If you’re a film enthusiast and you’re an investment banker, or you’re a financial student and want to pick up a good movie for yourself, then we’ll find a good list for you. This article will provide you an insight into the top 20 Wall Street movies of all time. Wall Street Films are always useful tips for keeping you informed about the financial world to make intelligent judgments about the investment and grasp the economic environment that might impact your investment.
In all its manifestations, the financial industry produces wonderful films. The various financial films made throughout the years by Hollywood feature tragedy, humor, inventiveness, calamity, and redemption. Although most films depict financial experts in a less than favorable light, astonishing excess tales, risk-taking, and naturally avarice are inspiring cinema. They must be viewed by anybody who thinks about or is already working in the business.
Here, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) is leading the list, which is best known for the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio—followed by Inside Job, 2010 (Oscar-winning documentary), in second place, and then The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) in third place.
Which is the best Wall Street movie of all time streaming on Amazon Prime Video?
The Drama/Indie 1992 movie Glengarry Glen Ross is the best wall street movie that streams on Amazon Prime with 95% Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
Is there any good wall street movies available on Netflix?
Inside Job (2010) is the best wall street movie on Netflix with 8.2 IMDB score.
Which is the best Wall Street movie of all time streaming on Disney Hotstar?
Wall Street (1987) is the best wall street movie on Disney Hotstar with 7.4 IMDB score.
We have handpicked the 20 best Wall Street movies that you must watch. Let’s round them!
20. Bonfire of the Vanities
| Director: | Brian De Palma |
| Released Year: | 1990 |
| Cast: | Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith |
| Genre: | Satire/Dark Comedy |
| IMDB Ratings: | 5.6 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 16% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos |
The potential of the film to address diverse social classes in New York City is undisputed. Bonfire of the Vanities originally addressed the 1980’s elite of Manhattan and their estrangement from the rest of the city in a novel written by Tom Wolfe. As the leading picture, Tom Hanks (BIOS) engages in an extra-husband affair that finally culminates in a tragic murder. Today, it is one of the best Wall Street Movies.
19. Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
| Director: | Oliver Stone |
| Released Year: | 2010 |
| Cast: | Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf |
| Genre: | Drama |
| IMDB Ratings: | 6.2 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 55% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Amazon Prime Videos |
The movie revolved around fraud in securities in which Gordon Gekko(main character) gets out of jail. To mend the connection with his daughter, Winnie, he works along with his future grandson Jacob Gekko and enables Jacob to return to his mentor’s business guy. Winnie runs an online news website and talks to Jacob Moore, Keller Zabel Investments’ Top Prop trader (KZI). Dr. Masters and his fusion research project had raised funds for Jacob (Jake), who protected KZI Managing Director Louis Zabel, who might provide plentiful clean energy.
18. Rogue Trader
| Director: | James Dearden |
| Released Year: | 1999 |
| Cast: | Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel (Books Of Blood) |
| Genre: | Drama/Adaptation |
| IMDB Ratings: | 6.4 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 30% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix |
This film portrays the story of Nick Leeson, a dealer who alone causes Barings Bank, the second-oldest commercial bank in the world, to go insolvent. Leeson, a rising star in the Singapore trading floor, blew in as soon as he climbed and concealed huge losses from his superior in well-concealed accounts. In a short straddle position on the Nikkei, he finally led the mother of all unsuccessful trade that had ended up with a major sigma movement. Overall, it is a good Wall Street Movie.
17. Company Men
| Director: | John Wells |
| Released Year: | 2010 |
| Cast: | Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones |
| Genre: | Drama/Indie Film |
| IMDB Ratings: | 6.7 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 67% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos |
Storied by the life of Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, and Kevin Costner, the fictional Global Transportations Systems is depicted in Company Men. Bobby Walker (Affleck) is forced to sell his property and relocate his family into his parents’ home when the company’s fortunes deteriorate. The remainder of the narrative is how the men survive or fail and stick you until the movie’s end.
16. Boiler Room
| Director: | Ben Younger |
| Released Year: | 2000 |
| Cast: | Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel |
| Genre: | Drama/Crime |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.0 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 66% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix |
While Barbarians are taking place at the Gates in the splendor of a business committee room, the Boiler Room is located at the bottom of the financial ladder: the pump and dump plan. While Boiler Room is a fictitious work, pump-and-dump companies are quite real, just as its victims suffer. For those starting to participate in the stock market, the Boiler Room acts as a warning for transparent, stable businesses founded on stable foundations and always follows the saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
15. Trader
| Director: | Michael Glyn |
| Released Year: | 1987 |
| Cast: | Peter Borish, David Cubitt |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.1 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | – |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos |
This undiscovered documentary featuring Paul Tudor Jones, which was created in 1987 during the blazing bull market, describes his daily life as an avid investor. Jones employs Jesse Livermore’s historical chart reading to forecast the Black Monday film catastrophe. Even if it depicts Jones in a favorable light, it is practically hard to get a (legitimate and legal) copy of the film because Jones has acquired all 1,000 copies. Overall, the movie is one of the best Wall Street movies that you must watch.
