Movies that revolve around maths can often teach us about key historical figures, which are rarely boring to learn about. These must-see films have won an array of awards and are the perfect examples of how maths movies can actually be very entertaining.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)
This movie starring Russell Crowe is a sad one, focusing on the life of mathematician John Nash – a Nobel Laureate in Economics and Abel Prize Winner.

It begins with Nash’s days as a graduate at Princeton University and leads into a harrowing journey of self-discovery with plenty of challenges along the way, offering the viewer a lot more than 1+1=2.

Good Will Hunting (1997)
This classic stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Robin Williams, being all about a janitor at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is a mathematical expert.

The self-taught Will Hunting (Matt Damon) solves a difficult mathematics problem anonymously posted by Professor Gerald Lambeau and, when he is arrested for attacking a police officer, Mr Lambeau makes a deal with him to get help from a psychotherapist to find direction in his life.

The Oxford Murders (2008)
This mathematics movie revolves around American maths student Martin (Elijah Wood), who transfers to Oxford in hope of getting philosopher Arthur Seldom to look over his thesis.

The shocking murder of Martin’s landlady plunges the clever pair into a mathematical mystery, could an unsolvable maths problem be the answer to her death?