The Big Short

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The Big Short

R

Released Dec 23, 2015

2h 10m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

326 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

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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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

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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

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

This is such an improbably brilliant film.

Rated: 10/10

Jun 24, 2025

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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

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Matheus F

Adam McKay made a delightful and clever script.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/22/25

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Mark B

Stellar cast. Don’t let the subject matter put you off. I found it well explained, funny, shocking, and slightly depressing knowing nothing has really changed. A favourite movie. Loved the soundtrack. I understood the ideas after a second viewing probably because I was flabbergasted at how it all happened. Definitely rewatchable.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/03/25

Full Review

Les N

Amazing that this happened and the people at fault got heavily rewarded.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

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Buck M

Subtle it's not, but the director's use of pop culture images and music to set the scene goes a long way to establish a time, place and tone.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/05/25

Full Review

THE NASHVILLE I

The Big Short does a sensational job taking a ball of rubber bands like the financial crisis, and entertainingly unraveling the true crimes and schemes that took place to create the crisis in the first place. The actors are authentic, but charismatic. The crisis was truly interesting, and honesty not many movies could both educate you and thrill you the way Big Short does.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/25

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Audience Member

I liked the movie. The acting and the story is something else...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/06/25

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: B-Roll

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The Big Short: Trailer 2

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The Big Short: Trailer 1

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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
Producer: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Arnon Milchan
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
Runtime: 2h 10m

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