5 Films That Will Make You Cheer for the Downfall of the Rich (And Why You Should)
Watching the rich self-destruct has become a kind of catharsis for us all, as we sit in the dark, popcorn in hand, waiting for the inevitable downfall
Lately, the best way to tell if a film is good is if it makes rich people nervous.
You can almost hear the collective pearl-clutching when a new satire hits the screen, peeling back the lacquered layers of wealth to reveal something slimy and decaying underneath.
Gone are the days when the ultra-rich were simply villains in black turtlenecks, twirling their evil mustaches in high-rise boardrooms. Now, they’re vomiting on yachts or simply wandering into the abyss of their own self-made doom.
Maybe it’s because we, the audience, are more exhausted than ever—tired of watching the same cycle of late-stage capitalism chew people up and spit them out.
Maybe it’s because we know, deep down, that we’ll never be inside those gilded walls. Or maybe it’s just fun to watch terrible people get what’s coming to them.
Either way, here’s a ranking of the best “eat the rich” films and series that have defined this strange and spiteful era.
1. Triangle of Sadness
The moment a Russian oligarch shouts, “This is the story of capitalism!” over the intercom while Woody Harrelson (playing a drunk Marxist) argues back with quotes from Lenin, you know you’re in for something special.
Triangle of Sadness is part satire, part disaster movie, and part nauseating endurance test, featuring a luxury cruise turned literal shitstorm.
There is something deeply satisfying about watching influencers and arms dealers projectile vomit as their world collapses.
The final act? A savage role reversal where power shifts into the hands of a toilet manager, proving that, in the end, survival belongs to those who’ve actually worked for a living.
2. The White Lotus
Mike White gave us the gift of watching clueless and self-obsessed elites unravel against the backdrop of luxury resorts.
With each season, The White Lotus has perfected the art of the slow burn: you watch these people sip Aperol Spritzes and flaunt their generational wealth, knowing full well that someone is going to die by the finale.
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It’s not just about the eventual body count; it’s about watching them rot from the inside out.
Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid, floating through life on a trust fund and Xanax, is the perfect tragicomic symbol—proof that money doesn’t buy self-awareness, just more expensive ways to be miserable.
3. Parasite
Bong Joon-ho saw what we were all thinking and turned it into cinema.
Parasite is an immaculate and genre-blurring masterpiece that starts as a grifter comedy and ends as a bloodbath.
It’s got everything: humor, class warfare, and the devastating realization that no matter how close you get to the wealthy, you’ll always be beneath them.
The Parks’ home is all clean lines and soft lighting, a minimalist dream—until you realize it’s a fortress, designed to keep people like the Kims out.
The peach allergy? Iconic. The basement twist? Unparalleled. The ending? A gut punch so sharp you feel it in your bones.
4. Bodies Bodies Bodies
If Gen Z wealth was a horror movie, this would be it. A bunch of spoiled and coke-fueled twenty-somethings trapped in a mansion, accusing each other of gaslighting while failing to realize that their biggest enemy is, well, themselves.
It’s hilarious, chaotic, and filled with characters so painfully out of touch that their deaths feel almost inevitable.
When the final twist lands, it’s not just a punchline—it’s a perfect commentary on how the rich can self-destruct faster than any outside force ever could.
5. Glass Onion
Benoit Blanc returns to solve yet another mystery, this time at the expense of tech bros, girlbosses, and washed-up celebrities.
Glass Onion gleefully skewers the idea of the “genius billionaire,” showing us a tech mogul so profoundly dumb that he doesn’t even understand the mystery he’s caught in.
Every character is a different flavor of vapid—proof that wealth and intelligence don’t always go hand in hand. And when it all goes up in flames, it’s impossible not to cheer.
The revolution will be televised (or streamed)
If these films prove anything, it’s that we love watching the rich suffer. Maybe because real-life billionaires seem untouchable, their wealth shielding them from consequences.
But in fiction, there’s justice. The tables turn. The elite crumble. And for a moment, we can pretend that a different ending is possible.
Or at the very least, we can sit back, press play, and enjoy the spectacle.
Photos courtesy IMDB
