The 3 best stock market and Wall Street movies that every investor should watch

Filmmakers have been creating movies about finance for years. Some, like “Trading Places,” comically depict the mayhem of the trading floor. Others, like “The Wizard of Lies,” are sobering representations of real events. 

While these films are entertaining to watch, few contain actionable advice for investors to follow once they exit the theater. There are, however, a few notable exceptions. No single movie can fully educate beginners on the particulars of the stock market, but some contain a few pointers that may be valuable to those hoping to break into the finance world.

(Of course, if you are looking for actual financial advice related to your specific situation, you may want to consult a financial advisor.)

Here are our top picks for stock market and Wall Street movies that every investor should watch. Each straddles the line between education and entertainment — and doesn’t skimp on either.

1. Wall Street (1987)

“Wall Street” may seem like an obvious choice when it comes to movies about the stock market. More than 35 years after its release, it still gives viewers something to think about after the credits roll. The story follows young stockbroker Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen), who works under the morally dubious Wall Street trader Gordon Gekko (played by Michael Douglas). The movie is best known for Gekko’s famous speech in which he says that “greed is good.”

Sheen’s character climbs the ladder of success after illegally sharing inside tips with Gekko to curry favor. It works for a while, but he inevitably runs afoul of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and he is ultimately arrested for insider trading.

It may seem obvious, but investors would be wise to pay attention to the movie’s lesson for those in the finance sector — don’t become so blinded by greed and ambition that you break the law to get ahead. It may land you in a favorable financial position in the short term, but the law will inevitably catch up with you.

2. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is notable for a few reasons, not least of which is that it is based on a true story. This portrayal of real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort is based on his 2007 memoir of the same name. The movie follows Belfort’s rise from innocent, young trader to a predatory scammer.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort, who engages in every form of depravity known to man as he gets rich from his criminal behavior. Among the crimes are his use of the pump-and-dump scheme, a type of securities fraud that involves illegally hyping overvalued stocks to unwitting investors in an effort to artificially “pump up” the share price. This activity eventually costs Belfort his freedom.

While the movie takes place in the 1980s and 1990s, investors can apply its lessons to investing today — especially when it comes to cryptocurrency. In 2023, the blockchain data platform Chainalysis released a study that found that 24 percent of new tokens launched in the previous year shared similarities with pump-and-dump schemes. These tokens were sold at high prices by their creators, some of which were followed by a 90 percent drop in value. 

For cryptocurrency investors especially, “The Wolf of Wall Street” can serve as a powerful reminder to do your due diligence before making any investment.

3. The Big Short (2015)

The 2008 financial crisis didn’t happen overnight. Rather, it was the culmination of a series of factors. The details of what led to the financial crisis are detailed in the 2010 book “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine,” which was then adapted for film in 2015. It depicts real-life hedge fund manager Michael Burry (played by Christian Bale), one of the first people who recognized that many U.S. homeowners got their houses through subprime loans, creating the housing bubble. 

If you don’t know some of the terms used to describe the causes of the housing bubble, don’t worry. The movie uses celebrities to explain concepts and terms, like mortgage-backed securities. Stars such as Anthony Bourdain, Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez break the fourth wall throughout the film to talk to the viewer in language free from financial jargon.

Of course, if you’re an experienced investor, you probably already understand the hazards of subprime loans. However, if you’re a novice and still trying to understand all the factors that caused the 2008 financial crisis, “The Big Short” makes it easy to grasp a complex problem that very few people saw coming.

Bottom line

There’s no substitute for an actual education if you plan to pursue a career in finance. But some movies can impart wisdom for investors, or at least serve as a reminder of some of the big mistakes to avoid. So do your due diligence and learn about finance from credible sources — but if a movie will help you understand something better than what you learned in business school, that works, too.