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25 greatest sports movies based on a true story

When Hollywood goes hunting for captivating drama, they need look no further than the world of sports. All the elements are there: the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, triumph over adversity and healing in the face of tragedy. Sometimes filmmakers work a variation on a real-life event (e.g. "Rocky" was inspired by the Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner fight), but they're just as likely to tear a story straight from the headlines or a history book. Here are twenty-five of the very best fact-based sports films.

"Raging Bull" (1980)

By the end of Martin Scorsese’s masterful “Raging Bull,” you feel like you’ve gone a full fifteen rounds with its pugilist protagonist, Jake LaMotta . The former middleweight champion is a brawler in and out of the ring; he beats his wife, his brother and anyone who triggers his violent temper. It’s a bruising portrait of a monster that’s all the more disturbing because Robert De Niro, in the performance of a lifetime, resists caricature. This beast exists (still, in 2017, at the age of ninety-six).

"Hoosiers" (1986)

No list like this one would be complete without "Hoosiers." Prior to 1986, you’d have to be an Indiana native to know the story of Milan High School’s David-vs-Goliath upset of Muncie Central in the 1954 state basketball championship. Now everyone knows at least a semi-fictionalized version of the tale thanks to David Anspaugh’s rousing “Hoosiers.” Gene Hackman is at his no-nonsense best as Norman Dale, the new coach of Hickory High’s undersized, undermanned and unathletic basketball team. By preaching fundamentals (“Four passes!”) and winning over the town’s recalcitrant best player (Jimmy Chitwood), Dale guides the Huskers to glory.

"Eight Men Out" (1988)

John Sayles’s account of the 1919 Black Sox scandal –wherein members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with mobsters to throw the World Series – is a multi-layered tale of greed, revenge, gullibility and tragic ignorance. The players went along with the scheme for a variety of personal reasons, but they were all united in their hatred of cheapskate owner Charles Comiskey. The plight of Shoeless Joe Jackson (played here by D.B. Sweeney), one of the era’s greatest players until he was banned, was later exploited in the fantastical tear-jerker “Field of Dreams.”

"Brian's Song" (1971)

The ultimate male weepie. Though Gayle Sayers and Brian Piccolo competed for the same running back position on the Chicago Bears , the men became the best of friends. That bond only grew stronger when Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer. Billy Dee Williams and James Caan are perfectly cast as Sayers and Piccolo in this classic TV movie. If you’re not an emotional sobbing mess by the end of the film, you are an insensate monster.

"Cinderella Man" (2005)

James J. Braddock was on his way to heavyweight boxing glory before he broke his hand in a 1929 fight against Tommy Loughran. The timing couldn’t have been worse: the country had just been hit by the Great Depression, leaving the otherwise unskilled Braddock working long hours as a longshoreman to support his family. Years later, with the country still struggling, Braddock made an improbable comeback that inspired many a down-on-their-luck American. Russell Crowe plays Braddock as a loveable lug, and is plenty convincing as a hard-hitting heavyweight.

"Friday Night Lights" (2004)

This 2004 film has been overshadowed by the critically acclaimed television show, which is a shame because it’s a terrific, more fact-based adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s nonfiction account of the 1988 Permian Panthers’ high school football season, which ended in a dramatic defeat to the Dallas Carter Cowboys. The movie embellishes some details for dramatic effect, but it’s a fascinating, infuriating and ultimately heartbreaking portrayal of a decaying Texas town’s unhealthy obsession with a high school sports team.

"Rudy" (1993)

“Hoosiers” filmmaker David Anspaugh returned to his native Indiana for another underdog story, this one centered on young Rudy Ruettiger’s tenacious efforts to play for his favorite college football team, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. As played by Sean Astin, Rudy’s journey from junior college to Notre Dame is an inspiring story of self-improvement. But it’ll all feel like a hollow victory if he never gets to suit up for one game in a Notre Dame uniform. He gets his wish, and with a little Hollywood embellishment, your living room gets awfully dusty in the movie’s final minutes.

"Fear Strikes Out" (1957)

Jimmy Piersall came into the Boston Red Sox organization as a brash young outfielder with a prodigious gift for hitting the baseball. When he began hitting other players (and, in one troubling incident, spanking the four-year-old son of a teammate), his career appeared to be over. Piersall’s struggles with bipolar disorder are given a fairly reductive treatment in Robert Mulligan’s “Fear Strikes Out,” but Anthony Perkins’s portrayal of Piersall is phenomenal (though Piersall later disowned the movie).

