There is a famous quote attributed to John C. Maxwell: “Ordinary people learn from their own mistakes; smart people learn from other people’s mistakes.” This also applies to the world of investing, because every mistake in investing can be very costly.

However, learning is not limited to drawing lessons from others’ failures. In fact, we can take financial lessons from everything around us, and films are one of them. Many movies contain important financial messages. If your goal is to both watch films and improve your financial knowledge, you should add these eight popular titles to your “must-watch” list.

1. Moneyball (2011)

• Director: Bennett Miller
• Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman

If you’ve ever placed bets on sites like 1xBet, you know how important statistics can be. Moneyball is a unique film that shows just how decisive statistics can be in real life. The movie was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the general manager of the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball, has to compete with rich teams despite having a limited budget. This forces him to develop a new method for recruiting players. A young economics graduate, Peter Brand, helps him, and together they create a statistical data-analysis approach they call “sabermetrics.”

Using this method, they analyze players’ strengths and weaknesses, sign undervalued players, and build a powerful team. The team quickly rises from the bottom of the league to the top. The film shows that success sometimes comes from thinking differently and using statistics correctly.

Summary: Something doesn’t have to be expensive to be valuable.

2. The Big Short (2015)

• Director: Adam McKay
• Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt

Have you ever wanted to know what happened behind the scenes of the 2008 global financial crisis? The Big Short explains the crisis of 2008—hard for ordinary people to grasp—in a simple, accessible way. As the title suggests, the main focus is a group of investors taking short positions.

Before the crisis, while everyone else was investing heavily, Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale) analyzed that most of the mortgage loans issued by banks were doomed to default. He decided to bet against them—taking a short position. A few other investors thought the same way, and together they made huge profits from the collapse of the system.

Released in 2015, the film won several awards, including the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Inspired by a true story, it shows investors the importance of staying skeptical even when everyone is buying—and not being afraid to go against the crowd if necessary.

Summary: Base your investment strategies not on what the majority thinks, but on your own rational analysis.

3. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

• Director: Martin Scorsese
• Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

The Wolf of Wall Street is a Hollywood film centered on economics and is widely known in popular culture. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, it tells the story of a young stockbroker’s greed and insatiability. The main character, Jordan Belfort, joins Wall Street at a young age and quickly makes millions through a devilish scheme.

Belfort actually built a massive fraud network used to exploit small investors through low-priced stocks. He squandered the enormous income he gained on extreme luxury and unhealthy pleasures. Eventually, the FBI notices his company, which brings his entire empire to an end.

The film shows that greed, the hunger for power, and wastefulness are the wrong paths to real financial success. With its countless lessons and strong qualities in modern cinema, The Wolf of Wall Street is a masterpiece among finance-themed productions.

Summary: As a small investor, you must be extra cautious against manipulation.

4. Too Big to Fail (2011)

• Director: Curtis Hanson
• Starring: William Hurt, Paul Giamatti, Billy Crudup, James Woods, Topher Grace

The 2008 global financial crisis was one of the biggest crises ever seen, so it naturally attracted great interest from Hollywood directors. One of the landmark films on this topic is Too Big to Fail, adapted from Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book of the same name. If you want to learn the technical side of the crisis—how events unfolded and what led to it—this is a must-watch.

The story is told from the perspective of Henry Paulson, the U.S. Treasury Secretary at the time. Paulson, together with the Fed chairman, races against time to prevent the entire system from collapsing. For those who like films based on real events, it is one of the best choices in finance.

Directed by Curtis Hanson, the film is highly instructive, depicting the fragility of the global economic system and the political power games behind the scenes. The most important lesson for investors is the need to have a Plan B for every scenario in financial markets.

Summary: Sometimes crises can jam the entire system, and even authorities struggle to intervene.

5. Wall Street (1987)

• Director: Oliver Stone
• Starring: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen

In the 1980s, Wall Street was shaken by scandals such as corporate raiding and insider trading. Oliver Stone’s Wall Street addresses this theme. Through this film, the acclaimed director shows the dramatic impact that the lust for power and money can have on human nature.

