The Big Short
2015 · Movie · R · 131 min · ★ 7.4 · 85% critics
A handful of outsiders spot dangerous cracks in the financial system and dig through confusing jargon, shady incentives, and willful ignorance to understand what’s coming. As they piece together the truth, the story mixes dark humor with rising dread, showing how a looming collapse could be seen—and still allowed to happen.
Based on The Big Short
Also known as The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
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Watch free on Hoopla, Kanopy and Pluto TV — also streaming on Paramount+.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 2015
- Release date
- 2015-12-11
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 131 min
- Critic score
- 85/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.4/10 (9,861 votes)
- Box office
- $133,346,506
- Budget
- $28,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a fast, darkly funny breakdown of a real-world financial disaster that still feels tense and unsettling, similar to Vice; Not for you if you dislike dense jargon or prefer a straightforward, character-driven story.
Pros: darkly funny tone; gripping sense of doom; clear explanations | Cons: can feel disjointed; dense financial jargon; thin character depth
Themes
- based on novel or book
- bank
- fraud
- wall street
- biography
- based on true story
- finances
- animated scene
- historical fiction
- loan
- financial crisis
- real estate
- +2 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2016
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2016 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 2016 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actor · 2016 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 2016 · nominated
Show all 6 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Director · 2016 · nominated
Cast & crew
Steve Carell
as Mark Baum
Christian Bale
as Michael Burry
Ryan Gosling
as Jared Vennett
Brad Pitt
as Ben Rickert
Marisa Tomei
as Cynthia Baum
Melissa Leo
as Georgia Hale
Hamish Linklater
as Porter Collins
John Magaro
as Charlie Geller
Rafe Spall
as Danny Moses
Jeremy Strong
as Vinny Daniel
Directed by Adam McKay