At this point in the GameStop stock drama it seems like the story is destined to become a TV show or movie, and those paying attention to Reddit day traders’ assault on the stock market are apparently already looking for the entertainment industry equivalent on streaming services.
The tug of war playing out in the markets over various retail stocks like GameStop has made some Redditors millions, as short sellers take a bath on the stock they were long betting against to fail. And according to IndieWire, streams of titles like The Big Short and The Wolf of Wall Street have skyrocketed as much as GameStop and AMC stock has in recent days, as people who are following the stock market drama are getting a bit of an education in the fiduciary duties and financial factors involved in stock market rises and falls.
Apple TV, usually the quickest to detect trends and spot immediate response, currently has Adam McKay’s 2015 “The Big Short” at #3 and Martin Scorsese’s 2013 “The Wolf of Wall Street” at #4. That places them ahead of all but two current releases (“Tenet” and “Greenland”) as the most-ordered titles.
This rapid response parallels what happened last February when Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 “Contagion” flew high with its story that paralleled the then-emergent COVID-19 pandemic.
The Big Short, in particular, is a great watch for those who want to understand the concept of shorting stocks. It also will probably make you very mad about the 2008 global financial crisis if you’re not aware of what caused thousands of lives to be ruined by the hosing collapse. But what’s interesting about using Apple TV to judge this is that people are paying to watch and rent these, as they are not on more widely used streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. So it’s safe to say that people are very interested in figuring out what’s going on.
It seems inevitable that this whole ordeal is turned into a movie or TV show of its own, but as millions try to understand what’s happening in the stock market and how they might be able to benefit it seems they’re turning to entertainment to try figuring it out for themselves.
