All Trading Movies, Documentaries, and Series in one place!

Full-list of trading movies, documentaries, and series!

Trading movies are exciting to watch, and every trader or investor must watch them. In the following article, we have highlighted all trading movies, documentaries, and series that exist! Watching these movies helps us understand the finance and investment world better.

Trading Movies

Edison, the Man (1940)

Thomas Edison (Spencer Tracy) is an enterprising young inventor hungry for achievement. After he sells a version of the stock market ticker that he has perfected, Edison uses the money to open an “invention factory,” where he works on projects like the phonograph. When one of his friends boasts that Edison has invented an electric light before any such object exists, Edison must use all of his skill to complete the task, relying on innovation and trial and error.

Citizen Kane (1941)

When a reporter is assigned to decipher newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles) dying words, his investigation gradually reveals the fascinating portrait of a complex man who rose from obscurity to staggering heights. Though Kane’s friend and colleague Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten), and his mistress, Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), shed fragments of light on Kane’s life, the reporter fears he may never penetrate the mystery of the elusive man’s final word, “Rosebud.”

Trading Places (1983)

Upper-crust executive Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and down-and-out hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) are the subjects of a bet by successful brokers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy). An employee of the Dukes, Winthorpe is framed by the brothers for a crime he didn’t commit, with the siblings then installing the street-smart Valentine in his position. When Winthorpe and Valentine uncover the scheme, they set out to turn the tables on the Dukes.

Working Girl (1986)

A day in the life of several prostitutes in an upscale Manhattan whore house. The film is a stark portrayal of the women prostitutes, the male customers and the motivations of both. Watch as the madam manipulates her “girls”. Watch as she answers the phone by saying “Hello John, what’s new and different?” Watch as the “johns” try to manipulate the “girls”. Part nudie exploitation, part sociological thesis.

Wall Street (1987)

On the Wall Street of the 1980s, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a stockbroker full of ambition, doing whatever he can to make his way to the top. Admiring the power of the unsparing corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), Fox entices Gekko into mentoring him by providing insider trading. As Fox becomes embroiled in greed and underhanded schemes, his decisions eventually threaten the livelihood of his scrupulous father (Martin Sheen). Faced with this dilemma, Fox questions his loyalties.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

When an office full of New York City real estate salesmen is given the news that all but the top two will be fired at the end of the week, the atmosphere begins to heat up. Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon), who has a sick daughter, does everything in his power to get better leads from his boss, John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), but to no avail. When his coworker Dave Moss (Ed Harris) comes up with a plan to steal the leads, things get complicated for the tough-talking salesmen.

Barbarians at the Gate (1993)

Self-made multimillionaire F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco, decides to take the tobacco and food conglomerate company private in 1988 after receiving advance news of the likely market failure of the company’s smokeless cigarette called Premier, the development of which had been intended to finally boost the company’s stock price.

Rogue Trader (1999)

This drama, based on a true story, follows Nick Leeson (Ewan McGregor), a young British man working at Barings, a major investment bank. Sent to Singapore and placed in a position of authority at the bank’s branch there, Leeson takes advantage of the thriving Asian market to make risky trades. Before long, he’s in over his head and tries to hide the losses. Fleeing the country with his beautiful wife, Lisa (Anna Friel), Leeson eventually has to face the consequences of his actions.

Boiler Room (2000)

Welcome to the infamous “boiler room” — where twenty something millionaires are made overnight. Here, in the inner sanctum of a fly-by-night brokerage firm, hyper-aggressive young stock jocks peddle to unsuspecting buyers over the phone — and are rewarded with mansions, Ferraris and more luxury toys than they know what to do with. In this unassuming Long Island enclave, Gen Xers chase the green at breakneck speeds, sometimes one step ahead of the law.

American Psycho (2000)

In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. The cast is filled by the detective (Willem Dafoe), the fiance (Reese Witherspoon), the mistress (Samantha Mathis), the coworker (Jared Leto), and the secretary (Chloë Sevigny). This is a biting, wry comedy examining the elements that make a man a monster.

