29 Best Stock Market Movies To Watch Right Now
Looking for the best stock market movies to watch?
Then you should definitely continue reading because we will go over 29 of the best stock market movies that you can watch right now!
Now, of course, most of these movies on this list will only give you a birds-eye view of the stock market but you will get a good overview of how the financial markets work.
If you are interested in investing in stocks then these movies are a must-watch!
They are entertaining and educational so you get the best of both worlds.
Let’s get straight into it…
Wall Street
One of the best stock market movies you can watch is the 1987 classic Wall Street.
I mean with the name of Wall Street, it better be a good stock market movie and it definitely is!
The movie was directed by Oliver Stone and includes Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas.
In this movie, you will see the journey of a young wall street stockbroker who does whatever it takes to be successful and this often means doing some shady and even illegal tactics.
He gets a mentor who shows him the world of insider trading (which is illegal by the way) and this eventually leads to some intense situations.
The movie does a great job showing how stockbrokers function and how greed can take over your life and cause a downward spiral.
Wall Street went on to win an Oscar and has been nominated for a few other awards.
It’s truly a great movie to get an understanding of the financial markets and I highly recommend checking out!
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
It’s only right to follow up Wall Street with its sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
After 20 years, this sequel was released in 2010 and without providing any spoilers it shows the aftermath of greed, insider trading, and market manipulation.
Michael Douglas stars in this film as well but this time he takes another stockbroker under his wing which is his son-in-law played by Shia LaBeouf.
The movie goes into the story of how Michael Douglas works to rebuild his status and fortune on Wall Street.
Just like its prequel, this movie does a great job showing how greed can overcome a person and lead to bad decisions.
It’s a movie I highly recommend especially if you choose to watch the prequel!
Boiler Room
Another great stock market movie that I recommend checking out is Boiler Room.
Boiler Room goes into the story of a college dropout who becomes a stockbroker and soon gets immersed in the world of stock investing.
This immersion leads to doing whatever it takes to make money and get to a higher position in the investment firm.
Yes, greed is the main message in this movie as well. You can see the trend here!
The cool thing about this movie is you get to see a popular market manipulation tactic used that is known as the “pump and dump” which means to purposely inflate a stock price (pump) to sell off for massive profits before it crashes back down (dump).
This pump and dump method continues to happen in the stock market today so it’s definitely good to know how this works.
It’s truly a great movie that stars Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Giovanni Ribisi, and others.
I highly recommend checking out Boiler Room!
Inside Job
I’m sure you remember the crazy times of the 2008 financial crisis, the stock market crashed, companies went bankrupt, people lost jobs, etc…
But…
Do you know the actual cause and all of the behind-the-scenes details?
This is where Inside Job steps in, which is a documentary directed by Charles Ferguson and narrated by Matt Damon.
Inside Job goes into detail on the exact cause of the 2008 financial crisis with interviews with many professionals in the financial industry.
The crazy thing about this documentary is that it shows how many professionals were aware of this looming problem that will go on to cause the financial crisis but did nothing about it!
In this documentary, you will see all the shady deals that happened behind the scenes that ultimately led to the financial crisis.
This one is definitely a must-watch!
Margin Call
If you want to watch another movie that details the events that started to unfold around the 2008 financial crisis then you should definitely check out Margin Call.
Margin Call was released in 2011 and was directed by J. C. Chandor. The cast includes Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, and more.
The movie is based around a 24-period during the financial crisis showing how some people at an investment firm uncover the damage happening in the financial markets and how they work to control this damage to their firm.
Margin Call won eight awards and was nominated for an Oscar.
This movie gives us insight into how fragile our financial system is and how an economic meltdown can happen at any given time.
It’s one of the best stock market movies you can watch and I highly recommend checking it out!
The Wolf Of Wall Street
A really great movie that is very entertaining and that will give you insight on how stockbrokers function is The Wolf Of Wall Street.
The Wolf Of Wall Street is a movie based on a true story about the life of Jordan Belfort, who was a stockbroker who quickly rose to the top to become very wealthy.
The movie shows a dramatized version of the life of a stockbroker but it shows you how crazy things can get on wall street and also the shady tactics stockbrokers use to make more money!
Greed led Belfort to take illegal actions to make money fast and this eventually leads to big troubles for Belfort.
This is one of the best stock market movies to watch and I highly recommend checking this one out!
Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room is a documentary that follows the collapse of one of the largest companies in America at the time.
This documentary is truly fascinating and it shows how a company can look successful to the naked eye but after careful analysis, it can be seen how much trouble a company can be in.
Enron was an energy company founded in 1985 and then in 2001, they were found to be completing accounting fraud which ultimately led to their collapse.
The company seemed to have been doing great for years and its stock price was roaring which led to a lot of investors pouring in but when this fraud was discovered the stock price crashed and investors lost a lot of money.
