It’s hard to deny — this week’s audacious Louvre heist has captured the public imagination like few other crimes in recent memory.
But instead of planning a caper for yourself, a good heist movie is probably the best way to feel that vicarious thrill.
In that spirit, we’ve put together some of the best titles in the genre and where you can watch them — focusing on Louvre-adjacent heists of things, instead of simply money. (That is, with a few fudged honourable mentions.)
Contemporary capers
Extremely loosely based on the Worcester Art Museum heist in Massachusetts in 1972, the Josh O’Connor art theft film The Mastermind documents the exploits of a disaffected man who attempts to leisurely take off with four Arthur Dove paintings. Unlike other entries on this list, don’t expect fireworks from this slow-paced thinkpiece. In Canadian theatres Oct 31.
Picking up where its first season left off, the newest season of British series The Gold focuses on the outcome of the 1983 Brink’s-Mat gold robbery in London. Where most heist stories focus on the robbers, this series focuses more on the police chasing after them. On CBC Gem.
In star-stuffed Crime 101, Chris Evans is jewel thief Davis, who awkwardly teams up with insurance broker Sharon (Halle Berry) to rob along the 101 freeway. As the two skirt dogged pursuit by detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), they inch closer to a huge, multi-million dollar final job. In theatres February 2026.
Honourable mention: The low-stakes heist in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming The Christophers isn’t the focus, but part of an incredible arts-focused movie. Headed to theatres in 2026.
Classics
A lesson in spare, taut suspense-building, Le Cercle Rouge follows a group of French burglars almost accidentally brought together for a brazen and thrilling jewel heist. But as we learn from the doomed criminals, collaborators and inspectors alike, accident and choice are more or less illusions in the face of the fated roles we play. “All men are guilty,” explains the cynical police chief at one point. “They’re born innocent, but it doesn’t last.” Stream on Apple TV.
Widely regarded as the best heist movie of all time, Rififi follows a similar plot to Le Cercle Rouge: jewel thieves in and out of prison plan a job on a seemingly impenetrable joint. Much of the focus of this movie is on the crime itself, with an intricately planned heist that boasts a dialogue- and music-free 30 minutes of tense thievery. Though not currently streaming, Criterion sells the movie on DVD and Blu-ray, while your local video store (yes, they still exist) or library is bound to have a copy.
The slightly convoluted comedy How To Steal a Million casts Audrey Hepburn as the daughter of an infamous art forger who one day gets out from under his skis. One of the statues he’s faked is set to be forensically investigated; if that happens, everything he’s ever sold will go under the same magnifying glass. Hepburn needs to pair up with “humble burglar” Simon Dermott (Peter O’Toole) to snatch the statue back before the tests commence. Rent on Prime Video, Apple TV or YouTube.
Honourable mention: Bonnie and Clyde may steal money, but they do it in one of the best movies of recent memory. Rent on Prime Video, Apple TV or YouTube.
Underrated gems
In the pitch-black Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, a man (Philip Seymour Hoffman) enlists his brother (Ethan Hawke) to rob the jewelry store owned by their parents (Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris). Continuing the heist-film trend of doomed success, don’t hope for much light in this bleak but beautifully acted piece. Stream on Prime Video or Hoopla, or rent on Apple TV.
Taking place over the course of a single day, Argentina’s Nine Queens charts a pair of conmen who come together on a chance meeting for a chance score. And though the prize its two tricksters hope to grab is money, the way they do so is through first getting their hands on a different kind of artwork: rare and valuable stamps. Like The Usual Suspects meets Oceans 11, this one boasts a finale you’re going to want to stick around for. Stream on YouTube TV, or rent on Prime Video, Apple TV or YouTube.
Headhunters isn’t one for little siblings or the squeamish. When business-headhunter-by-day, art-thief-by-night Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) picks the wrong client to steal from (Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), what follows is like dumping a bucket of blood (and other bodily fluids) on No Country For Old Men. Stream on Hoopla or Kanopy, or rent on Prime Video, Apple TV or YouTube.
Honourable mention: Criminally underrated Can You Ever Forgive Me? may lack true heists, but includes getting one over on the arts world. Stream on Disney+.
True story
Inspired by a Vanity Fair article about teenager-led heists of L.A. celebrities’ homes, Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring does the secondary job of indicting an internet- and fame-obsessed culture. If you can sit with the intentionally spare and rarely judgmental cinematic style, you’ll be justly rewarded. Rent on Apple TV or Prime Video.
American Animals follows a group of young men who get the brilliant idea to steal not a famous painting, not jewels, but an illustrated book of birds. Odder than their target, though, is how director Bart Layton chose to film it: part comedy, part documentary, the movie enlists the criminals themselves to help tell the story. Weaving in and out of re-enactment and commentary to the point the two lose any distinction, American Animals operates as a criticism of both hubris and audiences’ insatiable appetite to hear all about it. Rent on Apple TV.
Museo starts with an attestation: “This story is a replica of the original.” What follows is an exploration of that idea — all while charting Mexico’s largest ever museum heist. Its hero doesn’t really have any clue why he did it; he just knows he can’t stand seeing Indigenous masks, headdresses and ceremonial items trapped behind glass, completely divorced from form or function. As a bonus, it has one of the most hilariously awful Christmas evenings in cinema history. The anti-capitalist, anti-honesty film is for rent on YouTube.
Honourable mention: The electric Hell or High Water is not based on one true story, but instead the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. Stream on Prime Video, Crave or Hoopla or rent on Apple TV.
Modern milestones
A film that pits cops Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Willem Dafoe against a shadowy group of Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Clive Owen is doomed to success from the get-go. But you’ll only get more invested as Inside Man — a twisty-turny revenge flick about an intricately planned, more-than-just-a-bank-heist — starts to go off the rails. Rent on Apple TV or Prime Video.
With a 1960s original in the rearview and a Michael B. Jordan-directed remake in the future, it’s hard to ignore the impact of The Thomas Crown Affair. But it’s especially hard to ignore the tightly wound, unfairly fun Pierce Brosnan version from 1999. This heist film about a billionaire who steals art solely for the love of the game is a lesson in both high-stakes suspense and classic, enjoyable filmmaking. Stream on Hoopla or rent on Prime Video, Apple TV or YouTube.
Dragged Across Concrete is a modern noir with a vengeance. Fresh-out-of-jail Henry Johns (Tory Kittles) is just looking for a way to support his family, while corrupt cop Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) is just looking for a way out of his dangerous, low-rent neighbourhood. Each eventually sets their sights on a daring gold bullion heist. Judging by the title, you can guess how that goes. Stream on Prime Video or Hoopla, or rent on Apple TV.
Honourable mention: Heat, whose bearer bonds-heist feels a bit too close to money. Stream on Netflix or Crave, or rent on Prime Video or Apple TV.
