The stock market is a high-stakes world where fortunes can be made or destroyed within minutes. As such, the stock market has created countless exhilarating stories of success, failure and deception.
We’re highlighting the 8 best stock market movies to watch, giving you a solid starting point to immerse yourself in the high-flying world of Wall Street. With our picks, we’ve tried to strike a balance between entertainment as well as education, and provide a mix of movies based on fictional stories as well as those depicting real events.
The best stock market movies to watch in 2024:
The Big Short (2015)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Dumb Money (2023)
Inside Job (2010)
Arbitrage (2012)
Wall Street (1987)
Boiler Room (2000)
The best stock market movies to watch in 2024: Top stock market movies ranked
Now, let’s take a closer look at each entrant in our list of the best movies about the stock market. We’re kicking off with The Big Short, a movie exploring the events that triggered the 2007/2008 financial crisis.
1. The Big Short
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Comedy / Drama 2015 88% 7.8
The Big Short is a 2015 film directed by Adam McKay that blends comedy and drama to recount the 2007/2008 financial crisis through the lens of three distinct companies: Scion Capital, FrontPoint Partners, and Brownfield Fund. Featuring a stellar cast including Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, the film provides a captivating and educational portrayal of the events.
In one of the film's key narratives, Christian Bale's character, Michael Burry, who runs Scion Capital, predicts the impending collapse of the American housing market. He then decides to short the market by investing over $1 billion of his investors' money, a gamble that ultimately results in a massive payoff as the market crashes.
The Big Short not only offers an engaging look at the financial crisis but also serves as an informative piece that remains relevant and compelling, even years after the actual events. It's a highly recommended watch for its unique approach to explaining complex financial instruments and the events that led to a global economic downturn.
2. The Wolf of Wall Street
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Comedy 2013 83% 8.2
The Wolf of Wall Street is a biographical comedy released in 2013, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is based on the memoir of the same name by Jordan Belfort, a former Wall Street trader who founded the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. The firm was notorious for its aggressive marketing of penny stocks and its engagement in illegal pump and dump schemes.
This film offers a captivating portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and excess that characterized Belfort’s life during the rapid growth of Stratton Oakmont in the 1990s, and also chronicles his eventual downfall as law enforcement agencies began to investigate his activities. "The Wolf of Wall Street" provides an insightful and often outrageous look into the dark side of financial ambition and the consequences of fraudulent practices in the finance industry.
3. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Documentary 2005 87% 7.6
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary that examines the dramatic collapse of Enron Corporation, highlighting the unethical practices and rampant corporate greed that resulted in one of America's most notorious corporate scandals.
The film provides an in-depth look at how Enron's top executives engaged in widespread deception and fraud, misleading both the public and their own employees, which led to catastrophic financial losses and the loss of thousands of jobs. Through insider accounts and detailed analysis, the documentary exposes the manipulation and corrupt strategies employed by those at the highest levels of the company.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room has been critically acclaimed, earning a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
4. Dumb Money
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Comedy / Drama 2023 85% 6.9
Dumb Money is a 2023 film that tells the story of Keith Gill, a financial analyst who becomes an influential member of r/WallStreetBets, an online forum known for its high-risk, speculative trading discussions. Despite doubts from his friends, Gill invests his entire life savings into GameStop shares and begins to livestream his investment journey.
The story takes a dramatic turn in January 2021 when GameStop's stock price skyrockets, propelled by a coordinated buying spree by retail investors from r/WallStreetBets. This surge challenges hedge funds such as Melvin Capital, who had heavily shorted GameStop's stock, leading to substantial financial losses for them and elevating Gill to a legendary status within the online community.
The plot thickens as when r/WallStreetBets is temporarily shut down and Robinhood, a popular trading platform, suspends purchases of GameStop stock citing capital shortages. This decision triggers a widespread panic and a massive sell-off. The climax of the film involves a congressional hearing with the CEOs of Robinhood, Citadel, and Melvin Capital, alongside Keith Gill, who is questioned about his role in the events but denies any fraudulent intentions.
5. Inside Job
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Documentary 2010 98 8.2
Inside Job, narrated by Matt Damon, is a documentary that explores the 2008 global financial crisis, which cost over $20 trillion and led to widespread job and home losses.
The film delves into the causes of the crisis through interviews with financial insiders, politicians, and journalists, revealing how a deregulated financial industry, corrupt relationships, and the compromised integrity of politics fueled the economic collapse.
One of the issues that Inside Job highlights is the "revolving door" between the financial sector and government regulators. This practice involves regulators leaving their government positions to take lucrative jobs within the financial industry they were once tasked to keep in check.
6. Arbitrage
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Thriller / Drama 2012 62 6.6
Robert Miller, a billionaire hedge fund manager, covers up financial mismanagement and the death of his mistress in a car accident to finalize the sale of his company. After cooking the books to hide investment losses, Miller faces added pressure when a detective starts investigating him for manslaughter.
Meanwhile, his daughter discovers the fraud, and his efforts to maintain control escalate. Miller manipulates those around him, including using an old acquaintance, Jimmy, who is nearly wrongfully imprisoned, to keep his deception from getting exposed.
Ultimately, Miller manages to maneuver around legal challenges and finalizes a lucrative business sale, but his personal life remains fraught with tension.
7. Wall Street
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Drama 1987 81% 7.3
Wall Street is a 1987 film directed by Oliver Stone, featuring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, and Daryl Hannah. The movie chronicles the life of Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen), an ambitious young stockbroker who idolizes Gordon Gekko, a ruthless Wall Street mogul played by Michael Douglas. Initially, Gekko shows little interest in working with Fox, but an insider trading tip provided by Fox finally captures his attention.
As Fox begins to collaborate with Gekko, they engage in increasingly unethical financial practices. Their success quickly boosts Fox’s career, engulfing him in the high-stakes environment of financial excess. However, the duo’s questionable activities soon draw the scrutiny of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
8. Boiler Room
Genre Release Date Rotten Tomatoes Audience Rating IMDB Rating Drama 2000 78% 7
Boiler Room is a drama that follows Seth Davis, a college dropout who eagerly joins a brokerage firm. He is drawn in by the promise of quick wealth, but he soon learns that the firm's success is built on a scam involving "pump and dump" schemes that inflate the value of worthless stocks.
Seth experiences rapid success and ascends in his career, but he becomes increasingly conflicted about the unethical actions he's part of. Overwhelmed by guilt for the financial damage inflicted on unsuspecting investors, Seth, with the hesitant support of his father, devises a plan to bring down the firm by exposing its corrupt activities.
However, just as Seth's plan begins to unfold, the FBI steps in and arrests him. They offer him immunity in exchange for his testimony against the firm.
The bottom line
If you’re looking for the best stock market-related movies, our selection has probably given you a solid starting point. Regardless of whether you like documentaries or movies made with a focus on entertainment, there should be at least a few movies on our list that you will enjoy.
If you’re also interested in the newer, but just as fascinating world of cryptocurrency, we also provide a list of the best crypto movies to watch.
