There's a lot at stake in a heist film, specifically of money or something equally as valuable. A good heist movie has a simple goal, but complicated plans to achieve it. But which might be some of the greatest heist films of all time is the question.
While crime films have always been a staple of Hollywood, heist movies started to establish themselves as a distinct genre following the success of The Asphalt Jungle in 1950, directed by John Huston. The highly regarded film is frequently regarded as a precursor to all heist movies, providing a basis for later filmmakers to build upon and build variations.
Today, the heist genre has moved beyond suave characters in suits and sunglasses with stacks of cash on hand. Young people with initiative, comic book heroes, and ordinary people striving to turn their lives around are brought in to plan the perfect crime. Here are 32 of the most renowned heist films ever made.
32. 21 (2008)
The credit: Money from casinos, from right under their noses. Based on Ben Mezrich's 2003 bestselling non-fiction book, Bringing Down the House, 21 dramatises the real-life story of intelligent university students who counted cards and exploited other mathematical advantages to beat casinos and amass a quick fortune. 21 is a glossy, Hollywood-ised version of what actually happened, from simplifying the story into the classic hero's journey structure to the decision to cast white actors in a true tale that mainly involved Asian Americans. While critics were not entirely sold on 21, it was still a box office success.
'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' (2023)
The cut: The Tablet of Reawakening. This lively interpretation of the world-renowned tabletop role-playing game, directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, is a testament to decades of fantasy gaming by creating a film that feels like sitting around someone's kitchen table with dice, character sheets, and a can of Mountain Dew. Set in the Forgotten Realms, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves centres on a group of rebellious heroes who must steal a mystical relic to save themselves and all of Neverwinter. Whilst the film underperformed at the box office, audiences have grown to appreciate Honour Among Thieves, much like a successful dice roll.
30. Good Time (2017)
The score: Robert Pattinson's brother. In this fast-paced and intense modern masterpiece from the Safdie Brothers, a bank robber (Robert Pattinson) plots to break his mentally challenged brother Nick (Benny Safdie) out of custody after their own attempt at a "normal" bank heist goes awry. Set over one desperate and violent night, which never seems to go according to plan, Good Time is far from an enjoyable experience, with its bleak portrayal of just how far people are willing to go for the sake of family.
29. Ronin (1998)
The score: A briefcase. Its contents don't matter. What truly matters in John Frankenheimer's Ronin is the way a team of top-notch mercenaries and former government security personnel belonging to a group led by Robert De Niro continually have their allegiances tested. Featuring authentic car pursuits and a complicated web of deceit and conspiracy, Ronin – a term derived from feudal Japan, referring to masterless samurai – highlights the genuine price of employing mercenaries.
28. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The score: The Infinity Stones, spread across time. The blockbuster conclusion to Marvel's initial three "phases" of interconnected films, this direct sequel to 2018's Avengers: Infinity War sees the Avengers dust themselves off (so to speak) and work to defeat Thanos and restore the missing half of all life in the universe. The success of their plan relies on collecting the Infinity Stones from earlier chapters across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Part time travel adventure and part heist film, Avengers: Endgame is a most epic farewell to the original core Avengers team and the beginning of a bold new era.
28. The Italian Job (2003)
The score: Gold… and sweet revenge. This loose reworking of the 1969 British caper film features a 2003 Hollywood retelling in which Mark Wahlberg plays a seasoned thief who gets his team back together after they pulled off a successful heist in Vienna years ago. The plan this time isn't just about getting gold, but also about getting revenge on the man who deceived them and killed their mentor. The film also stars Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Edward Norton, and Jason Statham, and it is an action-comedy that balances suspense alongside its slick pace, much like a Mini Cooper drifting through the road.
26. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A Fish Called Wanda is a hilarious thrill as jealousy, seduction, and deception spin out of control amongst the group. A seemingly flawless heist perpetrated by eccentric individuals, A Fish Called Wanda replaces the smooth style of other Hollywood caper films with something far more humorous and unforgettable.
25. The House of Games (1987)
The score was £58,000 in a high-stakes poker game. In director David Mamet's directorial debut, Lindsay Crouse plays a disillusioned psychiatrist, Dr. Margaret Ford, who is drawn in by a con artist (Joe Mantegna) and gets wrapped up in a scheme that revolves around £58,000 in Mafia money and back-room poker games. In this cerebral neo-noir with a surprise twist ending, House of Games blurs the line between victims and perpetrators when it asks: Who is actually feeling the thrill of the con?