"Seabiscuit" (2003)

Everyone loves a good comeback story, so what could be better than a story about a racehorse that always ran from behind? Based on Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction bestseller, “Seabiscuit” is an uplifting tale of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to not just win a race, but to rebuild one’s life. As Seabiscuit wins race after race, the horse becomes a symbol of hope for people devastated by the Great Depression.

"Miracle" (2004)

When the United States Men’s olympic hockey team knocked off the Soviet Union’s highly favored squad, the upset transcended sports. America had just endured a rough decade that included the Vietnam War, stagflation and, stretching into early 1980, the Iran Hostage Crisis. Out of nowhere, a bunch of scrappy college kids came together to topple one of the greatest hockey teams ever assembled. The film is pretty standard inspirational fare, but Kurt Russell ’s performance as coach Herb Brooks gives it a loveable hard-nosed kick.

"The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)

“Today… I consider myself… the luckiest man… on the face of the Earth.” Lou Gehrig ’s emotional farewell speech at Yankee Stadium came at the abrupt end of a brilliant sixteen-year career. The New York baseball legend is brought to aw-shucks life by Gary Cooper in this sports movie classic, which celebrates the Iron Horse’s talent, durability and kindness (including Gehrig’s promise, subsequently fulfilled, to smack two homers for a sick child). It’s earnest, corny stuff, but it works.

"*61" (2001)

The 1961 pursuit of Babe Ruth ’s single-season home run record gets an entertaining and sentimental revisit by director (and Yankee fan) Billy Crystal in "*61." It’s a surprisingly dramatic story: Mickey Mantle was the fan favorite and heir-apparent to Ruth’s power-hitting pinstripe legacy, while Roger Maris was the low-key opposite of the gregarious, fun-loving Mantle. Maris, of course, broke the record, but the disdain heaped upon him by MLB fans made his historic season a living hell.

"Remember the Titans" (2000)

Jerry Bruckheimer first applied his glossy commercial aesthetic to inspirational sports dramas with this 2000 film, which stars Denzel Washington as real-life high school football coach Herman Boone. The film leaves no sports movie cliché unused as it depicts Boone’s efforts to integrate the T.C. Williams High School football team. There are no surprises here, but you won’t find an actor better equipped to rattle off a motivational speech than Denzel.

"Chariots of Fire" (1981)

Two different men run for very different reasons. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is a Jewish athlete is out to combat anti-Semitism; Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is a devout Christian who runs at God’s “pleasure.” This very British film, set around the 1924 Summer Olympics, was a surprise winner for Best Picture in 1981, and is probably best remembered for Vangelis’ inspirational main theme. It’s a polite crowd pleaser.

"The Last American Hero" (1973)

Moonshine runner Junior Johnson was headed for a life spent in and out of a jail cell before he found the natural – and legal – outlet for his driving talents in stock car racing. This charmer of a film stars a young Jeff Bridges as a fictionalized version of Junior, but while the biographical details don’t always jibe, the basic contours of Johnson’s rise to racing stardom are accurately depicted. Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name” was written for the film, and subsequently became a hit single.

"Ali" (2001)

Michael Mann’s "Ali" goes toe-to-toe with “Raging Bull” as the greatest sports biopic of all time, and, as in boxing, it comes down to a preference of style. “Ali” reflects the personality of its subject: it’s exuberant, meditative, punishing, hilarious, defiant and proud. The film begins with Ali’s improbable defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964 and concludes with his impossible knockout of George Foreman ten years later in Zaire. It’s pure cinema all the way through.

"Moneyball" (2009)

Oakland Athletics ’ general manager Billy Beane revolutionized MLB scouting by adopting sabermetrics (i.e. advanced statistics) to measure a player’s potential and value. He also cheesed off a lot of people in the process. Beane’s unconventional approach was the subject of Michael Lewis’s bestseller “Moneyball,” which loosely forms the basis for this hugely entertaining film starring Brad Pitt as Beane and Jonah Hill as his stat-crunching assistant (based on John DePodesta).

"Cobb" (1994)

Ty Cobb was one of MLB’s greatest and most loathed players. His hitting prowess was unmatched, as was the ferocity with which he attacked the game (and occasionally teammates and, in one unfortunate case, a disabled spectator). Ron Shelton ’s biopic couldn’t be more different than his minor league masterpiece “Bull Durham.” It stars Tommy Lee Jones as a late-in-life Cobb attempting to bully his biographer into writing a hagiographic take on his life. It’s a fierce and unsettling film, a corrosive spiritual companion to Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.”

"Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956)

Paul Newman stars in this conventionally told biopic about the rags-to-prison-to-riches life of middleweight champion Rocky Graziano . Graziano overcomes standard boxer adversity (an abusive dad and a youth wasted committing petty crimes) to become a successful prize fighter, but when he is blackmailed into ducking a fight, he loses his license. Robert Wise’s film ends on a triumphant note with Graziano avenging a loss to his rival Tony Hale (and regaining the middleweight title in the process).

"Without Limits" (1998)

In the late 1990s, the studios got Steve Prefontaine fever. Dueling projects about the long-distance runner were greenlit: “Prefontaine” starring Jared Leto, and “Without Limits” with Billy Crudup. The latter is by far the better film, a keenly observed character study of a supremely talented athlete and a visionary track coach, Bill Bowerman ( Donald Sutherland ), who would go on to co-found Nike. The film concludes with Prefontaine’s fatal 1975 automobile accident, but leaves you with a deep understanding of this one-of-a-kind athlete’s impact on the sport.

"Rush" (2013)

Formula 1 racing is a much bigger deal internationally than it is in the United States, so it’s no surprise that this Ron Howard-directed film about the rivalry between drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) stalled out at the box office. It’s too bad because this is the racing movie “Days of Thunder” tried to be: an exhilarating battle of wills between two men who like to drive really freaking fast.

"Knute Rockne: All American" (1940)

They don’t come any cornier than this tribute to the coaching genius of Knute Rockne, who turned Notre Dame’s football team into a national powerhouse. Pat O’Brien stars as Rockne, but the film is best remembered for starring Ronald Reagan as Fighting Irish halfback George Gipp. Gipp’s deathbed exhortation to “win just one for the Gipper” sets the stage for maybe the greatest rallying speech in film history.

"Soul of the Game" (1996)

This 1996 made-for-HBO film remains the only attempt at a fact-based take on Negro League baseball, and works quite well as both entertainment and a primer on the legacy left (and, in too many cases, forgotten) by these players. “Soul of the Game” focuses on Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey’s scouting of a black player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Blair Underwood is solid as Jackie Robinson, but the movie belongs to Delroy Lindo as the aging pitcher Satchel Paige and Mykelti Williamson as the boundlessly talented but troubled Josh Gibson.

"Heart Like a Wheel" (1983)

Bonnie Bedelia stars in this biopic about Shirley Muldowney, the “First Lady of Drag Racing.” It’s a fascinating look into the funny car subculture, which didn’t exactly welcome the ambitious housewife into the sport with open arms. Muldowney overcomes sexism and unwanted sexual advances from competitors and supposed backers on her way to becoming a world champion driver.

"The Rookie" (2002)

Jim Morris was a happily married high school baseball coach who’d long ago given up on his childhood dream of playing in MLB when, after a series of arm surgeries, he discovered he could throw a 98-mph fastball. Morris made a deal with his players: if the team wins their conference, he’ll try out for the majors. Dennis Quaid plays Morris, who impresses enough in the minors to earn a brief stint as a relief pitcher with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It’s a by-the-numbers inspirational drama, but it hits those numbers with plenty of heart.

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Just as there have been movies about musicians and, similarly, movies about real-life writers, there have also been movies about athletes, whether fictional or based on true events. The biographical sports film — or sports biopic — has been a staple genre in the film industry.

Whether they're movies about the Olympics, in which stories of struggle, determination, and triumph pull at the heartstrings, or movies about an athlete's journey towards a certain type of victory, what's fundamentally appealing about sports biopics is the underlying theme of hope, hard work, and perseverance. There are countless films that anyone would consider a classic of sports biopics. We put together a list of the very best of the subgenre for you to get inspired.

Updated on August 26th, 2023 by Federico Furzan: To keep this article fresh and relevant, we've added more information, entries, and additional content.

16 Ali (2001)

Will Smith delivers his best rendition of “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!” in Michael Mann’s 2001 biopic about the self-proclaimed Louisville Lip, Ali . A name that transcended boxing, Muhammad Ali was a man of the people, and during his pomp, he was never too far away from controversy or the media spotlight.

Ali presents the tale of arguably the greatest boxer that ever lived, from the day of his maiden heavyweight title challenge against Sonny Liston, through to his refusal to be conscripted into the US Army for the Vietnam War. Not only was he a Sports Illustrated superstar, but his activism in the civil rights movement was incredibly influential.

