worlds remake.

Dakota Fanning holding an envelope in Please Stand By

In the late aughts, Dakota Fanning's prominence waned a bit, though she lent her voice to the titular character in Coraline, starred opposite Kristen Stewart in The Runaways, and landed a recurring role in The Twilight Saga. Several years ago, Fanning had a small silver-screen resurgence, appearing in Ocean's 8 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In the period since her movie-making heyday, Fanning has carved out a TV niche, appearing in well-received series like The Alienist and The First Lady. However, with several of her films topping Netflix in January 2024, and new releases waiting in the wings, Fanning is ready for a proper comeback.

Dakota Fanning's Movies Equalizer 3 & Trapped Are Both Dominating Netflix In January 2024

Notably, 2023 saw Dakota Fanning reuniting with her Man on Fire co-star, Denzel Washington, nearly 20 years after they first appeared on-screen together. In The Equalizer 3, the alleged final installment in the beloved action series, Fanning plays the Equalizer franchise's Emma Collins. After retired Marine-turned-assassin-for-hire Robert McCall (Washington) tips Fanning's CIA agent off about an illegal drug trade ring, the duo team up to take down an Italian crime family. Considering that Man on Fire features Washington as a CIA agent-turned-bodyguard who saves Fanning's abducted character, it's a fun spin on the stars' long-awaited reunion.

With Fanning and Washington's reunion film freshly streaming on Netflix, it isn't surprising that the vigilante action-thriller film has managed to crack the platform's top 10. What's more shocking is that Fanning has two movies in Netflix's top 10: The Equalizer 3 and Trapped. Considering that the latter was released 21 years ago — and marks Fanning's fourth-ever Hollywood movie — it's pretty surprising to see Trapped trending. Nonetheless, the resurgence of the crime thriller, which sees a young Fanning acting opposite Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon, proves how relevant the actor continues to be, even after so much time away from the spotlight.

Dakota Fanning Has A New Movie & TV Show Being Released In 2024

Dakota Fanning's surprise dominance of Netflix's top 10 in January 2024 teases the actor's comeback, which is sure to take shape later this year. In the wake of The Equalizer 3's success, Fanning will appear in Ripley, Netflix's upcoming TV series adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. The psychological thriller isn't Fanning's only highly anticipated, soon-to-be-released project, however. Fanning is set to star in 2024's most exciting horror movie, The Watchers, which will mark the directorial debut of Ishana Shyamalan, M. Night Shyamalan's daughter. Needless to say, 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for Dakota Fanning.