Stock Market Movies: The 4 Best Stock Market Films Ever

Stock market movies: The 4 best stock market films ever. These films are well made, educational, and they capture the essence of Wall Street.

Sometimes it’s nice to put on an easy-to-watch show after a long day of work.

You want something lighthearted that you don’t have to think too hard about.

However, there are other days when you want to watch something more intellectually stimulating.

On those days, you want something that makes you think. You want to learn something.

But you don’t want some low-cost production education tutorial on YouTube.

If that’s what you are looking for, consider the following stock market movies.

In my personal opinion, these are the greatest stock market movies of all time.

They are semi-educational, well made, and capture the essence of Wall Street—the good and the bad.

These films showcase unbelievable financial corruption and the disgusting culture that Wall Street embodies.

More importantly, though, they are simply fantastic movies that are super interesting to watch.

In this post, I will show you the 4 best stock market movies ever made.

Let’s dive right into the list.

Stock Market Movies: The 4 Best Stock Market Films Ever

1. Wall Street (1987)

Wall Street is a classic stock market movie from 1987. It’s probably my all-time favourite.

To set the scene, this movie defines the stock market of the 1980s, as it showcases its fashion, music, and interest in materialistic possessions.

The two main characters of the film are Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen) and Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). The director is none other than Oliver Stone.

The plot follows a young and hungry stock broker trying to make his way to the top. He desperately wants to become one of the big players, so he attempts to work with one of the biggest investors in the industry. Unfortunately, though, his mentor leads him down a corrupt path and he has to learn the hard way that he made a bad decision.

Overall, it’s one of the most quote-able stock market films of all time. It includes memorable quotes like:

“money never sleeps, pal,” – Gordon Gekko

But Gordon is not the only quote-worthy character. One of the more forgettable characters, Lou Mannheim, has some serious gems.

“Quick buck artists come and go with every bull market, the steady players make it through the bear markets” – Lou Mannheim

2. The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

If you’re not as interested in the stock market, and if you just want to watch a great comedic drama, The Wolf Of Wall Street is probably the best choice for you.

Simply put, it’s just an excellent film.

The film is actually a biography about Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. In case you don’t know who Jordan Belfort is, he is a former stock market broker that was convicted of stock market manipulation in 1999. Basically, he got rich by selling garbage stocks to people.

The movie features an all-star cast, including Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie, in addition to Leonardo DiCaprio. Furthermore, it’s directed by the great Martin Scorsese. It sort of has a ‘Good Fellas’ vibe to it.

Overall, it is well made, hilarious, and features a truly fascinating storyline and main character.

3. The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short is the most recent movie on this list. It was made in 2015.

As for the storyline, it focuses on the 2008 financial crisis. The movie follows groups of investors who recognized the upcoming market crash before it happened. If you watch it, you will see how they discovered the flaws with mortgage-backed securities and bet against them to profit.

Like The Wolf Of Wall Street, it features an all-star class. The cast includes Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, and Christian Bale.

The Director, Adam McKay, decided to make it educational as well. During important scenes of the movie, the director has certain characters explain key terms so you understand what they are talking about.

This ultimately makes it the perfect movie for anyone—investors and people that don’t invest.

It’s just an excellent movie overall.

4. Margin Call (2011)

Margin Call takes a more realistic approach compared to the other stock market movies on this list.

The film follows a key group of individuals at an investment bank during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.

If you want to know what the worst financial crisis since the great depression was really like, Margin Call will show you.

However, for people that aren’t as interested in the stock market, it’s so realistic that they might find it boring. I found it riveting, though.

The most notable character of the movie is the now-cancelled Kevin Spacey. The rest of the cast does a great job, but the actors are not as recognizable. It is directed by J.C Chandor.

If you want to know how scary the 2008 financial crisis was, I would definitely recommend checking out Margin Call.

Stock Market Movies: The 4 Best Stock Market Films Ever - Dividend Income Investor (2)

Stock Market Movies – Final Thoughts

In my humble opinion, these are the 4 best stock market movies ever made.

They capture the essence of Wall Street, and they document key events that have actually taken place.

On top of that, they are educational and good enough for someone without an interest in investing to watch.

Of course, there are more films I could have added, but they’re just not as realistic or well made.

I also considered adding documentaries on the stock market and about cryptocurrency. However, the list became too extensive, so I’ll save those for another post(s).

In summary, the 4 best stock market movies ever made are: