Updated on October 10, 2023
As an entrepreneur, leader, or business owner, you likely love podcasts, books, or interesting documentaries. Not only can they be inspiring, but they introduce you to new ideas to take your business to the next level.
But what about Netflix (or your streaming service of choice)?
Sure, a lot of movies are just for entertainment. But there are a ton of films that offer major lessons to apply to your work and make your business even stronger.
Here are 14 movies with big business lessons to check out today.
1. The Big Short
“If we’re right, people lose homes. People lose jobs. People lose retirement savings, people lose pensions. You know what I hate about banking? It reduces people to numbers — every 1% unemployment goes up, 40,000 people die, did you know that?” (Ben Rickert)
Starring big names like Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carrell, and Ryan Gosling, this 2015 film is based on a novel of the same title.
Through multiple storylines, The Big Short walks the audience through events leading up to the 2007-08 housing crash and subsequent financial crisis. It’s based on the true story of Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager who started betting against subprime house loans. He not only made a profit but predicted the financial collapse.
The main business lesson in this film is the complexity and risks associated with the financial market. The film also raises an ethical dilemma—should you be profiting at the expense of other people’s misfortunes?
2. The Pursuit of Happyness
“Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right?” (Christopher Gardner)
Will Smith and his real-life son Jaden Smith star as a father-son duo in this 2006 tear-jerker. It portrays the true story of Chris Gardner, who struggled with homelessness as a single parent.
Through hard work, perseverance, and taking advantage of any opportunity that comes his way, Gardner finds a way to build a successful career and take care of his son. It shows the human side to business and success.
The biggest business lesson to take away from this film is to never doubt someone’s ability to achieve and, when possible, give people a helping hand to get back up on their feet.
3. Joy
“We got here from hard work, patience, and humility. Don’t think the world owes you anything because the world owes you nothing.” (Joy Mangano)
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, this 2015 film tells the true story of self-made millionaire, Joy Mangano. Always a creative thinker, Mangano invented the self-wringing mop. And despite messy relationships and challenging personal situations, Joy is able to bring her product to market and create a successful business.
The biggest business lesson here is the determination of entrepreneurs is more important than any adversities and challenges you face.
4. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
“If you want to make it, all you have to do is try.” (William Kamkwamba, novel version)
Based on a memoir of the same name, this 2019 film tells the true story of William Kamkwamaba. Living as a young boy in a small village in Malawi, William learns about the power of the wind at school.
Determined to build his own windmill to power the town’s broken water pump, William teaches himself the fundamentals of electrical engineering to pull off this feat.
An important business lesson of this film is how powerful self-education can be. You don’t always need a fancy degree or accolades after your name—just determination, grit, and the willingness to learn something new.
5. The Intern
Starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, this loveable film tells the story of Ben, a 70-year-old looking to get back into the game by taking the role of an intern at an online fashion retailer. Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and he’s ready for a change… but work has changed a lot since his last position.
Despite not planning on giving him any “real” work, Ben proves to be useful in unexpected ways. His charm, wisdom, and humor win over his much-younger boss, Jules, and they strike up an unlikely friendship.
The business lesson in this movie is to take a chance on people—you never know who might surprise you. In business and life, we shouldn’t “judge a book by its cover,” but respect the wisdom and knowledge each person has to bring to their role.
6. Chef
“I may not do everything great in my life, but I’m good at this. I manage to touch people’s lives with what I do and I want to share this with you.” (Carl Casper)
Acclaimed chef Carl Casper (played by Jon Favreau) quits his job at a prestigious restaurant to start a food truck business. This move comes after years of not being able to express his creativity in the kitchen.
The food truck presents a new opportunity to unleash his creativity and go back to his first love—cooking.
The business lesson here is that bigger is not always better and happiness isn’t always found at the top of the ladder. Instead, true joy comes from doing what you love and doing it with excellence.
7. Up in the Air
“I’m not a shrink, I’m a wake-up call, I see guys who work at the same company their entire lives, guys exactly like you. They clock in and they clock out and they never have a moment of happiness. You have an opportunity. This is a rebirth. If not for you, do it for your children.” (Ryan Bingham)
George Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert (i.e., he fires people for a living) who travels for work nearly every day of the year. Content with his job and the constant moving, it takes the arrival of a young, naive colleague to shake things up.
Soon Ryan is questioning the choices he’s made, how he treats people, and whether reaching ten million frequent flier miles—his lifelong dream—is ultimately worth it.
The main business lesson in this film is that people are people—you can’t go through life and business ignoring the humanity around you.
8. Erin Brokovich
“Look, I don’t know shit about shit but I know right from wrong!” (Erin Brokovich)
More of a cautionary tale for what not to do as a business, Erin Brokavich tells the true story of a woman who manages to win the latest settlement ever in a direct-action lawsuit.
Julia Roberts plays Brokovich, a woman struggling to hold a job and raise her family. After determining a power company was polluting the local water supply, she fights with determination to get justice for residents.
One business lesson takeaway from this film is surrounding social responsibility and ethical business practices. It shows the real, human consequences of putting profit over people and how that’s not the road to success.
9. The Founder
“Nothing in this world can take the place of good old persistence. Talent won’t. Nothing’s more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius won’t. Unrecognized genius in practically a cliche. Education won’t. That’s why the world is full of educated fools. Persistence and determination alone are all-powerful.” (Ray Kroc)
This biographical comedy-drama is set in 1954 and follows the life of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton). A struggling traveling milkshake mixer salesman, Kroc would eventually go on to help the McDonald brothers grow their restaurant business into the multi-billion-dollar fast-food titan it is today.
There are many business lessons in this film. First, it shows the importance of being customer-centric. Unlike many of the other restaurants Ray Kroc visited, McDonald’s thrived because it was able to serve high-quality food at lightning speed—exactly what the customer wants.
The film also exemplifies why entrepreneurs can’t be afraid to think big. While the McDonald brothers had a small established fast-food chain, Kroc was the mastermind in helping them expand it into a global business.
And most importantly, this movie offers a crash course in why persistence pays off. At first, the McDonald brothers were hesitant to buy into Kroc’s vision. But his persistence pays off when they finally get on board — and the rest is history.
10. Steve Jobs
“The musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra.” (Steve Jobs)
Another excellent biographical movie, Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) depicts the turbulent life of the visionary behind Apple.
There are few business success stories more inspiring than this one. But the movie serves as a stark reminder that it wasn’t a straight and smooth road to building the world’s biggest business.
The key business lesson in this movie is the fact that nothing successful is built overnight. Building a business takes hard work and dedication.
While it’s easy to admire Apple today, the process of building the business took 20 years. For more than a decade, Apple struggled as a business, as a technology, and as a company. There was internal turmoil that wasn’t necessarily seen by the public, and before Apple became a pioneer in shifting consumer behavior, it struggled to find its stride.
Another business lesson is the importance of leaders surrounding themselves with smart and capable people. While Steve Jobs was a visionary, he had to surround himself with people who had other skill sets and lead them well to achieve business success.
11. The Social Network
“We lived on farms and then we lived in cities and now we are going to live on the internet.” (Sean Parker)
Directed by David Fincher←known for his work on crime thrillers like Fight Club and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—The Social Network is a biographical movie that depicts the story of how computer genius Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, started Facebook during his time as a Harvard undergrad in 2003.
There’s a big business lesson for entrepreneurs here: why your primary focus should be to create a great product or service first and foremost. In the movie, Mark Zuckerberg rejects the idea of implementing ads to drive revenue and instead opts for creating a platform that people love. In his mind, a better platform meant more users which ultimately equated to more revenue.
It also showcases the importance of taking calculated risks. Zuckerberg dropped out of one of the world’s most prestigious universities to pursue his passion for creating Facebook because he knew it was the right risk for him to take.
12. Moneyball
“I’ve been in this game a long time. I’m not in it for a record. I’m not in it for a ring. That’s when people get hurt. If we don’t win the last game of the series, they’ll dismiss us. I know these guys, I know the way they think, and they will erase us. And everything we’ve done here, none of it will matter. If any other team wins the World Series, good for them. They’re drinking champagne, they’ll get a ring. But if we win, on our budget, with this team, we’ll change the game. And that’s what I want. I want it to mean something.” (Billy Beane)
Moneyball is the true story of Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, General Manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team.
In 2002, Beane had his back against the wall with a budget that was negligible in comparison to some of the MLB behemoths of the time. So, in an effort to build a championship team with a shoestring budget, Beane has to reinvent his team by outsmarting the richer ball clubs and taking an unorthodox—and often ridiculed—approach.
The business lesson in this movie is a clear-cut example of the importance of thinking outside the box. It proves that just because something has always been done in a certain way doesn’t mean that it’s the only way it can be done.
13. Glengarry Glen Ross
“Put. That. Coffee. Down! Coffee’s for closers only.” (The man known only as Blake)
In Glengarry Glenn Ross, Alec Baldwin delivers one of the most searing and infamous speeches in movie history.
Based on the Pulitzer-prize-winning play, this movie depicts two days in the lives of four real estate salesmen who are desperately trying to save their jobs after their corporate office sends a trainer to “motivate” them.
Their motivation? All but the two highest performers will be fired.
Alec Baldwin’s infamous monologue is the “motivational” speech the salesmen receive. And while it’s harsh, brash, and aggressive, it does convey one critical lesson for professionals in every industry: in order to succeed in business, you need to be focused, hungry, and unrelenting.
14. Wall Street
“Money is not the prime commodity in our lives… time is.” (Gordon Gekko)
In comparison to the business lessons from the other movies, the 1987 movie Wall Street serves more as a cautionary tale for professionals.
In the film, junior stockbroker Bud Fox will do anything to work with his hero, legendary Wall Street player Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). But this ultimately leads to him getting caught up in a deep plot of insider trading and financial crimes.
The key business lesson in this movie is a warning about the high price of sacrificing your morals and principles in the pursuit of financial gain. The movie clearly illustrates the importance of working with honesty and integrity—something that’s critical for professionals in every industry and stage of their career.
The second lesson is that time is money. While it’s cloaked in a bit of a dark cloud, the movie serves as a reminder for entrepreneurs about the value of putting in the time because for every hour you spend on activities that serve your goals, the closer you’ll get to achieving financial success in business.
There are so many ways to build a better business, and watching movies can be one of them! Films can inspire, offer new ideas, or provide invaluable business lessons you can implement into your work today to grow and thrive.
Can you think of any great business movies we might’ve missed? Let us know and we’ll add it to the list!
And if you’re in search of an inspiring work environment filled with networking and professional development opportunities, schedule a tour of one of our locations.
