Top films about winning lots of money

It Could Happen To You

Do you like playing games? More importantly – do you like playing games where you can win money? Many people do for obvious reasons. Whether you choose to gamble at a real-life casino, play one of the many different online games such as bingo, or play your lucky numbers on the lottery – there is always that chance to win big. We all have that daydream of suddenly having huge amounts of life-changing cash.

If you need some inspiration, here are some great films about people who won lots of money.

If I Had a Million

Richard Bennett, a steel tycoon who’s the main role in this movie, chooses eight random people and hands them $1 million each. Why? He does this to prevent his greedy family from taking his big inheritance.

One of the people who get the money is W.C. Fields, a person who uses it to clear the bad drivers from the road. Another is Gary Cooper, a marine who believes that this is a prank. Next, there is Charles Laughton who quits his job because of this. The stories are intertwined and amazing, and they bring either tragedy or joy to each recipient.

Brewster’s Millions

There have been several films based on the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon and there will no doubt be more made in the future. They all follow the same basic plot and for the purposes of this piece, we will look at the 1985 film directed by Walter Hill. That is the one that stars Richard Pryor and John Candy. Brewster is told that his recently deceased great-uncle has left him his entire $300 million fortune. He can just take $1 million or get the whole amount if he can spend $30 million in 30 days.

He may not own anything that was not already his at the end of the 30 days. He can donate 5% to charity and lose 5% by gambling, and he may not waste the money by purchasing and destroying valuable objects. Plus he cannot tell anyone about the deal.

What follows is a very funny take on how difficult it is to spend large amounts of money.

It Could Happen to You

If you’re up to seeing one of the best romantic comedies of all time, this is definitely a great choice for your next movie night! The It Could Happen to You movie stars Bridget Fonda and Nicolas Cage in the romantic story of two people who split the lottery.

In the movie, Nicolas Cage stars as a police officer who wins the lottery. He splits the money with Fonda, a waitress. Why?

Biasi the waitress is bankrupt because of her soon-to-be ex-husband (she cannot even afford to divorce him). When Charlie doesn’t have enough money to tip her, he promises to double the tip or give her half of his lottery winnings if he wins the following day. When he wins the money, he keeps his promise.

Waking Ned

In Waking Ned (or Waking Ned Devine), a small Irish town finds out that one of the residents has won the lottery. Ned Devine had the winning ticket, but he died from the shock. The town then works together to convince the lottery inspector that Ned is still alive so they can collect the winnings and split it between the town.

A great heart-warming film that shows how a group of different people can come together.

Finder’s Fee

Finder’s Fee is a magnificent crime drama directed by Jeff Probst. This movie follows the story of a young man named Tepper who finds a wallet on the street. He then reaches out to the owner of the wallet, Avery Phillips, and realizes that the wallet contains a winning lottery ticket.

This is a story about the moral dilemma of a man who plays poker with his crew, which makes it a thrilling crime drama you should definitely watch.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Finally, we come to a film which is a little different but still has the protagonist (in this case, the young Charlie Bucket) winning a life-changing amount of money. Of course, that comes in the shape of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, but as the whole world was desperately searching for one of the golden tickets we know just how valuable it is. All Charlie had to do was survive the numerous traps and tricks set up by Wonka (played by the brilliant Gene Wilder) and basically be a good, thoughtful, and caring person. At the end of the day, that was enough for Charlie to make it through to the end.