I highly recommend checking out this documentary!
Too Big To Fail
Another great movie with a plot about the 2008 financial crisis that I recommend checking out is Too Big To Fail.
Too Big To Fail is a movie that goes into the details of how wall street and Washington took action to save the U.S financial system and more importantly themselves!
It’s a movie that shows how big players in the financial crisis got bailouts while small-time investors and millions of working Americans faced financial ruin.
This is one of the best stock market movies that goes behind the scenes of the 2008 financial crisis to see all the shady deals between politicians and organizations.
The Big Short
Yet another great movie about the 2008 financial crisis is The Big Short.
The Big Short takes place in 2006 and 2007, right before the financial crisis, and follows a group of investors that bet against the U.S mortgage system after they find flaws in the market.
This movie is about the true story of Michael Burry who is an investor and hedge fund manager who bet against the housing market and ultimately won big time!
The Big Short is directed by Adam McKay and stars Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Brad Pitt.
It won an Oscar and was nominated for many other awards!
This is one of the best stock market movies that is educational and entertaining!
You will see how the events that led to the financial crisis unfolded and how Michael Burry took advantage of this.
Rogue Trader
An awesome movie about stock trading that I recommend checking out is Rogue Trader.
Rogue Trader is based on a true story about an investment broker who ended up bankrupting Barings Bank in 1995 with illegal trading activities.
The movie was released in 1999 and stars Ewan McGregor, who plays the role of Nick Leeson.
Rogue Trader shows how fragile the financial market is and how companies can be ruined due to trading activities!
If you are interested in stock trading then this is one of the best stock market movies to watch.
Wall Street Warriors
Okay, I kind of cheated here because Wall Street Warriors is actually a series instead of a movie but it still deserves a spot on this list.
Wall Street Warriors is a documentary series that follows the lives of ten successful stockbrokers and shows their daily lives dealing with the stock market.
If you want to see how stockbrokers function in an unedited way then you should definitely check out Wall Street Warriors!
You will see how much competition there is in the investment world and what it takes to be truly successful.
Floored
A documentary that is based around the 2008 financial crisis but focuses on the aftermath of stockbrokers is Floored.
Floored is a film about stockbrokers on the Chicago trading floors whose jobs are at risk due to the uprise in electronic trading.
As with all other industries during the financial crisis, financial institutions were cutting jobs to save money and they were allowed to do this with the power of electronic trading.
It’s one of the most unique stock market movies ever made and it’s definitely worth checking out.
Chasing Madoff
If you are interested in the stock market then you probably heard of Bernie Madoff before.
Bernie Madoff is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence for running a Ponzi scheme and stealing billions from investors!
Chasing Madoff is a documentary film about Maddof’s life and how an investigator works hard towards exposing Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
It’s a really interesting documentary that I highly recommend checking out!
Barbarians At The Gate
If you want to take a close look at how deals in the financial world take place then I recommend checking out Barbarians At The Gate.
Barbarians At The Gate is a 1993 film based on a book about the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco.
The movie goes into the details of this leveraged buyout and while it can be a little overwhelming at times it gives you a great understanding of how deals take place between organizations and wealthy individuals.
You get to see the negotiations take place and more importantly how the greed unfolds!
The China Hustle
After the 2008 financial crisis, many investment firms started to look for alternate methods to make their clients and themselves more money.
This led to a lot of investment firms to start investing in Chinese companies that they didn’t really know much about.
The China Hustle is a documentary that dives deep into these investments and how there were a lot of shady companies and investments going around.
The documentary exposes fraud in a lot of Chinese companies listed on the U.S stock market.
It’s one of the most interesting stock market documentaries that you can watch!
Trading Places
An awesome movie that is not directly related to the stock market but is a very entertaining movie to watch is Trading Places.
Trading Places is a 1983 movie directed by Jon Landis and stars Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd that follows a story of an investor and a con-artist switching places due to a bet.
The movie plays on nurture vs nature to see which one is responsible for a person’s success in life.
It’s not an educational movie like the other movies on this list but it’s very funny and entertaining so it’s worth checking out.
Equity
A great movie about corruption and shady deals on Wall Street is Equity.
Equity is a 2016 movie about an investment banker that handles IPO’s and starts selling shares of a company to investors even though she learns that the company has a big problem.
Things soon start to unfold and the truth starts to come out!
The movie does a great job to show that not everyone can be trusted in the financial industry and that greed often dominates morality and ethics when it comes to making money.
Equity is a highly entertaining movie so I recommend checking it out!
The Ascent Of Money
One of the best stock market movies that you can watch is The Ascent Of Money.
The Ascent Of Money is a documentary by Niall Ferguson which does a great job of explaining how the financial markets work and the history behind them.
Niall analyzes multiple markets in the U.S, Europe, South America, and more.
He looks at how investors make their money and what happens when they take too much risk!