Bud Fox is a young and ambitious stockbroker who begins working with Gordon Gekko, an old-school trader who embraces the philosophy “greed is good.” Under Gekko’s guidance, Bud rises quickly. But he soon learns that success in the stock market can ruin people’s lives, and he finds himself trapped between being successful and being a good person.

The film has been seen as a harsh critique of capitalist culture. Yet it also has philosophical aspects that question human nature itself. It is one of the strongest portrayals of the struggle between the allure of money and the human spirit. The movie won Michael Douglas an Oscar for Best Actor.

Summary: An investor who loses their moral boundaries eventually becomes a victim of their own success.

6. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King (2022)

• Director: Luke Sewell
• Starring: Jennifer Robertson, Ayal Nanji, Tamara Popovic

Experienced crypto investors still remember the scandal of 2018. For younger investors: in 2018, Gerald Cotten, the CEO of Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, mysteriously died in India, and the exchange collapsed. At the time, thousands of investors lost access to holdings worth more than $190 million.

Released on Netflix in 2022, the cryptocurrency documentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King examines this mysterious incident in depth. It investigates conspiracy theories suggesting Cotten’s death may have been staged. The documentary focuses on independent investigations conducted by online crypto communities and tries to uncover the truth by exploring dark connections behind the case.

The film once again reminds viewers how the lack of regulation and uncontrolled structure in the crypto world can devastate investors. That’s why, whether you use cryptocurrencies for investment, online shopping, or online betting, choosing trustworthy platforms—such as reliable apps like the 1xbet ios indir download—is crucial. In this sense, the film is a must-watch for anyone interested in crypto.

Summary: For crypto investments, choosing secure platforms and taking necessary precautions is essential.

7. Becoming Warren Buffett (2017)

• Director: Peter W. Kunhardt
• Starring: Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Susan Buffett, Charlie Munger

In the investment world, Warren Buffett is a role model for many. As the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett is considered the fifth richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of around $150 billion. His life philosophy, investment strategy, and business success have inspired countless investors.

Directed by Peter Kunhardt, Becoming Warren Buffett focuses on the life of this legendary investor. Starting from his school years, every stage of his life and the road to success is presented in detail. The documentary also includes interviews with Buffett’s family members, colleagues, and close friends.

Patience, discipline, and long-term thinking are repeatedly emphasized as the secrets of Buffett’s success. Looking at his overall story, it’s clear that all investors can learn something from his life. If you watch carefully, you can draw many useful messages from this documentary.

Summary: Long-term thinking and discipline are the keys to success in investing.

8. Boiler Room (2000)

• Director: Ben Younger
• Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck

Boiler Room shares a similar theme with Wall Street (1987). It shows the darker side of finance and how people can lose themselves while chasing easy money. Directed by Ben Younger, the film is partially inspired by real-life stories of stock-market fraud.

The main character, Seth Davis, is a young man who dropped out of college and secretly runs an illegal casino from his home. Looking for a way to win his father’s approval and get his life on track, he starts working at a small but rapidly growing brokerage firm called JT Marlin. The brokers there deceive investors over the phone, sell worthless stocks at high prices, and make huge sums of money.

At first, Seth enjoys his new life filled with luxury cars, expensive clothes, and parties. But he soon realizes that the company’s business is entirely fraudulent. Seth must confront a moral dilemma: should he keep winning at all costs, or do the right thing and expose the system? From the screenplay, it’s clear the director aims to show how destructive an extreme obsession with making money can be.

Summary: Ethical values are the foundation of long-term success in investing.

Other Finance-Related Films Worth Watching

You’ve now met the list of the eight best films you can draw financial lessons from. But it doesn’t end here. In cinema, there are many more valuable productions that explore different aspects of finance and deliver deep messages about investing, risk management, and the psychology of success. The table below includes a few additional recommendations:

Watching films is one of the best ways to spend enjoyable time. But you can make this hobby more productive by choosing movies that teach you something useful each time. Especially if you work in finance, are an investor or trader, or simply want to learn how to manage your personal finances, films like these will be particularly enjoyable for you.