21 Best Business Movies for Entrepreneurs

Everyone dreams of starting their own business and becoming a big shot in the business world. Unfortunately, most people never get the opportunity. However, those who do can either take it or leave it.

Taking it, for many, ends up being a harder option, as “making it” can often be too much. However, it is a life that has its charms and good sides, as well.

Today, I wanted to make a list of the best business movies to show you the joys as well as the struggles of businesspeople and entrepreneurs.

Some of these are true story films and documentaries, while others are fictional but still fairly accurate in their portrayal of Wall Street and the business world.

Some should even be taken as a cautionary tale for upcoming businesspeople who get the opportunity to go big, and are considering it.

But, make no mistake, each of these is a great movie, so even if you are only interested in the genre, you are going to have a blast with each and every one of them.

You’ll be surprised at the very last one, but no peeking just yet!

Steve Jobs (2015)

The first on the list of the best business movies for entrepreneurs is Steve Jobs, a film based on the true story and real personal life of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple.

The movie tells the behind-the-scenes story of the legendary entrepreneur, including the good days and bad days that marked his journey to the top.

More than that, it actually includes some important shots from Steve Jobs’ personal life, which helped him become the man he eventually ended up being.

Steve Jobs was a man of ideas and decisions, and making hard decisions while coming up with new ideas was what allowed him to create the company that became one of the biggest brands not only in the US, but the entire world.

It is one of the entrepreneur movies that every business owner can learn something from. Even if it doesn’t give you tips on how to grow your business, it will show the level of commitment necessary to get to the top.

The film stars Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston, and others.

The Social Network (2010)

Next, we have The Social Network, a well-known film about Mark Zuckerberg and the foundation of the social media platform, Facebook, including its origins while Mark was still in college, but also its evolution from the early days.

The Social Network is another movie featuring true events, according to some, including some harsh decisions that ended up terminating friendships and collaborations.

It depicts the world of business, with all of its twists and turns, manipulations and even betrayal.

How much of it is real and how much was added for the dramatic effect is irrelevant, The Social Network is one of the most brilliant entrepreneur movies either way and you should definitely watch it.

The Guardian particularly liked Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg, saying that “He is a borderline sociopath, never smiling, never raising his voice, never conceding an argument, driven to create his masterpiece through the unforgettable pain of being dumped in the movie’s opening scene.”

The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, and others.

Inside Job (2010)

About 15 years ago now, in 2008, the world was struck by a financial crisis.

It was a difficult one, and it angered a lot of people, including one individual (or group) that ended up creating Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency not controlled by banks or governments.

It also resulted in a 2010 movie called Inside Job, which emerged as a comprehensive analysis of the financial crisis, explaining how it ended up costing around $20 trillion while causing millions to lose their jobs, homes, and more in the biggest and worst recession following the Great Depression of the 1930s.

I included this film on the list of the best business movies because it shows how important it is to keep an eye on the financial markets, the forces that drive them, and their impact on society.

As all financial institutions are closely linked and any problem immediately results in a snowball effect that can lead to the crash of the entire system.

The film stars Matt Damon, Raghuram Rajan, Satyajit Das, Bill Ackman, and others.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Our fourth business movie is Jerry Maguire, which is a film about what it takes to be a high-powered sports agent.

After all, sports definitely falls under the category of business, at least partially, and a good sports agent has to be a professional at negotiating good deals for their clients, and always be on the lookout for the next big thing.

Jerry Maguire gives an insightful perspective into that world, but it also adds a twist when Jerry gets fired from his own sports management agency.

Overall, it is a great film that can help you out a lot if you need advice for handling certain aspects of the business world, handling things outside of your comfort zone, and getting out of the rut.

It also criticizes the world of business to an extent for not recognizing its assets and the best way to handle them, but would rather take a quick buck now instead of investing properly into the development.

The film stars Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jonathan Lipnicki, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, and others.

Office Space (1999)

The next on our list of top-notch entrepreneur movies is Office Space, which tells the story of Peter Gibbons, who is an expert when it comes to tedious daily interactions with coworkers and an exhausting relationship with the boss.