14. Margin Call
| Director: | J. C. Chandor |
| Released Year: | 2011 |
| Cast: | Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey |
| Genre: | Thriller/drama |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.1 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 87% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Amazon Prime Videos |
Margin Call may be the most financially precise film listed in the life of a Wall Street company at the edge of a disaster throughout 24 hours. Margin Call takes nothing to disguise her disregard for some biggest banks, including the trading of sophisticated derivative contracts, which they have hardly grasped, to risk-taking the financial crisis in 2008. An unbelievably sad sequence in the film involves two important people who speak about the imminent disaster that is shortly to unleash on their banks and the suspicious financial situation. At the same time, a chainman sits between them, entirely unaware of the situation.
13. Quants: The Alchemists Of Wall Street
| Director: | Marije Meerman |
| Released Year: | 2010 |
| Cast: | Marije Meerman |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.2 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | – |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos |
Quants: The Alchemists Of Wall Street is a unique insight inside the brains of mathematical geniuses who devised both destructive and Wall Street financial models. Quant is a 45-minute documentary examining quantitative analysts’ inner workings on Wall Street. It is linked on YouTube below if you want to look at it. Overall, it is one of the best Wall Street documentaries ever made.
12. Barbarians at the Gates
| Director: | Glenn Jordan |
| Released Year: | 1933 |
| Cast: | James Garner, Jonathan Pryce |
| Genre: | Drama/ Comedy |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.2 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 71% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Amazon Prime Videos |
A 1993 TV film that was virtually forgotten focused on the RJR Nabisco takeover (LBO). While the film takes considerable creative freedom to depict this realistic event, audiences will be startled and amused by Nabisco’s CEO F. Ross Johnson’s ineptitude and avarice and by the background discussions on this renowned LBO. The movie will stick with you till the end and reveal many secrets of the Stock Market.
11. Too Big To Fail
| Director: | Curtis Hanson |
| Released Year: | 2011 |
| Cast: | William Hurt, Paul Giamatti |
| Genre: | Drama |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.3 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 77% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Disney Hotstar |
Surely you remember that financial crisis when Lehman Brothers imploded, global markets are at risk, and Washington had to catch up to save the economy. The 2008 financial collapse is too big to fail and is based on US Secretary of Finance, Henry Paulson (Black Widow– William Hurt), and Ben Bernanke’s activities (Paul Giamatti). The movie opens with news excerpts depicting the mortgage crisis and the forced sale to JPMorgan Chase of the ailing Bear Stearn, with assurances from the Fed.
10. Limitless
| Director: | Neil Burger |
| Released Year: | 2011 |
| Cast: | Bradley Copper, Abbie Cornish |
| Genre: | Action/Thriller |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.4 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 69% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos |
This film is about drugs rather than the stock market. However, the acting of Bradley Cooper and the idea of the film make this picture unmissable. Edward Morra begins taking a nootropic medicine that will soon provide him with the power to join an outstanding brokerage company. Robert DeNiro is a financial tycoon from Eddie Carl Van Loon. Eddie is proven to have sufficient potential to be the future chairman as the film closes the inevitable finale.
9. Wall Street
| Director: | Oliver Stone |
| Released Year: | 1987 |
| Cast: | Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen |
| Genre: | Drama/Crime |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.4 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 79% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Disney Hotstar |
The number one financial film every professional must-see, the surprise is the Oliver Stone classic, where the legendary sentence “Blue Horseshoe likes Anacott Steel” was said by thousands of college graduates when they passed their 7th series test. Originally designed to portray financial hedonism and excess, Wall Street is still a powerful recruitment tool over 30 years later for traders, brokers, analysts, and bankers. While the film aims to warn us of the hazards of insiders’ trading, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want Bud Fox or even Gordon Gekko, of course, and give it a little to our gullible side. After all, as Gekko would say, “Greed is good.”
8. Trading Places
| Director: | John Landis |
| Released Year: | 1983 |
| Cast: | Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.5 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 88% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Paramount Pictures, Amazon Prime Videos |
This contemporary version of The Prince and Pauper includes Eddie Murphy as a street performer who becomes an artist who unintentionally replaces his heir, Dan Aykroyd’s blue executive. Although actual trading leads to a transfer from characters into other conditions, a pretty accurate portrait of a heated trade session in the orange juice futures pits is given in the last 15 minutes of the film. So, we recommend you watch this movie.
7. Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room
| Director: | Alex Gibney |
| Released Year: | 2005 |
| Cast: | Bethany McLean, Peter Coyote |
| Genre: | Documentary/Crime |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.6 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 97% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos |
Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room covers the story of Enron’s growth and demise, including the tales by Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Andy Fastow, and Timothy Belden executives. This amazing film also includes interviews with King Jim Chanos from former oil traders and hedge funds. Its amazing storyline will engage you by the end and reveal many marketing strategies.
6. American Psycho
| Director: | Morgan J. Freeman, Mary Harron |
| Released Year: | 2000 |
| Cast: | Christian Bale, Bret Easton |
| Genre: | Horror/ Mystery |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.6 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 69% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix |
American Psycho covers the story of Christian Bale who runs a rich investment banking company in a violent and thought-provoking thriller in the financial background. While the actual finances in this film are relatively small, American Psycho illuminates the strange world inhabited by the upper banking class and the complete separation from reality.
5. Glengarry Glen Ross
| Director: | James Foley |
| Released Year: | 1992 |
| Cast: | Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon |
| Genre: | Drama/Indie Films |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.7 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 95% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Amazon Prime Videos |
This film centers on a team of depressed real estate agents who have completely corroded their moral standards after working for their dishonest organization for many years, as the famous big-screen version of a David Mamet plays. This film demonstrates the greed and uncompromising techniques of sales positions and the pressure their supervisors are placing on sales assistants.
4. The Big Short
| Director: | Adam McKay |
| Released Year: | 2015 |
| Cast: | Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling |
| Genre: | Drama/Comedy |
| IMDB Ratings: | 7.8 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 89% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Amazon Prime Videos |
This film follows several skillful traders as they become aware of the building bubble that led to the financial catastrophe of 2007-2008. Based on Michael Lewis’ ‘The BIG SHORT: Inside the Doomsday” book. For example, Selena Gomez has explained what synthetic CDOs stand on a poker table or that Margot Robbie explains bonds backed by mortgages in the champagne bath. This movie is noted for its intelligent technique to break down advanced financial products. So, if you are still deprived of this movie, you must watch it.
3. The Pursuit of Happyness
| Director: | Gabriele Muccino |
| Released Year: | 2006 |
| Cast: | Will Smith, Jaden Smith |
| Genre: | Drama |
| IMDB Ratings: | 8.0 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 67% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix |
The story is based on the life of Chris Gardner (an astonishing Will Smith) and his rise from homelessness to having his multi-million dollar brokerage firm. Will Smith’s son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, aged 8, plays Will’s son, Christopher Gardner Jr. At the end of the film, Gardner succeeds in acquiring a desirable full-time job at the courier company where he used to be an intern, despite terrible disruptive conditions.
2. Inside Job
| Director: | Charles Ferguson |
| Released Year: | 2010 |
| Cast: | Matt Damon, Gylfi Zoega |
| Genre: | Documentary/Crime |
| IMDB Ratings: | 8.2 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 98% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Netflix |
Matt Damon’s Oscar-winning documentary is an indignant account of the US financial crisis in 2008. The worldwide financial catastrophe in autumn 2008 resulted in millions of job losses and house losses, plunging the US into a profound economic slump. Matt Damon reports a documentary that examines the aspects leading to the collapse and identifies significant participants in finance and politics. Director Charles Ferguson conducts various interviewees and reports the history to various other global financial hot spots from the US to China and from Iceland.
1. The Wolf of Wall Street
| Director: | Martin Scorsese |
| Released Year: | 2013 |
| Cast: | Leonardo DiCaprio, Jordan Belfort |
| Genre: | Dark Comedy |
| IMDB Ratings: | 8.2 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: | 79% |
| Currently Steaming On: | Amazon Prime Videos |
If you have not witnessed the rise and fall of the famed stock fraudster Jordan Belfort, you lose out on some of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill’s greatest performances. Like the push and dumping by Barbaric people, The Wolf of Wall Street was based on actual events (but again with a lot of dramatic parsing), an over-the-counter brokership company, and a pump and dump scheme around the infamous Stratton Oakmont, which supported IPOs by various major public companies during the late 1980s and 1990s. That’s why this movie is leading our list of the best Wall Street Movies of all time.
Conclusion!
These 20 films deal with Finance and marketing strategies which every investor needs to view at one point and a must-see for a potential financial pro. Still, these films can give a little insight into the wild and often ludicrous world of finance, even if you don’t think about a job in the industry. While many of us are too busy to sit down to read a book on finance, numerous amusing and instructional films have been developed, and these best 20 will help.