15 Chariots of Fire (1981)

Chariots of Fire is a classic of the sports biopic genre and for a good reason. Two British runners competing in the 1924 Olympics are at the heart of this film, one who races for the glory of God as a devout Christian, and one who is a Jewish man, running to overcome prejudice. Eric Lidell, the Christian runner, faces judgment from his own family, who thinks he should be focusing more on his religion.

Meanwhile, Harold Abrahams faces prejudice from the staff at his university, but still, he goes on to become an excellent runner. When the two compete in the Olympics, they face a rocky start. Despite being clear underdogs in the competition, the two go on to win gold medals and bring glory to the British team. All things considered, this film is a must-watch for any sports biopic fans.

14 Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Ford v Ferrari is about the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour race and a team who wanted to outdo the Italian Scuderia Ferrari. American and British engineers race to build the Ford GT40, now one of the greats of rally sports, after facing insults from the Scuderia Ferrari team.

They go on to end the winning streak of the Italian team and make the Ford name go down in racing history. As one of the most tense Le Mans races of all time, this film is a fantastic representation of that. It captures the tension of the 1960s motor sports scene and shows the making of a legend, as well as the success of an underdog.

13 The Blind Side (2009)

Based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game , The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oliver, an NFL star who had to battle an impoverished background to achieve his dreams. His foster parents help him get to college, ultimately leading to him being drafted. They see Michael's success as a huge family success, and eventually, he comes around to their way of thinking.

With a star-studded cast and a heart-warming story of how a loving home can help someone achieve anything they wish, The Blind Side is one of the greatest sports biopics of all time. However, there's been a bit of controversy in recent days regarding the film as the real-life Michael publicly declared it's not as close to the truth as we thought.

12 Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Eddie the Eagle is a film that tells the story of Great British Olympic ski jump competitor, Michael David Edwards (better known as Eddie the Eagle). The film showcases the massive hurdles Eddie had to overcome to become an Olympic star.

Eddie the Eagle is an inspiring watch for anyone, and is motivational to the extreme: Eddie self-trained to compete in the 1988 Olympics. Despite his parents not supporting his dream, he goes on to do it anyway and achieves success in his own right. While not a typical success story, this is one for the downtrodden.

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11 The Fighter (2010)

Filmmaker David O. Russell is probably frantically searching for his former cinematic glory following the flop that was Amsterdam . He needn’t look any further than 2010’s The Fighter , a gritty, enigmatic, and powerful biopic about steady-eddy boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg).

With his career stalling after a series of defeats, Ward enlists the help of his smack-head half-brother, and retired professional boxer, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), as Ward attempts to get his career back on track. This is a grittier, tougher, more credible picture than the likes of the Rocky franchise, and is equally inspiring.

10 Cinderella Man (2005)

Ron Howard pulls the directorial strings for this moving, feel-good flick about boxer James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe). As the Great Depression took its toll, former prizefighter Braddock went from labor job to labor job.

He tries and fails to make ends meet, leaving his young family in a perpetual state of poverty. Against his wife’s pleas, the ex-heavyweight journeyman takes up the only job he knows will pay: boxing. And so, Cinderella Man chronicles his ascent to boxing acclaim and financial security.

9 I, Tonya (2017)

I, Tonya is based on the career of figure-skater Tonya Harding, with a specific focus on her involvement in an attack on her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. As a dark comedy, the film is a refreshing outlier in this list, while also being similarly captivating. Viewers must decide for themselves if what Tonya is telling them is true or not.

The comedic style mixed with the unreliable narrators that are telling the story is not the usual way for a biopic to be presented, but I, Tonya is anything but conventional. Making use of the mockumentary style, this film is a hilarious watch, features an incredible Margot Robbie performance, and is one of the most interesting biopics of any kind.

8 King Richard (2021)

The film was made more famous by Will Smith throwing hands at the 2022 Academy Awards where he won Best Actor for his display as Richard Williams, the domineering father of the tennis queens Venus and Serena. King Richard depicts the monumental origin story of a father living vicariously through his daughters as he attempts to coach them to tennis stardom.

His strict, uncompromising, disciplinarian approach, invariably molded his two daughters into the sporting greats they became. The biopic examines their upbringing where the emphasis was placed on academia and sporting excellence, as Richard Williams and his wife, Oracene navigated their young family through the troubled streets of Compton.

7 Rush (2013)

Before we had Netflix’s documentary series, Drive to Survive , there was Rush . Formula 1 is one of the world’s great motorsports, and in 2013, fans got closer to one of the greatest feuds in the sport’s history. Rush tells the story of Niki Lauda and James Hunt, two drivers with extremely different styles, both on and off the racetrack.