It’s truly a great documentary that shows how the financial markets work and Niall does a great job simplifying complex financial jargon.
Betting On Zero
A great documentary that goes into depth to investigate a company allegedly running a large pyramid scheme is Betting On Zero.
Betting On Zero is a 2016 documentary that follows the company Herbalife and how a successful investor Bill Ackman places a $1 billion dollar short on the company alleging that the company is running a large pyramid scheme.
The documentary investigates this allegation and shows the big battle between Bill Ackman who was betting that the company will crash and Carl Icahn who said the company will grow.
I don’t want to give too much away if you haven’t watched this documentary but it’s a really interesting story that I recommend checking out!
Becoming Warren Buffet
If you want to get some inside information in the life and thought-process of one of the most successful investors of all time then you should check out Becoming Warren Buffet.
Becoming Warren Buffet is a documentary on the life of Warren Buffet and how he became one of the most successful investors of all time.
You will see exactly how Warren Buffet got to where is today and how he invests to make huge profits.
It is a really interesting documentary and if you are a Warren Buffet fan then this is a must-watch!
Million Dollar Traders
This is actually a TV series not a movie but it definitely deserves a spot on this list.
Million Dollar Traders is a series that consists of a contest where 12 wannabe traders see who can perform the best over a 2 month period.
The series ran this experiment to show how novice investors can eventually become professional traders and become wealthy!
Million Dollar Traders is a fascinating series, and it is a great watch for beginner investors.
The Wizard Of Lies
If you are interested in the Bernie Madoff scandal then another movie you should check out is The Wizard Of Lies.
The Wizard Of Lies is a 2018 film on the life of Bernie Madoff and goes into the story of how he started his Ponzi scheme all the way to how the scandal unraveled.
This movie is directed by Barry Levinson and stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alessandro Nivola, and more.
The story is great and the movie is really entertaining so I highly recommend watching it.
The Bank
Another great movie about the stock market that I recommend checking out is The Bank.
The Bank revolves around a story about a mathematician who develops a program that predicts the moves of the stock market.
Jim Doyle, the mathematician gets hired by a CEO who wants to use his program to make money but things end up taking a wild turn.
While stock market predictions aren’t possible, this movie is very entertaining and it shows how greed can take control of people!
It’s a great movie that I recommend checking out!
Money Monster
If you want a truly entertaining movie then I highly recommend checking out Money Monster.
While Money Monster is not a really educational movie about the stock market like other movies on this list it sends a very important message.
The movie is a story about a TV “financial expert” offering stock advice to millions of viewers and when one of his tips goes horribly wrong things take a big turn.
One of the viewers lost everything by following one of these tips and when someone loses everything, what else do they have to lose?
It’s an exciting movie, and it sends a crucial message that you shouldn’t follow financial advice blindly.
It’s a must-watch!
Traders
This is actually a TV series but it definitely deserves a spot on this list.
Traders follow a story of a few traders at an investment firm making high-stake trades that end up causing a downward spiral.
The series shows how high-risk investments can take a bad turn and lead to some drastic effects on your life.
It’s an interesting show that I recommend checking out!
The World’s Greatest Money Maker
If you want some more information on Warren Buffet then I recommend checking out the documentary The World’s Greatest Money Maker.
The World’s Greatest Money Maker is a documentary on how Warren Buffet became successful and his investment strategies.
You will get some great investment tips from one of the most successful investors so I highly recommend checking it out!
The Corporation
A great documentary to understand exactly how a business works is The Corporation.
The Corporation looks at the makeup of a corporation which is very important if you are interested in investing in the stock market.
It gives a great overview of what a corporation is so I recommend checking it out!
Black Monday
Another TV series about the stock market that I recommend checking out is Black Monday.
Black Monday is a TV series about the events that led up to one of the biggest stock market crashes in U.S history that happened on October 19th, 1987.
The series follows a few traders at an investment firm and you get to look at the events that lead up to a stock market crash.
Now, Black Monday is a fictional series so take the information in the series with a grain of salt but it’s an entertaining series about the stock market.
Casino Jack and The United States Of Money
A really interesting documentary about the stock market and the financial industry as a whole is Casino Jack and The United States Of Money.
Casino Jack and The United States Of Money is a documentary that goes into the details of a massive corruption between a company and officials in Washington.
It’s an interesting true story that shows how a company can be running shady tactics behind the scene.
I highly recommend checking it out!
Conclusion
These are the best stock market movies to watch right now!
Whether you are looking for an educational movie to watch or an entertaining one, this list has you covered.
If you are interested in investing then these movies will give you a great overview of how the stock market works!
Did you enjoy this post? If so, I recommend checking out my posts on How To Get Free Stocks Right Now! (9 Best Ways) and 9 Top Investing Apps For Beginners.
Have any other stock market movies to add? What is your favorite movie on investing? Let me know in the comments below!