This work environment is bad enough to drive people over the edge, so he can be forgiven for daydreaming of destroying the company he works for.

He serves as a great example of the rebel employee, not satisfied with the job, the boss, the office itself, and who takes matters into his own hands.

The story of this business movie was said in a funny way, but it should be taken as a cautionary tale, as it addresses some of the most important issues and topics in the workplace, such as the importance of leadership, communication, employee dedication and satisfaction, and more.

The film stars Mike Judge, Ron Livingston, Gary Cole, Stephen Root, Jennifer Aniston, Ajay Naidu, and others.

Wall Street (1987)

If you are interested in the best entrepreneur movies because you wish to learn some trading secrets of the industry, then Wall Street is a must-watch.

This is a film about greed and ambitions, but apart from that the movie shows how easy it is to get carried away by the glamorous lifestyle until you get in over your head by being dragged into the web of inside trading.

Inside trading is a major no-no when it comes to regulations and rules of running trading businesses, but it still has a massive presence, as there are always those willing to risk it all to make it to the top and achieve success.

While this is a great movie that can give you a successful business idea, it also shows the pitfalls of the corporate world, and how Bud Fox, a young and ambitious stockbroker got dragged into them by his new boss’ aggressive business stance.

The film stars Michael Douglas, James Spader, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Sean Young, and others.

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s a Wonderful Life is generally accepted as a classic tale and one of the best entrepreneur movies of all time. Despite being from 1946, it is still very relevant today, at least for the fans of classic cinema and young entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The film follows the rise of George Bailey who is on the way to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

He is a young man from a small town who has dreams of traveling the world. But, after the death of his father, he takes over the family company.

With everyone out to get the family firm, he spends years defending it and ensuring business success, but also sacrificing his dreams along the way.

At the same time, he fights for his workers, providing them with a steady source of income, and enabling them to become homeowners, instead of having to rent from a local slumlord.

Things take a bad turn when the bank’s entire savings disappear, and years of sacrifice crash down on him.

The film stars James Stewart, Karolyn Grimes, Donna Reed, Virginia Patton, Jimmy Hawkings, and others.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

One of many business movies that started as a true, real-life story, is also The Pursuit of Happyness.

This is a film that includes both Will Smith and his son Jaden. This is not a documentary film, but more of a biographical movie, as it does tell the story of a legend among real-life salesmen, who then became a major American businessman, Chris Gardner.

It’s probably my all time favorite movie ever.

Gardner starts off as a nobody, working as a salesman, and barely making ends meet. However, it doesn’t take long for him to lose even that much, and become homeless.

In an attempt to save himself and his young son from living on the streets, he takes the chance to become an intern as a stockbroker.

That single decision led him to a full-time position and a prosperous career.

The Pursuit of Happyness is an extreme experience, but this is a great movie that offers an inspirational story, business ideas, and some important lessons along the way.

If you love rags to riches and true stories, this is the one for you.

The film stars Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Brian Howe, Dan Castellaneta, Takayo Fischer, and others.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street is likely the most famous and most popular of all the business movies on this list.

One of the best entrepreneur movies for many reasons, it is a black comedy crime drama that serves as a memoir of Jordan Belfort, a famous US broker who amassed quite a fortune, to the point where he caught the eye of the FBI.

Eventually, he was convicted of money laundering and fraud.

The movie itself has everything, from ups and downs to sex and drugs, with plenty of good deals, bad deals, fraud, luxury, and all possible ways to burn money that a mind can dream of.

Add the fact that the main character is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and it is easy to see why this film was a tremendous success.

The Guardian described it as “a raucous, crazily energised, if occasionally slightly shallow epic on a familiar subject, conducted in the classic voiceover-nostalgia style with sugar-rush jukebox slams on the soundtrack.”

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jordan Belfort, Martin Scorsese, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, and others.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

After the success of the classic film, Wall Street, the story got a sequel called Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

However, the sequel never became the big hit like the original movie. Even so, it is a good entrepreneur movie that offers some valuable lessons about the business world, which is why I believe it deserves its place among the best movies for young entrepreneurs.