With tensions rising throughout the movie, it is perhaps no surprise when the tragic ending occurs, but despite this, it is still a fantastic watch. This epic sports biopic captures both the glamour and high stakes of Formula 1 in the 1970s and is a must-watch for any sports fan.

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6 Raging Bull (1980)

Adapted from the memoir Raging Bull: My Story, Raging Bull is about the career of Jake LaMotta and the people around him. Often considered one of the greatest American films ever, the film shows LaMotta's eventual downfall. Through a fight with his brother, he loses his wife and brother all at once, despite both of them trying to support him in his career.

He even ends up in jail. However, all is not lost: Jake goes on to make something of himself despite the adversity he faces and learns to cut himself some slack. This is not a traditional success story, but that's what makes this film so great — the idea that, even if you lose, you can still come out on top.

5 Moneyball (2011)

Moneyball tells the true story of General Manager Billy Beane trying to make the Oakland Athletics a respectable team in 2002. With his partner, Beane twists around the traditional scouting methods and uses statistics to build a league-winning team.

No one expected the film to be as emotional as it was, given that so much of the subject material is based on numbers and statistics. However, stand-out performances by Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill made it a noteworthy pick in the sports biopics catalog.

4 Rudy (1993)

We all remember 1993's Rudy . Jerry Goldsmith's score, Sean Astin's Performance, and the fact that it was shot on location in the historic campus of Notre Dame University, something that hadn't happened in half a century.

This is the very inspiring story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, a kid coming from a working-class family whose only dream in life was to play college football for the University of Notre Dame. Considering his height and other obstacles, it wasn't an easy feat, but as the film's final scene shows, if you fight hard enough, you will accomplish your dreams.

3 Foxcatcher (2014)

More thriller drama than biopic, Foxcatcher tells a tragic story that stained wrestling during the '80s. The film is about John du Pont's excessive enthusiasm for the sport, and his endeavor to form an Olympic team.

Unfortunately, du Pont's obsession would take a dark turn when he killed David Schultz years after. Led by three stellar performances by Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum, Foxcatcher is an underrated sports drama that you should not miss.

2 Miracle (2004)

The very inspiring film Miracle told the story of possibly the greatest hockey match ever played. The 1980 Winter Olympics took place during the Cold War, with two hockey teams in the middle of it all.

The US hockey team faced the Soviet team in what some refer to as the Miracle on Ice after the US ultimately won against the other heavily favored team. It starts with Kurt Russell as Coach Brooks, the man who led the team to victory.

1 Remember the Titans

Remember the Titans tells the incredible true story of Coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington). He was assigned to coach the football team of a high school where there was too much racial tension.

Determined to integrate the team, Coach Boone uses a disciplinary attitude to get everyone in line and ultimately make them a team. This film features Ryan Gosling in one of his first performances in Hollywood.

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The Best Athlete Biopics

There are many biopics that have been made about athletes and the world of sports. What are the best sports biopic movies? This list includes titles such as A League of their Own , Chariots of Fire , Brian’s Song and Cinderella Man . Men and women have voted on the films below to rank the best sports biopics.

Movies have the ability to make us feel. They make us want to believe, be inspired, and live vicariously through the stories we see on screen. Sports have the ability to to the same and often we are enchanted about the lives of our sports heroes. Movies that tell the story of Ernie James, Jake Lamotta, Muhammed Ali, and James Braddock are all incredibly fascinating, tumultuous, and inspiring.

It is with a peek into the lives of these individuals that we can understand their motives and drives that helped them become the greatest of their time. By understanding sport’s greatest, we will hopefully take some of that inspiration into our own lives. These movies vary in their genre but they all equally fascinating.

• Released : 2004
• Directed by : Gavin O'Connor

Remember the Titans

• Released : 2000
• Directed by : Boaz Yakin

Raging Bull

• Released : 1980
• Directed by : Martin Scorsese

• Released : 2011
• Directed by : Bennett Miller

Ford v. Ferrari

Carroll Shelby & Ken Miles

• Released : 2019
• Directed by : James Mangold

A League of Their Own

• Released : 1992
• Directed by : Penny Marshall

The 15 Best Sports Biopics of All Time, Ranked

From underdog triumphs to bitter rivalries and multi-million dollar deals, some sports movies ring too good to be true. But the ones listed here are all based on real-life events, proving that fact can be more enthralling than fiction.

