13 Best Movies About Money for Your Watch List Tonight - Wallet Arrow (2024)

13 Best Movies About Money for Your Watch List Tonight - Wallet Arrow (1)

There’s no getting around it – money plays a key role in our daily life. Whether you’re trying to get out of debt or decide which yacht to buy, money is part of key decisions throughout your life.

So, it’s no surprise that movies about money attract attention. Through them, we can learn valuable financial lessons, dream of what our future can look like or simply

Afterall, movies about money certainly have no shortage of drama!

The stories that come out of New York’s famous financial world are often better than anything a screenwriter could have invented.

One of most alluring things about movies about money is the fact that these tales are often true. They remind us that – while we like to think the world of numbers is black and white – it’s anything but.

Here, Wallet Arrow chose the 13 best movies about money, and ranked them on a 1 – 100 scale. Most are Hollywood-style movies, while a few are don’t-miss documentaries:

1. Trading Places (1983)

This classic 1980s flick stars Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. A small-time con artist swaps lives with a wealthy stock trader. Bucking the trend of drama in Wall Street films, Trading Places is a timeless comedy. Still, we get an unsettling look at the division between the lifestyles of Wall Street high-fliers and those on the outside.

  • How to Watch: $2.99 on YouTube, U.S.
  • Wallet Arrow’s Rating: 89

2. Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

When this sexy Martin Scorsese film about the real life of one Wall Street trader hit the theaters, audiences were shocked at the lifestyle, the scandal and the company culture the movie follows. Starring Leonard DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margo Robbie and Matthew McConaughey.

  • How to Watch: $1.99 Netflix rental
  • Wallet Arrow’s rating: 95

3. Too Big to Fail (2011)

Too Big to Fail tells the story of how financial leaders scrambled to manage the economy’s downfall in 2008 that caused widespread carnage on Wall Street. As megabanks Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers are on the brink of collapse, Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke (played by Paul Giamatti) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (played by William Hurt) spring into action.

  • How to Watch: $3.99 Amazon Prime Rental
  • Wallet Arrow’s rating: 87

4. Margin Call (2011)

Margin Call, with Paul Bettany and Kevin Spacey, takes us inside the company culture of adrenaline-fueled decision making with this fast-paced thriller. As a financial analyst at a big Wall Street firm uncovers some alarming information, company big wigs spring into action

  • How to Watch: $2.99Amazon Prime rental ($3.99 HD), free with HBO subscription
  • Wallet Arrow Rating: 92

Read also:

  • Best Ways to Invest $5,000 Right Now
  • Your Ultimate Guide to Factor Investing

5. The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short, based on Michael Lewis’ best-selling book of the same name, is another film about the financial crisis of 2008. It dives into a true story of how Wall Street insiders hustled to make a killing as economy was on the brink of collapse. The film unravels how the complex mortgage market played a key role in the financial crisis, and how some people stood to earn millions with the right deals. Starring Steve Carrell, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling.

  • How to Watch: $2.99 Amazon Prime rental ($3.99 HD)
  • Wallet Arrow’s rating: 93

6. Inside Job (2010)

Narrated by Matt Damon, this documentary about the 2008 financial crisis explores the causes and effects of economy’s collapse. Widespread corruption and systemic issues in the financial industry are at the forefront of this Academy Award-winning film.

  • How to Watch: $3.99 Amazon Prime Rental
  • Wallet Arrow’s rating: 89

7. The Queen of Versailles (2012)

What started out as a documentary about the construction of Versailles, which was slated to be the biggest and most expensive home in the U.S. quickly takes a dark turn.

  • How to Watch: $3.99 Amazon Prime Rental
  • Wallet Arrow rating: 94

8. Moneyball (2011)

Often touted as a sports drama, Moneyball is a true story of how Oakland A’s baseball management chased the dollars with innovative new strategies. Based on Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball: The Art of Winning the Unfair Game, this film stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

  • How to Watch: Free with Netflix
  • Wallet Arrow rating: 96

9. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Michael Moore’s critical look at the pitfalls and successes of capitalism in the U.S., which he argues rewards “runaway” greed. This documentary underscores the deep division between the top 1% of wealthy Americans versus the other 95%, touching on a range of topics from the insurance industry to poverty-level wages.