The Bank (2001)

Jim Doyle (David Wenham) is a mathematical prodigy trying to concoct a way of foreseeing stock market collapses. He’s approached by Centabank CEO Simon O’Reilly (Anthony LaPaglia), who is eager to co-opt Doyle’s potential breakthrough. As an employee of Centabank, Jim works toward his goal, while Simon is under pressure from the board of directors. Meanwhile, a working class couple with a vendetta pursues legal action against the bank. Inevitably, corruption soon rears its ugly head.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Life is a struggle for single father Chris Gardner (Will Smith). Evicted from their apartment, he and his young son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) find themselves alone with no place to go. Even though Chris eventually lands a job as an intern at a prestigious brokerage firm, the position pays no money. The pair must live in shelters and endure many hardships, but Chris refuses to give in to despair as he struggles to create a better life for himself and his son.

Gafla (2006)

An ordinary young man, Subodh, starts out as like any middle-class guy, with limited opportunities to survive and get ahead. It is Subodh’s journey into the stock markets and beyond through the eyes of different people in his personal and professional life. The film follows a story about big dreams. An adventure that starts with ambitious intentions but gets caught up in a crime-web.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Following a long prison term for insider trading, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) finds himself on the outside looking in at a world he once commanded. Ostensibly hoping to repair his broken relationship with his daughter, Gekko forges an alliance with her fiance, Jake (Shia LaBeouf). Although Jake comes to view Gordon as a father figure, he learns the hard way that Gekko is still a master manipulator who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Margin Call (2011)

When an analyst uncovers information that could ruin them all, the key players (Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany) at an investment firm take extreme measures to control the damage.

Too Big to Fail (2011)

Financial leaders (William Hurt, Billy Crudup) spring into action when the U.S. economy falters in 2008.

Arbitrage (2012)

As he approaches his 60th birthday, New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is the picture of success — at least on the surface. In reality, Miller is in over his head, trying desperately to sell his empire to a big bank before the authorities and his family uncover the depth of his fraud. Unexpectedly, a critical error forces Miller to juggle family, business and crime with the aid of a former associate, but a detective’s (Tim Roth) suspicions mean it may already be too late.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

In 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still in his 20s, Belfort founds his own firm, Stratton Oakmont. Together with his trusted lieutenant (Jonah Hill) and a merry band of brokers, Belfort makes a huge fortune by defrauding wealthy investors out of millions. However, while Belfort and his cronies partake in a hedonistic brew of sex, drugs and thrills, the SEC and the FBI close in on his empire of excess.

The Big Short (2015)

In 2008, Wall Street guru Michael Burry realizes that a number of subprime home loans are in danger of defaulting. Burry bets against the housing market by throwing more than $1 billion of his investors’ money into credit default swaps. His actions attract the attention of banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), hedge-fund specialist Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and other greedy opportunists. Together, these men make a fortune by taking full advantage of the impending economic collapse in America.

Equity (2016)

An investment banker (Anna Gunn) tries to work her way up the Wall Street ladder while a prosecutor (Alysia Reiner) keeps an eye out for corrupt practices.

Money Monster (2016)

Lee Gates is a Wall Street guru who picks hot stocks as host of the television show “Money Monster.” Suddenly, during a live broadcast, disgruntled investor Kyle Budwell storms onto the set and takes Gates hostage. He tells Lee that he lost everything on one of his tips. As Gates tries to plead with Kyle, he’s also using an earpiece to communicate with his longtime producer in the control room. Together, they must figure out a way to defuse the situation and disarm the angry young man.

The Wizard of Lies (2017)

In 2008, stockbroker, investment adviser and financier Bernie Madoff made headlines around the world when he was arrested for perpetrating perhaps the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

The Hummingbird Project (2018)

Cousins Vincent and Anton are players in the high-stakes game of high-frequency trading, where winning is measured in milliseconds. Their dream is to build a straight fiber-optic cable line between Kansas and New Jersey, making them millions, but nothing is straightforward for this flawed pair. Anton is the brains, Vincent is the hustler, and together they push each other and everyone around them to the breaking point with their daring adventure.

Bazaar (2018)

After moving to Mumbai, an ambitious young man becomes the stock trader for a notorious businessman.

Trading Documentaries

Billion Dollar Day (1986)

Billion Dollar Day is a documentary about currency trading created by the British Broadcasting Corporation on 4 June 1985. The documentary focuses on three traders, each located in New York, London, and Hong Kong. The traders are followed throughout a typical day in order to demonstrate the challenges and dedication of each trader. More than a Billion is exchanged during the course of 24 hours while trading GBP, USD, and German Marks. The documentary is considered a landmark in International Business Schools and currency trading circles.