Sports biopics often juggle the need to balance the biopic with the sport, but when a film strikes the perfect balance, audiences are left with a feel-good, rejuvenated outlook on life beyond the field, court, ring. On the other hand, some of these films dig into the darker side that the glitz and glam of fame can draw out of athletes, leaving them and their loved ones in the wake of their destruction. Take Tonya Harding or Jake LaMotta, for example. Or even from the behind-the-scenes of sports like the managers seen in Moneyball or the CEOs depicted in  Air .  The athletic industry and the narrative film industry don’t often come together, but when they do, you can bet it’ll be a film for everyone.

From a rag-tag cross country team to a woman who swam the length of the sea, here are the best sports biopics for athletes and cinephiles alike, ranked.

Battle of the Sexes

Inspired by the outlandishly true tennis event of the century, Battle of the Sexes recounts how the 1973 tennis match between the Wimbledon champion Billie Jean King ( Emma Stone ) and retired player Bobby Riggs ( Steve Carell ) came to be. On opposing sides of the matter regarding women getting paid the same amount as their male counterparts at tennis championships, King agrees to play the taunting Riggs, who has a gambling addiction and is stuck in his glory days. What follows is one of the most-watched sporting events in history. The film is fast and funny and offers great moments of tennis and teamwork as King assembles almost every female tennis player to form their own tennis tour. However, considering how much of a powerhouse King is in real life, the film could have maybe hit just a little harder.

Starring the late, beloved Chadwick Boseman , 42 follows the career of Jackie Robinson, the first baseball player to break the professional league’s color barrier. Somber in tone, the film has all the makings of a great sports biopic, but what really drives it home is the subject matter. The weight of Robinson’s role as the only Black player in the league amounts to rousing moments of frustration and victory, but the film could have benefited from exploring Robinson’s character with more nuance. Regardless, with comedic moments from Harrison Ford who plays the Dodgers executive determined to break the color barrier and historically respectful storytelling, 42 makes the hall of fame in our book.

A League of Their Own

Set in the 1940s, A League of Their Own tells the true story of the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League that was formed during World War II in light of the shortage of athletic young men. As a scout scours the country for women who can play ball, he finds two sisters, Dottie ( Geena Davis ) and Kit ( Lori Petty ) who catch and hit, and he brings them back to Chicago for tryouts. From team bonding to finding a willing coach, the film hits all the marks of a classic sports film. However, what really makes this film shine is the nuanced storyline surrounding Dottie and her teammates redefining not only what it means to be a woman in society but what it means to be a woman for themselves.

Fighting With My Family

Funny and feel-good, this sharp family drama hits in all the right places. Fighting with My Family shows how the WWE superstar Saraya Knight ( Florence Pugh ) climbed the ranks, coming from her very lovable wrestling family in a working-class English town. Despite the more brutal nature of the sport, the family is depicted in such a loving and positive light and boasts some very notable comedic performances from Dwayne Johnson , Stephen Merchant , and Vince Vaughn , just to name a few. Despite being about the wrestling industry, the film seems to avoid completely embracing the undoubted scripted nature of the sport. However, Fighting with My Family ’s strength lies in its title: a surprisingly comforting watch about a lovable family’s dream to win.

Cornering two demographics that are often overlooked in the world of professional athletes, Nyad follows 64-year-old woman Diana Nyad ( Annette Bening ), a legendary long-distance swimmer who’s determined to be the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida. The film was directed by Free Solo directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi who have championed niche feats of athleticism and brought them to the critically acclaimed mainstream. The outspoken swimmer is trained by her best friend Bonnie Stoll ( Jodie Foster ), who gathers a team together to help make Nyad’s dream a reality. Not without their own difficulties along the way, from an unpredictable storm to a rogue swarm of jellyfish, Nyad offers an inspiring tale of seizing life and living to one’s fullest potential, albeit in a more predictable package than some other films on this list.

The Iron Claw

A love letter to the art of wrestling and a testament to the work the actors put into their roles and physiques, The Iron Claw tells the tragically true tale of the Von Erich family, a family of professional wrestlers whose lives continue to descend into tragedy. Following in their father’s footsteps, the brothers (played by Zac Efron , Jeremy Allen White , Harris Dickinson , and Holt McCallany ) embark on their own journey and relationship with the sport while navigating their own troubles, whether it be substance abuse or wanting to please their father to a fault. The real kicker of the story is the tragedy that ensues as the family “curse” rears its ugly head, slowly taking the lives of each family member one by one. The film is heartfelt and impressive, and if you decide to look into their family’s story further, you might be surprised to find that the film really only scratches the surface.

