Working Girl is a classic 80s underdog story where Melanie Griffith shines as a determined secretary who uses her street smarts to climb the corporate ladder. The film is a sharp and funny comedy, with humor that comes from its clever dialogue and relatable situations. It's much more than a simple romance, offering a timeless and satisfying tale of ambition and self-made success. | © 20th Century Studios
Boiler Room pulls back the curtain on a "chop shop" brokerage, where young brokers push shady stocks in a high-pressure, criminal environment. While it often gets compared to "Wall Street," this film is really about the corrupt world of fake IPOs and the aggressive sales culture that fuels it. It's a gritty drama that focuses more on a fractured father-son relationship than a love story, set to a pulsing hip-hop soundtrack. | © New Line Cinema
Inside Job is the definitive documentary on the 2008 financial crisis, a film that will make your blood boil with its clear-eyed investigation. It meticulously details how legal corruption and ethical failures across banking, government, and even academia brought the economy to its knees. This isn't a dry history lesson; it's a powerful and despairing look at a system where the architects of collapse walked away immensely rich. | © Sony Pictures Classics
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps catches up with Gordon Gekko after his release from prison, just as the 2008 financial crisis hits. He claims to want a relationship with his daughter, but he seems to be manipulating her boyfriend, a young trader, for his own ends. While it doesn't pack the punch of the original, the film offers a timely look at a world where the lines between redemption, revenge, and more money are always blurred. | © 20th Century Fox
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room exposes the staggering greed and hubris behind one of history's biggest corporate frauds. This gripping documentary shows how executives told bold-faced lies to everyone, even as they knew their scheme was doomed. It's a chilling look at the moment a house of cards built on pure arrogance finally collapsed. | © Magnolia Pictures
Other People's Money is a sharp drama that smartly avoids painting its characters as simple heroes or villains. Danny DeVito shines as a corporate raider who makes a surprisingly convincing case for his ruthless actions, even against a moving plea for compassion. The film's strength lies in this fascinating moral ambiguity, making the battle for a company's soul genuinely compelling. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Trading Places is a perfect comedy that mixes hilarious moments with sharp commentary on class and race. The brilliant comic chemistry between Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd drives this story of a cruel bet that swaps a wealthy investor with a street hustler. It's a wonderfully entertaining film that remains one of the best and smartest comedies of the 1980s. | © Paramount Pictures
Rogue Trader tells the astonishing true story of how one man, Nick Leeson, managed to bankrupt England's oldest bank. Ewan McGregor captures the trader's dangerous descent as he digs a deeper hole with every reckless, illegal trade. The film is a fascinating look at the thrill and sheer denial that can drive a person to risk everything, with devastating consequences. | © Cinemax
Equity provides a fresh, female-driven perspective on the high-stakes world of finance, standing apart from other Wall Street thrillers. Anna Gunn delivers a commanding performance as a senior investment banker navigating sharp power plays and corporate politics. The film's smart, grounded portrayal of ambition and integrity makes it a compelling and engaging drama. | © Sony Pictures Classics
American Psycho is a sharp satire, following a wealthy investment banker whose life is a hollow competition for status. Patrick Bateman's obsession with business cards and his hilarious, deadpan critiques of pop music reveal his deeply warped values. Christian Bale's chilling performance perfectly captures a man who might be eliminating his competition literally, or might just be lost in a violent fantasy of his own making. | © Lionsgate Films
Too Big to Fail takes you behind the closed doors of the 2008 financial crisis, showing the frantic efforts to prevent a total collapse. The film's razor-sharp direction and stellar cast highlight the stark irony that the very architects of the disaster faced no real consequences. It effectively uses real news footage to underscore how the decisions of a powerful few devastated the lives of everyday citizens. | © HBO
Wall Street captures the intense moral struggle of a young trader torn between his father's honest work and the corrupt allure of his mentor, Gordon Gekko. The film is a sharp look at an economic battle that has only evolved since the 1980s. This isn't just a story about one man's choice, but a powerful opening chapter on the forces that shape our entire economic system. | © 20th Century Fox
Martin Scorsese delivers a wild ride through the outrageous true story of Jordan Belfort's rise and fall. Leonardo DiCaprio is completely captivating as the corrupt stockbroker, fully embodying his greed and excess. The film is both shocking and darkly hilarious, pulling no punches in its depiction of a non-stop world of money, drugs, and crime. | © Paramount Pictures
The Big Short will make you genuinely angry, and that's the entire point. It transforms the complex origins of the 2008 financial crash into a gripping and darkly funny drama. This film holds up a mirror to a real-life horror show, reminding us that the most unsettling truths are often the ones we choose to ignore. | © Paramount Pictures
Margin Call pulls you into the tense, high-stakes hours at an investment bank as it discovers its own impending collapse. The film's excellent cast delivers a chilling look at the ruthless power corporations hold over their employees' lives. It's a gripping and thought-provoking drama that questions the true cost of the comforts we take for granted. | © Roadside Attractions
From ruthless corporate raiders to the architects of financial collapse, the world of high finance has produced some of cinema's most compelling stories. These films do more than just track numbers on a screen; they explore ambition, corruption, and the human cost of the deal. Grab your popcorn and settle in for our picks of the best finance movies ever made.