  • How to Watch: Free with Amazon Prime
  • Wallet Arrow Rating: 71

10 In Time (2011)

This sci-fi thriller is also one of the best movies about money. In Time shines light on a real societal issue: the difference between the haves and the have-nots. Only in this world, the currency is not dollars – it’s time. Here, people stop aging at age 25 with one more year to live, but they have the potential to buy eternal life. Some have a much better shot at dodging death than others. Starring Justin Timberlake, Olivia Wilde, and Amanda Seyfried.

  • How to Watch: $3.99 Amazon Prime Rental
  • Wallet Arrow’s rating: 91

11. Wall Street (1987)

Of course, our list wouldn’t be complete without one of the best movies about money – Wall Street, a story of a young analyst who saddles up to a mentor with penchant for playing by his own rules with corporate takeovers. In Michael Douglas’ iconic courtroom scene, his character Gordon Gekko pronounces what is now one of the most widely cited Wall Street catchphrases: “Greed is good.” (He actually says, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”) And he has much more to say about how he views the virtues of greed.

  • How to Watch: Free with Amazon Prime
  • Wallet Arrow’s Rating: 96

12. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

A sequel to the original, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Gordon Gecko continues to prove a master manipulator driving by his own interests, even as he steps into a father-figure role.

  • How to Watch: Free with Amazon Prime
  • Wallet Arrow rating: 80

13. Playing with FIRE: The Documentary (2019)

A must-see for anyone who has dreamed of retiring early, Playing with FIRE: The Documentary (not to be confused with the Playing with Fire about firefighters) takes a realistic look at the growing role of Financial Independence, Retire Early mentality.

  • How to Watch: $4.99 Amazon Rental
  • Wallet Arrow rating: 87

The Bottom Line

If you’re strapped for some fresh movies to watch, check out some of the best movies about money. Add them to your watchlist for entertainment that can double as a valuable financial lessons.

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13 Best Movies About Money for Your Watch List Tonight - Wallet Arrow (2024)

FAQs

What is the #1 best movie ever? ›

1. Citizen Kane (1941)

What is the #1 movie in the world? ›

All Time Worldwide Box Office
RankYearMovie
12009Avatar
22019Avengers: Endgame
32022Avatar: The Way of Water
41997Titanic
75 more rows

What is the movie about the financial loss? ›

Directed by Oliver Stone. Director Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is set in New York City during the 2008 financial crisis. Starring Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, the film depicts the events following his release from prison for insider trading.

What was the highest grossing money movie of all time? ›

Most successful movies of all time at the international box office as of 2024. As of March 2024, "Avatar" (2009) was the most commercially successful movie of all time, grossing about 2.92 billion U.S. dollars at box offices across the globe.

Who is the best actor of all time? ›

Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem.

Who is the best actor in the world? ›

Daniel Day-Lewis has won the most Academy Awards for best actor (three), and a number of actors have received two such Oscars, including Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks, both of whom won in consecutive years. Below is a list of the winning actors and the films for which they won.

What movie has the highest rotten tomatoes? ›

To date, Leave No Trace holds the site's record, with a rating of 100% and 252 positive reviews.

What actor has the highest grossing movies? ›

Lead roles
RankActorWorldwide total
1Robert Downey Jr.$16,301,122,522
2Scarlett Johansson$15,432,591,515
3Samuel L. Jackson$14,376,505,937
4Zoe Saldaña$14,240,098,353
6 more rows

What is the movie about spending money in 30 days? ›

A minor-league baseball player must spend $30 million in 30 days in order to inherit $300 million. However, he's not allowed to own any assets, destroy the money, gift it, give it to charity...

What is the movie about the money problem? ›

The Big Short is based on the nonfiction best selling book about the 2007-2008 financial crisis by financial journalist Michael Lewis. Margin Call is about a large Wall Street investment banking firm during the early days of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the firm's impending financial collapse.

What is the new movie for the love of money about? ›

When a single mother is pushed to her limit, she turns to the only world she knows, a world she's spent a lifetime running from, to protect her daughter.

What is the lowest grossing movie ever? ›

Zyzzyx Road holds the title for the lowest-grossing movie ever, making just $30 at the box office. The film was made specifically for distribution overseas, but a Screen Actors Guild contract required a U.S. theatrical release.

What's 100 on Rotten Tomatoes? ›

The percentage is based on the film's reviews aggregated by the website and assessed as positive or negative, and when all aggregated reviews are positive, the film has a 100% rating.

What is the longest film in the world? ›

The longest film ever made, according to Guinness World Records, is "The Cure for Insomnia" (1987), directed by John Henry Timmis IV.

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