Where to Watch The Big Short (2015) in the US

What it's about

Three separate but parallel stories of the U.S mortgage housing crisis of 2005 are told. Michael Burry, an eccentric ex-physician turned one-eyed Scion Capital hedge fund manager, has traded traditional office attire for shorts, bare feet and a Supercuts haircut. He believes that the US housing market is built on a bubble that will burst within the next few years. Autonomy within the company allows Burry to do largely as he pleases, so Burry proceeds to bet against the housing market with the banks, who are more than happy to accept his proposal for something that has never happened in American history. The banks believe that Burry is a crackpot and therefore are confident in that they will win the deal. Jared Vennett with Deutschebank gets wind of what Burry is doing and, as an investor believes he too can cash in on Burry's beliefs. An errant telephone call to FrontPoint Partners gets this information into the hands of Mark Baum, an idealist who is fed up with the corruption in the financial industry. Baum and his associates, who work at an arms length under Morgan Stanley, decide to join forces with Vennett despite not totally trusting him. In addition to Burry's information, they further believe that most of the mortgages are overrated by the bond agencies, with the banks collating all the sub-prime mortgages under AAA packages. Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley, who are minor players in a $30 million start-up garage company called Brownfield, get a hold of Vennett's prospectus on the matter. Wanting in on the action but not having the official clout to play, they decide to call an old "friend", retired investment banker Ben Rickert, to help out. All three of these groups work on the premise that the banks are stupid and don't know what's going on, while for them to win, the general economy has to lose, which means the suffering of the general investor who trusts the financial institutions. That latter aspect may not sit well with Baum. Some of these assumptions may be incorrect and may be far more manipulative than they could have ever imagined, which in turn may throw curves into the process.

Cast and crew

Director

Adam McKay

Writer

Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, Michael Lewis

Starring

Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling

Details

Release date

Dec 23, 2015

Language

English

Country

United States

Box office

$70,259,870

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 37 wins & 81 nominations total

Where to Watch The Big Short (2015) in the US — common questions

Where to watch The Big Short in the United States?

The Big Short is available free with ads, free with a participating library card, or to rent in the United States. Watch the movie free with ads on Pluto TV. Watch the movie free with a participating library card on hoopla and Kanopy (HD). Rent the movie on Apple TV Store, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video.

Can I stream The Big Short or do I have to rent it in the United States?

Rent the movie on Apple TV Store, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video.

Can I watch The Big Short for free in the United States?

Watch the movie free with ads on Pluto TV. Watch the movie free with a participating library card on hoopla and Kanopy (HD).