When people think of Hollywood, they typically think of big budget blockbusters and arthouse films. However, the film industry has influenced many individuals to try their hand in stock investing and trading, thanks to a number of high-profile films portraying the world of financial markets and stock trading.
These films have been produced at different time periods, which also gives viewers a bird’s eye view of how the stock market has progressed from its initial days to the modern, high-tech algorithms and multidisciplinary trading firms.
While the selection of such films is not very diverse, a few notable works have piqued the public’s attention and garnered worldwide critical acclaim.
Let’s look at 5 of the best movies about the stock market you should add to your watchlist.
Margin Call (2011)
Directed by J.C. Chandor, Margin Call is a financial thriller set during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.
The film unfolds over a 24-hour period within an investment bank. As the market faces a downturn, risk analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) discovers a potentially catastrophic risk in the firm’s portfolio.
The film delves into trading concepts like risk management, leverage, and the ethical dilemmas faced by financial professionals during extraordinary market circumstances.
The Big Short (2015)
Perhaps the most popular movie about the 2008 financial crisis, The Big Short tells the story of the crash from several different perspectives:
- Dr Michael Burry (Christian Bale) – Burry is a hedge fund manager who discovers the housing bubble and decides to bet against the market by creating credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds
- Mark Baum (Steve Carell) – Baum is a hedge fund manager who is initially skeptical of Burry’s findings but eventually becomes convinced of the looming crisis
- Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) – Vennett is a Deutsche Bank trader who narrates parts of the story directly to the audience. He acts as a guide, explaining complex financial concepts and providing a Wall Street insider’s perspective on the events leading up to the crisis
- Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) – These two young investors join forces with experienced hedge fund manager Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) to capitalize on the impending financial collapse
Directed by Adam McKay, the film presents the unraveling of the housing bubble in a tongue-in-cheek manner, while describing some of the building blocks of the modern financial system, such as stock trading, hedge funds, bonds, mortgages, credit default swaps, and more.
Wall Street (1987)
A classic of the genre, Wall Street, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas, follows Bud Fox, an ambitious stockbroker, as he navigates Wall Street under the guidance of a corporate raider, Gordon Gekko.
Perhaps most famous for the character Gordon Gekko and a memorable performance by Michael Douglas, the movie centers around the bustling stock trading environment of 1980s Wall Street.
The film is a great entry-level choice for viewers that know little about stock trading and Wall Street, as the film delivers basic stock investing concepts while telling a story of two complex characters caught up in the world of high finance and crime.
Boiler Room (2000)
Ben Younder’s Boiler Room is a drama that centers on Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi), a young college dropout who becomes entangled in a fraudulent brokerage firm.
The film explores high-pressure sales tactics and unethical behavior within the world of pump-and-dump stock schemes.
The film touches upon trading concepts like cold calling, high-pressure sales, and the moral implications of engaging in deceptive practices to make quick profits.
Dumb Money (2023)
The latest entry on our list, Dumb Money, directed by Craig Gillespie and starring the likes of Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Seth Rogen, focuses on the 2020-2021 GameStop fiasco that shook the stock market and dealt billions of dollars in losses to hedge funds.
The film unfolds the story of a stock investing subreddit that discovers the massive short interest against GameStop, held by some of the largest hedge funds in the U.S.
GameStop, the struggling video game and console retailer, was expected to go under in a matter of years, due to its ongoing financial struggles. However, a rogue group of traders, led by Keith Gill, orchestrated a massive bull run on the stock, buying and pushing the short positions held by hedge funds to the brink.
In a story reminiscent of David vs Goliath, the event ballooned GameStop as one of the largest companies on the market and became a catalyst for GameStop’s gradual turnaround.
The film presents an interesting and comedic view of short-selling and how fast things can go wrong for even the largest institutional investors on the stock market.
Meta title: Movies That Can Teach You Important Stock Market Concepts
Meta description: The world of high finance has long been of interest to moviemakers. Find out which movies you can watch to learn more about crucial stock market concepts.