24. The Killing (1956)
The prize money: £1.4 million in cash. While Stanley Kubrick is mainly renowned for carefully crafted dramas like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut, the director has also produced more conventional fare. A notable example: The Killing from 1956, and one of the director's first feature-length films. An ex-convict assembles a team of skilled operatives to steal a large sum of money from a horse racing track during a major event, but bad fortune and unexpected betrayals cause the heist to go awry. Although The Killing is relatively more conventional than Kubrick's later, more celebrated films, its unique non-linear structure, occasional documentary-style storytelling, and bleak conclusion (emphasising the dangers of excessive ambition) make it stand out from a multitude of other formulaic heist films.
23. Now You See Me (2013)
The score: numerous billions of pounds from European banks. In Louis Leterrier's crowd-pleaser Now You See Me from 2013, a team of magicians work to steal the fortunes of corrupt banks and corporations to return to their audience in a Robin Hood-like manner. Now You See Me is the film that kick-starts the series, starring Mark Ruffalo as the baffled FBI agent in pursuit of the magical thieves. But, just like any good magic trick, there's always something hidden up the sleeve, and Now You See Me – implausible as its narrative may be – manages to entertain to the highest degree with more twists and turns than the streets of Paris.
22. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The ruling score: Diamonds. While a robbery is the core plot of Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino's highly acclaimed directorial debut is actually more focused on the events leading up and following the robbery. Demonstrating remarkable skill for a newcomer, Tarantino successfully pulls off a "heist" film that defies all expectations to deliver a genuinely original and groundbreaking work that sets the template for the rest of the 1990s. To be fair, only Tarantino could surpass his own achievement, which he did just two years later with his crime drama masterpiece Pulp Fiction.
21. American Hustle (2013)
The score: Mayor Carmine Polito, played by Jeremy Renner, of Camden, New Jersey. In David O. Russell's highly acclaimed 2013 feature, in the 1970s, con artists reluctantly join forces with an FBI agent to carry out a sting operation against the corrupt Mayor Polito and mob bosses in a pretend investment scheme. As you'd expect, the personal tensions among the players - particularly the feisty female lead, Rosalyn, played by Jennifer Lawrence - put the operation at risk. Hilarious, heated, and stylish, American Hustle is truly a story of the American dream taken to its most extreme.
20. "The Usual Suspects" (1995)
The total amount: £66 million in drugs. Bryan Singer's widely praised 1995 heist-comedy The Usual Suspects centres around a botched heist that ends in explosive chaos in the San Pedro Harbour. The entire story is recounted and narrated by one of the participants: Kevin Spacey's Verbal Kint, who reveals to the audience the many levels of deception and manipulation while under police questioning. From its outstanding performances by its cast to its well-crafted sense of humour and intricate complexity, The Usual Suspects is a top-class heist thriller of the '90s, a masterclass in narrative misdirection.
19. The Sting (1973)
The score: Ruthless crime boss Doyle Lonnegan. Set during a period of great economic hardship, rising star con artist Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) enlists the services of experienced scam artist Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to cheat Lonnegan out of his fortune after the gangster kills a mutual acquaintance of theirs. In this elegantly dressed caper comedy, vintage America is brought to life in a way that's reminiscent of a moving painting by Norman Rockwell, partly due to the film's distinctive ragtime soundtrack. A hit when it first opened in Christmas 1973, The Sting has stood the test of time thanks to its two charismatic leads, who embody some of the finest acting talents Hollywood has ever seen.
18. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
The high score is securing bank funding for gender-affirming surgery. One of Al Pacino's most notable films, the gripping thriller Dog Day Afternoon follows Sonny Wortzik, a novice criminal (loosely based on a real-life offender, John Wojtowicz), as he inadvertently holds an entire bank to ransom. What was supposed to be a simple heist turns into a nerve-wracking standoff with the police when his original plan backfires. Amid the frenetic action, Dog Day Afternoon endeavours to find the humanity in the midst of the mayhem.
17. Triple Frontier (2019)
The score: Millions in cash from a drug lord's hideout. In this massive Netflix action film, a group of ex-Special Forces operatives who've achieved little in their military careers plan to steal millions from a cartel leader in South America. Despite their expertise and close camaraderie, unexpected problems and even their own greed complicate the heist, leading the team to make difficult decisions as their entire plan falls apart. Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, and Pedro Pascal star in this masculine drama, in which bravery brings little reward.