Trader (1987)

Filmed before Wall Street’s October 1987 crash, TRADER is a one hour documentary of a fascinating man, Paul Tudor Jones II. It delivers a rarely seen view of futures trading and explains the workings of this frantic, highly charged marketplace. It also examines Jones’ prediction that America is nearing the end of a 200-year bull market. If he’s right — and he almost always is — this country and the world are about to experience economic changes of unprecedented proportions.

The Corporation (2003)

This documentary begins with an unusual detail that came from the 14th Amendment: Under constitutional law, corporations are seen as individuals. So, filmmaker Mark Achbar asks, what type of person would a corporation be? The evidence, according to such political activists as Noam Chomsky and filmmaker Michael Moore and company heads like carpet magnate Ray Anderson, points to a bad one, as the film aims to expose IBM’s Nazi ties and these large businesses’ exploitation of human rights.

Enron – The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

This documentary explores the fall of the Enron Corporation, arguably the most shocking example of modern corporate corruption. The company is linked with several illegal schemes, including instigating the California energy crisis as a way to drive up utility prices at the expense of the average American. In a hyper-competitive environment, Enron traders resort to all kinds of underhanded dealings in order to make money at any cost and keep their high-paying jobs.

Floored (2009)

Men and women on the front lines of the financial crisis struggle to remain relevant.

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Filmmaker Michael Moore explores corporate greed, the global economic meltdown, and their disastrous effect on American lives. As he travels from the Heartland to the financial epicenter of New York and the halls of government in Washington, Moore delves into the price the country pays for its love of capitalism.

Chasing Madoff (2010)

In 2008, Bernie Madoff, a Wall Street fund manager and one of the most recognizable names within the business for his successful track record, gave himself up to authorities in operating what was arguably the largest Ponzi scheme ever orchestrated, defrauding his investor organizations and individuals to the tune of $50 billion US. For close to the previous ten years behind the scenes, who would become known as the Madoff whistle-blowers, with most of the proverbial heavy lifting in the matter carried out by Harry Markopolos, worked to expose what Madoff was doing as fraud. Working for Rampart, a rival firm based in Boston, Markopolos was initially tasked to develop a fund, using Madoff’s successful one as a benchmark. Within minutes of reviewing Madoff’s fund, Markopolos knew that Madoff was doing something illegal, probably a Ponzi scheme, to achieve the returns he was boasting, not yet realizing the reach and the value of the fraud.

Freakonomics (2010)

A 2010 American documentary film based on the 2005 book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by economist Steven D. Levitt and writer Stephen J. Dubner.

Inside Job (2010)

The global financial meltdown that took place in Fall 2008 caused millions of job and home losses and plunged the United States into a deep economic recession. Matt Damon narrates a documentary that provides a detailed examination of the elements that led to the collapse and identifies keys financial and political players. Director Charles Ferguson conducts a wide range of interviews and traces the story from the United States to China to Iceland to several other global financial hot spots.

Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street (2010)

This documentary examines how the financial system has become increasingly dependent on mathematical models attempting to quantify human and economic behaviour and the huge risks they entail.

Money and Speed: Inside the Black Box (2011)

Based on interviews with those directly involved and data visualizations up to the millisecond, it reconstructs the flash crash of May 6th 2010: the fastest and deepest U.S. stock market plunge ever. Money and Speed: Inside the Black Box is developed by filmmaker Marije Meerman in close collaboration with design studio Catalogtree. This exploratory documentary is a marriage of strong storytelling and meticulous visual analysis. A rare opportunity to experience what is happening inside the black boxes of our rapidly evolving financial markets.

The Wall Street Code (2013)

The Wall Street Code discusses the inner workings of modern day financial markets and contrasts the current approach to trading with that of the past. It describes how the buying and selling of stocks is managed by computers executing programmed algorithms, rather than through human beings, leading to a tangle of coding that is nigh-incomprehensible to anyone but the people who coded them.

Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve (2013)

Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed Chairman’s every word. Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful – and least understood – financial institution on earth. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, Money For Nothing is the first film to take viewers inside the Fed and reveal the impact of Fed policies – past, present, and future – on our lives. Join current and former Fed officials as they debate the critics, and each other, about the decisions that helped lead the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008. And why we might be headed there again.

