Negotiation Movies — The 10 Best Truly Inspiring Scenes

Mastering negotiation can be tough and confusing. A negotiator or procurement manager always has to learn how to be calm, collected, and confident during the whole ordeal, but striving to achieve those things can be difficult. This is why you have so many mediums of training and communication on how to achieve those things. 

For this article, we are going to discuss the power of movies in mastering negotiation. We’ll talk about the top 10 movies about negotiation and why we picked them on this list.

Once you’re done reading this article, we expect you to start looking for these movies either on Netflix or Amazon Prime! 

I have created a free-to-download negotiation preparation toolkit template. It’s a PowerPoint file that can help you prepare for your next negotiation. I even created a video where I’ll explain how you can use this template.

The Top 10 Movieson Negotiation

So why movies?

It’s because movies are highly entertaining yet educational as well. You might not notice it much, but your support team here in Procurement Tactics will be more than happy to point out to you the lessons that you’ll get from such movies.

So if you’re excited, let’s get right into it. Lights, camera, action!

1. A Hijacking (2013)

The movie is all about the kidnapping and attempted release of a Danish freighter and its crew. The center of the movie is all about the negotiations between the CEO of the shipping company and the translator for the Somali pirates. It’s a suspenseful train ride as a single mistake from either party could cause serious consequences. Emotions flare up as the negotiations extend up to 120 days with either party giving up with their demands.

The Lessons Learned: It’s a prime negotiation movie where lives are at stake, so the actors during the negotiation scene are all dead set and serious in achieving their end goals. You’ll see concessions and various negotiation styles in this movie.

2. Lincoln (2012)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this movie is all about the 16th President’s negotiation prowess as he overcomes adversities while trying to get the Congressional majority to vote against slavery. He finally succeeds in the end, despite the strong opposition he faced from the plantation owners and pro-slavery politicians.

The Lessons Learned: Lincoln’s negotiation tactics change to adapt to the situation. At times, he persuades through metaphor and storytelling. There are also other situations where he appeals through logic and reason; then through pressure and incentivizing if he still can’t get what he wants using his first tactic.

3. Big Miracle (2012)

A movie that is clearly underrated, Big Miracle is about the international effort to rescue three gray whales that were trapped under the ice near a small town in Alaska. The film is based on a true story and is set in 1988 where groups that clearly had their own interests set are united by a common goal.

The Lessons Learned: When a group of diverse, disparate, and conflicting parties realizes their own common goal through the creative use of self-interest, even the most bitter of foes can become momentary allies.

4. Thirteen Days (2000)

“Thirteen Days,” tells the re-telling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This time, it’s in the viewpoint of Kenny O’Donnell, President Kennedy’s special advisor. It’s a race against time as powerful negotiations move by a few good men ultimately save the world from a near nuclear holocaust.

The Lessons Learned: The movie shows a variety of negotiation styles. From contentious to compromising to collaborative, the Kennedy brothers are actually master negotiators and are able to unlock solutions to otherwise impossible-to-negotiate problems. There is a lot of debate and discussion in this movie as seen in the clip below.

5. The Founder (2017)

The Founder is an amazing movie that depicts the rise of Ray Kroc’s rise to power. For those who have no idea who he is, Ray Kroc is just the businessman who transformed a small drive-in restaurant in Saint Bernardino, California into one of the biggest fast-food franchises in the world. A story about business relationships, capitalism, and avarice, the Founder is a must-see for any negotiation master.

The Lesson Learned: The movie is all about how Ray Kroc managed to negotiate his way to actually ousting the original owners of McDonald’s. All throughout the film, we will see actual evidence of how poor communication ultimately eroded the trust that is supposedly seen between two partners. Or in this movie, between Kroc and the McDonald brothers.

6. The Godfather

Francis Ford Copolla’s masterpiece, The Godfather is another movie that all negotiation masters must watch. Each character is presented wonderfully and the negotiation scenes are also set in a powerful way. This movie is all about how the most powerful of men are not exactly the ones with actual money and physical strength, but those who think ahead and negotiate like a boss.

The Lesson Learned: From start to finish, the movie is all about negotiations. From Don Vito Corleone’s offer-that-can’t-be-refused to famed Hollywood director and studio head Jack Woltz up until Michael Corleone’s distributive negotiation style with Moe Green on buying him out of Vegas, the Godfather is all about hardball negotiation.