Against all odds, somehow this film does not fall into its own cliches as Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger Jr. ( Sean Astin ) dreams of playing for the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame despite being smaller in size and not particularly bright. Coming from a working class family, Rudy dreams of attending Notre Dame, but when he doesn’t have the grades to get in, he settles for the school right across the street until he’s finally accepted. There the real challenge begins for the dreamer who is determined to make it onto the team despite his size and his grades. A testament to the human spirit, the film closes on an epic stadium-wide chanting of Rudy’s name. After watching this one, you’ll likely be chanting along with them.

King Richard

Half sports movie and half biopic, King Richard chronicles the life of the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams , Richard Williams, played by Will Smith . While there’s no shortage of some great rallies between the young prodigies, the film reflects the title in that much of the story revolves around Richard himself and his, at times, questionable tactics he employs to bring his daughters to greatness. Most specifically, the film tracks Richard’s yearslong “plan” for his daughters to become stars even before they were born. Despite the character’s flaws, Smith portrays him as flawed and ultimately likable, set against the backdrop of predominantly white and elitist industry that the Compton-based family is determined to break into.

Ford v. Ferrari

Driven by the spectacular performances of Christian Bale as the hotheaded racer Ken Miles and Matt Damon as retired champion racer and manager Carroll Shelby, Ford v. Ferrari offers a fast-paced (pun-intended) look at the near-impossible task of creating a car and racing team that can defeat the reigning Ferraris. The film is as fun as it is interesting, tapping into the car-racing fanatics that have been taking the culture by storm. From mechanical engineering to sheer determination, Ford v. Ferrari taps into what it really takes to make a great team.

Raging Bull

Based on the life of former boxing champion Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull   tells the story of a man struggling with anger, grief, and an inability to respect women, all expressed through his limited expressions of terse words and brute force. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film is simple in nature but complex in character study as it follows LaMotta’s ( Robert De Niro ) rise to boxing fame and his troubled relationships with his wife (Cathy Moriarty), among other women. His inability to meet his own needs manifests in the form of rage. Resulting in a shockingly complex and brutal sports film. Poor bull.

Remember the Titans

Not a perfect movie by any means, Remember the Titans tackles victories over racism just as much as the team’s victories on the field. This film was inspired by the real events of one white coach and one Black coach being forced to coach a football team together in 1971 in Alexandria, Virginia. This film stars Denzel Washington and Will Patton , whose characters are fleshed out beyond their race and instead depicted as determined professionals, with their own strategies and outlooks on what makes a team great. From entertaining training sequences to tear-jerking moments, this film amounts to a classic sports feel-good ending.

Kevin Costner reaches an all-time career high in this touching story inspired by real events. Directed by Niki Caro, McFarland chronicles an all-Latino cross-country running team from an underfunded California high school who aims to win the national championship. Formed by their white coach named, funnily enough, Jim White, the cross-country team is composed of White’s students who he sees running to and from school to help their parents with produce-picking. Despite coming out at a time where the white savior narrative was all-too familiar, this film surprisingly rises above the good-white-guy troupes and instead focuses on the virtues of family, community, and empathy. Watch as this rag-tag team rises to the top, and I guarantee you’ll walk away from this film feeling good – maybe even good enough to run.

Air encapsulates the type of sports biopic where you don’t need to know anything about the sport in question to enjoy the film, which in this case is basketball. Telling the story of how Nike managed to convince Jordan to sign their shoe deal and change the course of Nike and sneaker culture forever, where Air really succeeds is its ability to tell a story the audience already knows the outcome for. Directed by Ben Affleck , who also plays Nike CEO Phil Knight, Matt Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike recruiting expert who recognized Jordan’s potential and aimed to bet everything on one player to beat out their cooler competitors Converse and Adidas. Set in the 1980s, this film is nostalgic, well-written, and packs a punch with its quick script and stacked cast, including Jason Bateman , Chris Tucker , Chris Messina , and Viola Davis . Whether you wear Jordans or prefer to go barefoot (like Knight), Affleck delivers a film for everyone.

I, Tonya follows the figure skater Tonya Harding ( Margot Robbie ) as she trains to become the first American woman to complete a triple axel, but when her ex-husband attempts to take out her rival Nancy Kerrigan  (Caitlin Carver), her world is turned upside down. Based on the shocking true story, this film captures the chaos of one of the most upsetting foul plays in athletic history. Laced with Harding’s own troubled family life and relationship with her mother brilliantly played by Allison Janney , I, Tonya humanizes Harding while showcasing her determination and roughness as an athlete despite the traditional figure skating norms.