Gekko, the main character, is trying to rebuild his company and fortune and find his place under the spotlight again.

This time, he is doing it together with his future son-in-law. However, this time it is different, as he gets a great idea of using some less conventional methods, which might be described as morally wrong, in order to deal with his rivals.

The film revolves around making bad decisions and how they turn into major problems when all you care about is getting more money.

The film stars Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin, Frank Langella, and others.

Boiler Room (2000)

Everyone has heard the inspiring story of every billionaire about how they earned big money from scratch, but have you ever wondered what it takes to actually do it?

This is what the Boiler Room movie shows, which is why it is one of the best entrepreneur movies for fans of brokerage schemes and crime dramas.

However, Boiler Room tells more than that, the movie highlights the price at which a successful life story comes. The movie highlights that you can’t have everything, and you have to suffer huge risks in order to get huge amounts of money and be ready for anything to succeed.

On the other hand, if you value your moral code, you must put in a lot of effort to stick to it an not be blinded by the lifestyle of the rich and famous, which is also easier said than done.

The film stars Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Nicky Kat, Nia Long, Scott Caan, and others.

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019)

One of the best business movies and movies for entrepreneurs that you should absolutely watch is actually a documentary called Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, or simply Fyre Festival.

It is a film about Billy McFarland, an entrepreneur and fraud who organized a Fyre Festival in 2017. The festival failed, but no by accident, it was doomed from the very start due to the mismanagement of funds and bad planning.

Every successful man or woman entrepreneur will tell you that planning is the key to success, which is why this entrepreneur movie has great value to young businesspeople out there.

More than that, it also shows that it is not enough to be passionate about something in order to achieve it and make it great. You need to be smart, work hard, plan well, and be ready for anything.

The film stars Ja Rule, Billy McFarland, and Andy King.

The Blind Side (2009)

In the thirteenth spot, we have The Blind Side, another sports drama that intends to show he more humane side of the successful elite.

The movie comes from the fact that the society tends to see rich people as bad people, who lie, cheat, steal, and exploit the common man in order to become wealthy.

The fact is, however, that there are many who got wealthy with skill, but they did not forget where they came from, people who have the money, and want to use it to do some good.

The Blind Side is one such film, which tells a story of a young woman who became successful, and take a young man under her wing, wishing to make him a top student and baseball player, but also a better person.

The film is a must-watch, as it reminds us all that no one can succeed on their own, and that everyone needs help from time to time.

The film stars Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Tim McGraw, Lily Collins, Kathy Bates, and others.

Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

Moving on with our list of the best movies for entrepreneurs, we have Pirates of Silicon Valley. This is a movie about the brilliant minds of people who changed the world, including the college dropout Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

They started small, they faced challenges, encountered betrayals, and had to learn to become innovators.

Not only that, but they had to invent the game, as they were bringing in a new age of technology, while at the same time, they had to protect themselves from business sharks.

This is one of the best business movies for tech geeks as well as one of the best movies for entrepreneurs, which can offer so much even as one of the startup movies.

Take my advice, watch it, and learn from the great minds who built the modern age through their skill, willpower, and many, many sacrifices.

The film stars Noah Wyle, Anthony Michael Hall, Joey Slotnick, John DiMaggio, Marcus Giamatti, and others.

Moneyball (2011)

In the fifteenth spot, we have Moneyball, which is primarily a movie about baseball. As such, you might be wondering, what is it doing on the list of the best business movies?

The truth is that I put it here because of the lessons that it offers, lessons that are used for sports, but are essentially universal, and can be used outside of the sports industry.

It is among the business movies because it shows that one needs the courage to make the change, and that courage is what makes the plot happen in the first place.

The story follows Billy Beane, who has an idea that can bring on a huge change. He follows through and brings changes to the way he makes his roster for the Oakland Athletics baseball team.

When the team loses to its rival that has more money, it is up to Billy to figure out a way to overcome that obstacle while using the resources that he has.

The film stars Brad Pitt, Chris Pratt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, and others.

