Margin Call is a 2011 American independent drama film, written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, and Penn Badgley. The film takes place over a 36-hour period at a large investment bank (loosely modeled on Lehman Brothers) and focuses on the financial crisis of 2007–2008. The film follows the actions taken by a group of employees during the financial collapse.

The film was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and opened on October 21, 2011 in the United States.

Junior risk analyst Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley), his more senior colleague Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) and trading desk head Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) watch as a human resources team conducts mass layoffs on their trading floor. One of the fired employees is Peter and Seth's boss, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), who heads risk management on the floor. Before leaving, Dale gives Peter a USB memory stick with a project he had been working on, telling him to "be careful." That night, Peter finishes the project, and discovers that trading will soon exceed the historical volatility levels used by the firm to calculate risk. Because of excessive leverage, if the firm's assets in mortgage-backed securities decrease by 25%, the firm will suffer a loss greater than its market capitalization. Sullivan alerts Emerson, who calls floor head Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey).