The Big Short

R

Released Dec 23, 2015

2 hr. 10 min.

Comedy

Drama

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List

89%

329 Reviews

Tomatometer

88%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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Critics Consensus

The Big Short approaches a serious, complicated subject with an impressive attention to detail -- and manages to deliver a well-acted, scathingly funny indictment of its real-life villains in the bargain.

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Nathan W

For all intents and purposes, a movie about investment banking has no business being this entertaining. The greed and corruption of the rich, who only care about lining their own pockets... No matter the cost. Not sure I would call this a comedy but it somehow managed to be an engaging and moving drama, even though we knew the outcome going in. I thought the story was great and provided a lot of insight into a well known, but poorly understood by the masses, economic disaster. Stellar cast for the most part, but I will say that Steve Carell felt a little out of place in this one. All in all, masterful storytelling turned what could have been a relatively boring topic, into a thing of beauty.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/28/24

Full Review

Ricceaux

Absolutely awesome illumination of greed. The end of the movie lays out two different endings, and although common sense screams that one ending should have prevailed... sadly, the alternative ending is what became reality. Why? One word: greed. We had the perfect opportunity to fix the system, but we didn’t. There's an old saying: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." Maybe if enough people watch movies like this one, we will be demanding enough with our representatives to force the common sense ending when history repeats itself with what happened here. I try to stay optimistic.... we'll see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/20/24

Full Review

Enzo O

Had to watch it for class, great depiction of events. Can't forget the homie Steve in the bit too

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/17/24

Full Review

Marcos M

Great movie! This movie succeds in all aspects: screenwuitting, acting, pacing, editing. First time the business side took a lot of my atention. Rewatching it many mote emoccional scenes and detais really flowished and I had tears in my eyes when Mark Baum (Steve Carell) finally talks to his wife. And you learn a lot about how banks and institutions alike make a lot of money can be made over lies and trash.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

Full Review

Audience Member

A great history lesson on the housing crash of 2008, a great biopic on realists vs power creeps, and entertaining along the way

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/20/24

Full Review

Jelisije J

A very good film of how the American banks and government failed the American people during the 2008 financial crisis.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

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Adam McKay

Director

Steve Carell

Mark Baum

Ryan Gosling

Jared Vennett

Christian Bale

Michael Burry

Brad Pitt

Ben Rickert

Marisa Tomei

Cynthia Baum

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The Big Short: Official Clip - I Want My Money Back

2:13

The Big Short: Official Clip - Risky Assessors

2:02

The Big Short: Official Clip - Margot Robbie in a Bubble Bath

1:27

The Big Short: Official Clip - The Firm Investigates Florida

2:12

The Big Short: Official Clip - Betting Against the Housing Market

1:58

The Big Short: Official Clip - Fraud Never Works

2:05

The Big Short: Official Clip - The Jenga Pitch

2:01

The Big Short: Official Clip - The CDO Manager & Mark Baum

2:02

The Big Short: Official Clip - Selena Gomez Teaches CDOs

2:13

The Big Short: Official Clip - Cashing Out

1:57

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The Big Short: Trailer 2

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The Big Short: Trailer 1

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

... it wreaks of self-important pseudo-commentary that is more hollow and garishly humorous than it cares to admit.

Rated: D

Sep 1, 2017

Full Review

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

While The Big Short is hardly uplifting, it still manages to tell a rambunctiously funny tale that's as informative as it is entertaining, humor walking hand-in-hand with tragedy to ultimately craft a comedy that's impossible to dismiss.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 16, 2016

Full Review

Max Weiss

Baltimore Magazine

Adam McKay's The Big Short plays like an elaborate con, albeit one that uses its powers for good.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 12, 2016

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Headlined by a star-studded cast, this legitimate must-see film tip-toes audaciously between biting satire and topical cautionary tale. You won't know whether to be pissed or be entertained and that's a powerful quality to pull off.

Rated: 5/5

Feb 16, 2024

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

'The Big Short' is the film that we needed at this time.

Aug 27, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Trying to keep up with all of the fast market talk and financial blather wore me down. And there’s so much emphasis on it that the movie comes off as overstuffed and missing the human element which would have given it a more powerful punch.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Adam McKay
Executive Producer: Louise Rosner, Kevin J. Messick
Screenwriter: Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Plan B Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Sexuality/Nudity|Pervasive Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 23, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.2M

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