16. Three Kings (1999)
The score: Kuwaiti gold. From David O. Russell, the 1999 war thriller Three Kings features a group of American soldiers in the Gulf War who stumble upon a map that supposedly leads to looted gold hidden in a fortified bunker in a perilous area. The leading characters, played by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze, begin their quest for gold and wealth but ultimately find themselves assisting Iraqi civilians, marking a significant shift in their lives forever. A refreshing blend of intense war sequences and crime capers, Three Kings stands out as a prolific example of genre excellence.
15. Widows (2018)
The score: £1.4 million (approximately). Steve McQueen's acclaimed 2018 action-drama Widows tells the story of four widows whose late husbands failed a heist, leaving them with a substantial debt to a ruthless Chicago mobster with ambitious political aspirations (Brian Tyree Henry). Without the polished charm and cleverness often found in Hollywood heist movies, Widows delves into the hard-knuckle realism of its working-class characters to create a vivid, though downbeat, portrait of desperation and determination – the traumatic aftermath of what our loved ones leave behind. Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo bring to life some of the most formidable women ever to appear on screen.
14. Sneakers (1992)
The score: A cutting-edge decryption device. As UK households began to take up computers, Sneakers dabbled with the world of hackers and computer hacking for one major heist. In Sneakers, Robert Redford leads a team of rogue tech experts – or "sneakers" – who are coerced by the NSA into retrieving a "black box" device that can infiltrate any computer system globally. Amusing and suspenseful, Sneakers is an underappreciated gem from the early 1990s that utilised the heist film genre to foretell the importance of our digital future.
13. Baby Driver (2017)
The score: USPS money orders. Or, as Kevin Spacey's mastermind Doc puts it: "A quarter of a million per box. You do the maths." While the heist in Edgar Wright's fun 2017 caper Baby Driver is somewhat complicated, what really matters is the personal animosity between main protagonist Baby (Ansel Elgort), a skilled getaway driver with tinnitus who wants to live an honest life, and his former crime boss Doc (Spacey) who forces him into one last job. Between Wright's reliably sharp direction and the movie's impressive cast – including Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, and Eiza González – Baby Driver drives to the beat with style and élan.
12. Fast Five (2011)
The score: £74 million, the personal fortune of a notorious Rio crime boss. The fifth instalment in the wildly successful Fast & Furious franchise, 2011's Fast Five, boosted the series from mindless street racing films into the realm of genuine summer blockbusters. Fast Five marks the first-ever reunion of characters from different Fast & Furious sequels in a single event movie, the plot centreing around a heist in Brazil. Dwayne Johnson makes his franchise debut as Luke Hobbs, a broad-shouldered government agent intent on apprehending Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker). Although Fast Five plays out like a finale, it was simply the starting point for a new era for Dom's clan.
11. The Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)
The score: Chickens, and anything else cunning foxes can get from nasty farmers. Using vivid stop-motion animation, director Wes Anderson returns to the heist story genre of his own 1996 directorial debut Bottle Rocket in this adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1967 children's novel. George Clooney voices Mr Fox, a reformed thief who plans a final job of stealing from farmers, who eventually exact revenge against Fox and his community of furry thieves. A heist story that even children can enjoy, Fantastic Mr Fox lives up to its title of 'fantastic' with its well-plotted storyline and picturesquely beautiful visuals that feel like browsing through a pop-up book.
10. Thief (1981)
The budget: Diamonds, worth approximately £2.8 million. Michael Mann's atmospheric 1981 neo-noir crime film Thief tells the story of Frank (James Caan), a skilled safe-cracker who wants to lead a more respectable life and start a family. Deciding to embark on one final job, Frank's plans to go straight are put in jeopardy when Frank is betrayed, with the resulting chaos prompting him to take drastic action and bring the curtain down on his life of crime. Featuring all the hallmarks of Michael Mann, from his captivating depiction of rain-soaked and neon-lit streets to its otherworldly synth score, Thief is a no-nonsense heist classic.
(Note: 'Hell or High Water' is a common idiomatic expression in British English, but for the purpose of paraphrasing, I've chosen a more literal translation. 'Damage or Sea' is not as idiomatic, but it conveys the same meaning)
The score equates to enough to settle a bank debt. Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water brings back the spirit of classic Westerns for a contemporary tale of two estranged brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster), who carry out a series of bank raids to pay off a debt in order to secure their family's ranch, where oil has recently been discovered. However, the issue arises due to Foster's character, Tanner, whose unpredictability makes him a hindrance to their success. In pursuit of them is a seasoned and seasoned Texas Ranger (Jeff Bridges). A sober and thought-provoking film about the resilience of individuals in the face of adversity, Hell or High Water is as hot as the Texas climate.