Betting on Zero (2016)

Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman is on a crusade to expose global nutritional giant Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history, while Herbalife executives claim Ackman is a market manipulator out to bankrupt them.

Banking on Bitcoin (2016)

Bitcoin, the decentralized currency of the internet, grabs the attention of a curious public and the ire of the regulators the technology has subverted.

The China Hustle (2017)

Investors seeking new alternatives for high returns find a gold mine in China — until the discovery of a massive web of fraud calls everything else into question.

Becoming Warren Buffet (2017)

Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest people in the world. The secrets behind his success form the spine of the feature-length HBO documentary Becoming Warren Buffett. In contrast to his tremendous wealth and influence, Buffett possesses a good-natured human touch. He drives himself to work every day, and even stops by the local McDonalds for an inexpensive breakfast sandwich along the way. To this day, he continues to reside in his hometown of Omaha, NE.

The China Hustle (2018)

Investors seeking new alternatives for high returns find a gold mine in China — until the discovery of a massive web of fraud calls everything else into question.

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)

With a new invention that promised to revolutionize blood testing, Elizabeth Holmes became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, just two years later, her multibillion-dollar company was dissolved.

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

When the founder of a Canadian crypto exchange unexpectedly dies in India, customers suspect there may be more to the death than meets the eye.

Trading Series

Wall Street Warriors (2006)

Seasons: 3 Episode: 26

An HD documentary series examining the extreme power and intense competition that defines Wall Street, seen through the eyes of those who thrive there.

The Ascent of Money (2008)

Seasons: 1 Episode: 4

In The Ascent of Money, Ferguson travels the globe from Wall Street to Europe to South America and examines the mechanisms used by the world’s top financiers to generate maximum returns on their investments. He looks at the dangers posed to the world economy when risky strategies fail to pay off. The film takes complex financial vocabulary and presents them in layman terms to paint a picture of how the world of international finance truly works.

Million Dollar Traders (2009)

Seasons: 1 Episode: 3

Eight ordinary people are given a million dollars and a fortnight of intensive training to run their own hedge fund. Hedge fund manager Lex van Dam wants to see if they can beat the professionals

Billions (2016)

Seasons: 6 Episode: 66

Wealth, influence and corruption collide in this drama set in New York. Shrewd U.S. attorney Chuck Rhoades is embroiled in a high-stakes game of predator vs. prey with Bobby Axelrod, an ambitious hedge-fund king. To date, Rhoades has never lost an insider trading case — he’s 81-0 — but when criminal evidence turns up against Axelrod, he proceeds cautiously in building the case against Axelrod, who employs Rhoades’ wife, psychiatrist Wendy, as a performance coach for his company. Wendy, who has been in her position longer than Chuck has been in his, refuses to give up her career for her husband’s legal crusade against Axelrod. Both men use their intelligence, power and influence to outmaneuver the other in this battle over billions. The high-profile cast is led by Emmy winner Paul Giamatti (“John Adams”) as Chuck Rhoades.

Industry (2020)

Seasons: 2 Episode: 16

Graduates from all walks of life compete for a limited number of available full-time employment opportunities at Pierpoint, a top investment bank in London. The graduates include Harper Stern, a Black upstate New York native who uproots her life in pursuit of success, despite having lied about the university she attended, Hari Dhar, a state-school graduate and child of Hindi-speaking immigrants, Augustus “Gus” Sackey, a gay Black British graduate of Eton and Oxford, Robert Spearing, a white working-class Oxford graduate who is eager to please, and Yasmin Kara-Hanani, a privileged, well-connected child of Lebanese parents with an underachieving, drug-addled boyfriend.

Real Forex Trader (2020)

Seasons: 3 Episode: 51

Samuel Leach UK Forex trader, put reputation and £150,000 on the line to prove that anyone can become a profitable trader. 18 ordinary people with no trading experience will undertake one of the biggest challenges of their lives as they compete to become a consistently profitable trader.

In conclusion

While a lot of these stock market movies do cover topics like corruption and crime, they still teach us a lot of important details about the market. You can combine education and entertainment by watching these incredible films that can provide some insight into the working of the global markets.

Did we miss any?

Should we include any movies to this list? Shout out in the comments below, and let us know!