The Intern (2015)

The world of modern business is fast, and so those who run it need to be fast. In a lot of people’s minds, that means having to be young and energetic, rather than old and traditional. Movie The Intern shows that this might not always be the case.

In the film, the Fit founder Jules Ostin can barely keep her head on when her firm skyrockets, and in an attempt to get some help, she hires an intern, a 70-year-old Ben Whittaker.

While many including her are skeptical about teaching an old dog new tricks, Whittaker is an expert in business, wise, observant, and experienced.

He learns new skills from his coworkers, while offering wisdom that comes only with age and experience in return, eventually making Ostin increasingly reliant on his advice.

He even manages to help her save her marriage while still being a CEO of her company, thus securing a happy ending for the film.

The film stars Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Adam DeVine, Rene Russo, Zack Pearlman, JoJo Kushner, and others.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Moving on, we have Glengarry Glen Ross, which is a film based on an award-winning play of the same name. It deserves to be on the list of the best business movies due to the fact that it is one of the most-watched business movies.

It follows four real estate agents, and shows the problems they have to face, all while being under massive pressure for their new trainer.

When a difficult sales period comes, they have to use all the skills they have to overcome the events and keep their jobs intact.

This is a film that focuses on how to work in a tough business environment, under strong pressure, when there are no easy options, and it should be watched by everyone who wants to become better at sales.

The film stars Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and others.

The Founder (2016)

Wall Street serves as a great source of business movies, but what if I told you that you can get something just as good from the food industry?

Enter The Founder, a biographical movie directed by John Lee Hancock about the launch and rise of McDonald’s, the most famous restaurant in the world even today.

It is a film about a salesman called Roy Croc, who joined up with the McDonald’s brothers, stole their idea, and launched a restaurant chain, and took it to greatness, without paying the brothers for their royalty.

He did the Zuckerberg before Zuckerberg, thus showing the importance of paying attention to who you work with and how trustworthy your business partners are.

Watch this movie if you are hoping to create the next big thing, and make sure to draw some valuable lessons from it.

The film stars Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, B. J. Novak, and others.

Joy (2015)

Moving on to number nineteen, we have Joy, one of those business movies that see the injustice of business from the perspective of those whose ideas were stolen, only to become very successful.

This is what happened to Joy, a divorced mother of two, who has great business ideas, but not the courage to start something on her own.

Eventually, she does make the move, and discovers all the obstacles in personal and professional lives that successful people have been dealing with for hundreds of years.

Still, she never gave up on her dreams, so there is that, at least.

If you hope to draw some conclusions from this movie, make those be the importance of determination and persistence, even despite the financial collapse, housing market crash, and other issues that trouble the world of business when the world economy takes a turn for the worse.

The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rosellini, Virginia Madsen, and others.

The Big Short (2015)

Speaking of the world economy taking a nosedive, we have The Big Short, a film about a man who discovered that bad things are going to happen before they happened.

What does he do in such a situation? Use it for personal profit? That would be wrong, and dangerous too. But the promise of an easy fortune is too strong to resist.

The Big Short is a must watch, and one of the best business movies on this list, retelling the story of the 2007 financial crisis in an unexpected way, showing that it is easy to exploit opportunities, and hard to do the right thing.

The movie is also extremely accurate when it comes to economic terms, the situations, and more, so if you want a professional film that is as legit as it can get, this is the film you want.

The film stars Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Marisa Tomei, Jeremy Strong, and others.

Margin Call (2011)

Finally, the last on our list is Margin Call, which is another film about the financial crisis from 2007 and 2008, but once again, it offers a new way to tell this story, this time from the perspective of an investment bank that is deep in the crisis.

The film revolves around key people in massive financial institutions, as well as the actions that they took in a 24-hour period right before the financial crisis officially started.

The bank in the film is, of course, entirely fictional, and it was never even named.

However, some of its actions have been very similar to what Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch did during the crisis, which is why many believe that the film might be a nod towards one of these two financial institutions.

The film stars Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, and others.

What is your favorite movie on the list? I would love to find out so please drop me a comment below.