The Big Short | Rotten Tomatoes

The Big Short

R

Released Dec 23, 2015

2h 10m

Comedy

Drama

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The Big Short: B-Roll

2:35

The Big Short: Trailer 2

2:04

The Big Short: Trailer 1

2:33

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89%

Tomatometer

329 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

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

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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Tom G

It is not just the star-studded cast that makes this film brilliant. Not only is it interesting to learn about the ins and outs of 2008, but it is presented in such a clever way here. Equal amounts of information, comedy, anguish, stress and satisfaction are delivered in this film, and the result is a masterpiece. I'm not sure it had quite the impact or influence to deserve a 5-star rating, but it most definitely deserves the next best thing.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/24

Full Review

Augustine J

I really enjoyed this movie. One of the best of the "Business Biopics". I looked at the cast and I was like damn, this is going to be a good movie, and it was. The cast is truly incredible like Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and the supporting cast is all fantastic. The comedy is on point because of that. The movie had a tight script and the actors really pulled it off. Another surprising thing about this movie is just how accurate it is. It sticks super close to how all those events really transpired. This is a good good movie. Do yourself a favor and watch it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/14/24

Full Review

Dan R

A movie that depicted the worst financial downfall. Cast wonderfully portrayed the serious aspects leading up to the inevitable, easily a top 3 movie for myself. Would 100% recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/08/24

Full Review

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

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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: B-Roll

2:35

The Big Short: Trailer 2

2:04

The Big Short: Trailer 1

2:33

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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: 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
Runtime: 2h 10m

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