6 Best Oil Drilling and Wildcatter Movies

By Vlad Zakh · August 13, 2026

Oil drilling is high-stakes and ruthless, from Texas gushers to blazing offshore rigs. Deepwater Horizon has workers fighting to survive a catastrophic blowout, There Will Be Blood has a turn-of-the-century oilman building a fortune through greed, and Hellfighters has a legendary oil well firefighter battling blazing rigs. Giant, Tulsa and Boom Town round out the six.

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Workers on an offshore drilling rig fight to survive after a catastrophic blowout triggers a massive explosion.

Directed by Peter Berg · 1h 47m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

There Will Be Blood (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 91% Metacritic 93

A ruthless oil prospector's ambition curdles into obsession and violence in early 20th-century California.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 2h 38m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars114 wins & 138 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Hellfighters (1968)

TMDB ★ 6.4

A legendary oil-well firefighter risks his life battling blazing rigs around the world.

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen · 2h 01m · Rated G

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Giant (1956)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A cattle rancher's marriage and legacy are transformed by the discovery of oil on his sprawling Texas land.

Directed by George Stevens · 3h 21m · Rated NR

Where to watch

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

Tulsa (1949)

TMDB ★ 6.4

An oil heiress builds a drilling empire in Oklahoma while ignoring the environmental toll of her ambition.

Directed by Stuart Heisler · 1h 30m

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, MGM+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, MGM Plus, Pure Flix, FlixFling · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, FlixFling

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Boom Town (1940)

TMDB ★ 6.9

Two wildcatting oilmen's decades-long friendship and rivalry is complicated by fortune, failure and the same woman.

Directed by Jack Conway · 1h 59m · Rated NR

Where to watch

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 Oil Drilling and Wildcatter Movies

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Hellfighters (1968)

Giant (1956)

Tulsa (1949)

Boom Town (1940)

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