6 Best Art Heist and Forgery Movies

By Vlad Zakh · March 1, 2026

Art theft is part chess match, part old-fashioned crime, and these films have fun with both. American Animals tells of four college students planning to steal rare books from their university library, and The Thomas Crown Affair appears twice, in 1968 and 1999, because a bored billionaire stealing for sport never goes out of style. The Best Offer, Topkapi and How to Steal a Million round things out.

American Animals (2018)

IMDb ★ 7.0 RT 88% Metacritic 68

Four college students plan a real heist of rare books and badly botch it.

Directed by Bart Layton · 1h 57m · Rated R

10 wins & 22 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MUBI Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Best Offer (2013)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A reclusive auctioneer's carefully controlled life is upended by a mysterious, unseen client.

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore · 2h 11m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

IMDb ★ 6.9 RT 68% Metacritic 72

A bored billionaire steals a museum painting purely for the thrill of it, then falls for the investigator on his case.

Directed by John McTiernan · 1h 53m · Rated R

3 wins & 2 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A bored billionaire orchestrates elaborate heists purely for the thrill of the challenge.

Directed by Norman Jewison · 1h 42m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, YouTube TV, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Topkapi (1964)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A gang of amateur thieves plans an elaborate heist to steal a priceless jewelled dagger from an Istanbul museum.

Directed by Jules Dassin · 1h 59m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

How to Steal a Million (1966)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A woman recruits a burglar to steal her own father's forged sculpture before it's exposed as fake.

Directed by William Wyler · 2h 03m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Art Heist and Forgery Movies

American Animals (2018)

The Best Offer (2013)

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

Topkapi (1964)

How to Steal a Million (1966)

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