8. Logan Lucky (2017)
The score: Millions of dollars from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Swerving from the polished sophistication of his Las Vegas-focused Ocean's movies, director Steven Soderbergh (with a screenplay by Soderbergh's wife Jules Asner, credited as Rebecca Blunt) takes the action to Bible-belt British America. Two frustrated brothers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) orchestrate a heist to steal millions during a bank holiday NASCAR race. Logan Lucky is a whimsically Nashville-reimagined take on the heist genre, a film steeped in Southern barbecue traditions with an eclectic cast of characters and humorous twists on heist conventions. (Exploding gummy bears, for example.)
7. The Town (2010)
The score: More than three million dollars in box office revenue at Fenway Park. Leave it to Ben Affleck to create the most accomplished Boston-set heist film yet. The director/actor stars in his 2010 crime drama The Town as Doug MacRay, the leader of a gang of bank robbers who gets romantically involved with a charming bank manager (Rebecca Hall) who has incriminating evidence against them. While The Town doesn't revolutionise the heist movie genre, it's a thoughtful and gripping film about conflicted loyalties in a realistic portrayal of Boston.
6. Bottle Rocket (1996)
The score: A safe at a storage facility. Wes Anderson's first feature-length film as a director is a dry and amusing caper where real-life brothers and actors Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson play unsophisticated bank robbers whose attempts to pull off heists for a local crime boss consistently go hilariously wrong. Their major target is a safe at a storage facility, but even when that job also ends in failure, what's left are the most memorable eccentric characters and their lasting friendship. A quirky take on the heist genre, Bottle Rocket lays the groundwork for Anderson's future talent.
5. Drive (2011)
The score: £28,000 from a Los Angeles pawn shop. Nicolas Winding Refn's acclaimed 2011 noir stars Ryan Gosling as a nameless Hollywood stunt driver who doubles up as a freelance getaway driver for criminals. While that premise sounds like a recipe for over-the-top action films, Refn's Drive is instead a masterfully composed character-driven film about a lonely man seeking a reason to keep driving. The movie's plot centres around a heist where Gosling's character agrees to participate to help his pretty neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan), settle her husband's (Oscar Isaac) debt to gangsters. Eventually, things go awry, and Gosling becomes driven to protect Irene and her young son. A brooding and atmospheric movie, Drive is less The Fast and the Furious and more Taxi Driver, a gripping thriller about the costs of doing the right thing.
4. Inside Man (2006)
The score: Documents that reveal the connection between a bank chairman's (Christopher Plummer) wealth and Nazi Germany. When someone in a position like that is at risk of having their reputation tarnished, who is really being done a disservice by the events that unfold? This is the dilemma that detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) faces as he tries to work with principled crook Dalton (Clive Owen), whose plan to muddy the waters by staging a more conventional bank heist may have been a bit too successful. Essentially a heist film told from the point of view of the police on the outside, Spike Lee's Inside Man is a modern 21st century classic that subverts the usual conventions of a heist movie.
3. Inception (2010)
An idea in a CEO's son's dreams. In a thought-provoking sci-fi action film by Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a family man with a unique professional skill - he specialises in entering people's dreams. He is hired for one final task: to plant the idea into the mind of the son of a powerful business leader (Cillian Murphy) that the family business should be broken up. A massive release in the summer of 2010, Inception solidified Nolan's reputation as a talented Hollywood director, able to attract large crowds with a film as complex and intriguing as the human subconscious.
2. Heat (1995)
is made for fighting and focus on the characters in this simmering modern thriller set in LA. A manic detective, played by Al Pacino, clashes with a veteran burglar, played by Robert De Niro, whose back and forth build up the suspense in the city of Los Angeles, California. This gripping crime story made by Michael Mann not only captured its time, but still feels just as exciting after all these years.
1. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
The score: £107 million from Las Vegas casinos. Arguably the ultimate heist movie and easily one of the best of its era – even surpassing the original 1960 Rat Pack version – Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven famously stars George Clooney as ace thief Danny Ocean who assembles a team of specialists to lift hundreds of millions from Vegas casinos. It just so happens that the money belongs to Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the new boyfriend of Danny's ex-wife (Julia Roberts). A-list stars in designer labels who plot the perfect crime under the shining lights of Las Vegas make Ocean's Eleven not just the best in its trilogy, but one of the greatest heist movies of all time.