Based on the book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball centers on the Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane ( Brad Pitt ), who must reinvent his team with a tight budget. Fueled by his hatred of losing, Beane partners with a nerdy, Ivy League graduate named Peter Brand ( Jonah Hill ) who persuades Beane that he should hire this season’s players based on performance statistics. Less so about baseball and more so about intuition and drive, Moneyball is as intelligent as it is entertaining, boasting easy-to-watch performances from Pitt and Hill as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays Beane’s jaded team manager. Though Brand is a fictionalized character, the film captures the true story of a man who beat the odds and won an unfair game. Written by Aaron Sorkin , this film knocks it out of the park.

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Five Tremendous Sports Movies Based on True Stories

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People love watching sports movies. If they’re based on a true story, then so much the better because sports movies show the audience that the protagonists are human, that they have struggles and must battle to overcome them. They’re a wholesome form of content people can relate to. Audiences can picture themselves as that person and identify with the sense of struggle. Ultimately, sports movies forge an emotional connection with the audience. 

Hollywood has produced some fine sports movies over the decades, especially ones based on true events. Below is a look at some of the best to have graced the silver screen. 

Raging Bull (1980)

As far as biopics go, some would argue it doesn’t get much more realistic and grittier than Raging Bull , starring Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorsese. This film, shot in black and white, tells the story of middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper led him to greatness in the ring, but destroyed his life out of it. 

The movie took in around $23.5 million at the box office worldwide. That was on the back of an $18 million budget, so not one of Scorsese’s most successful films by any stretch of the imagination. The film received mixed reviews. Some praised De Niro’s performance and the editing, but others disliked the movie because of the violent content.

We Are Marshall (2006)

We Are Marshall, starring the ever-reliable Matthew McConaughey and directed by McG, is a somewhat cliched sports movie, but one that hits hard on an emotional level. The movie relates the true story of the Marshall University football team, who had to find a new coach and players after nearly all of its members died in a plane crash. The movie is tragic, uplifting and inspiring, all in one, as the new coach, Jack Lengyel, not only fights to keep the football program alive, but, through his work with the team, helps the community to move on from the tragedy and rebuild itself. If you’d been checking any college football odds at the time, you might have been hesitant to bet on the new team.

The movie grossed around $45.5 million worldwide and, overall, received positive reviews. Many commented on the highly formulaic nature of the film, but very few denied the powerful impact of the story and the performances. 

Rush (2013)

Rush , directed by Ron Howard and starring Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda and Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt, looks at the 1976 Formula One season and focus on the legendary rivalry between the two former Formula One drivers. It was a rivalry which pushed each driver to his limits and was so intense that Niki Lauda returned to the track just two races after a horrifying crash that almost killed him. 

Critics felt some of the drama was overdone in places of the film, but overall felt Rush was a good piece of filmmaking. They noted that the driving scenes were intense and the whole film had the theme of risk and death hanging uncomfortably over it, but the film was highly engaging. 

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Famously remembered for its theme music by Vangelis, Chariots of Fire recounts the story of two British athletes striving to win the 1924 Paris Olympics, but running for very different reasons. Eric Lidell, played by Ian Charleson, is a devout Christian running at God’s “pleasure,” whereas Harold Abrahams, played by Ben Cross, is a Jew running to combat antisemitism. 

The film grossed $58,303,767 worldwide and won four Oscars. As noted by many reviewers, it’s a distinctly patriotic film , a very British kind of movie, but one that drew attention to cracks in British society. This is the true power of the film and helped it to win the admiration of critics and audiences. 

In this biopic directed by Michael Mann, Will Smith stars as the eminent heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, who proclaimed himself as “The Greatest,” a claim the rest of the world would later concur with. The film focuses on the triumphs and controversies of the famous boxer’s life between 1964 and 1974 and grossed $87,812,729 worldwide.

Critics commented how ambitious the task a film about Ali’s life was, but praised the director for restricting the movie to a ten-year period of it, which they considered a smart decision. They also acknowledged the filmmaker’s skill in capturing the sporting, political and spiritual strength of Ali, as well as creating raw, realistic, but not excessively brutal combat scenes. The performance of the cast, especially Will Smith, also didn’t go unmissed. 

Some fantastic sports movies, based on true stories, have come out of Hollywood. Others you might wish to see if you’ve already seen the above include Remember the Titans (2000), starring Denzel Washington, and The Fighter (2010), starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.

12 Best Sports Biopics Ever Made

The notion of making biopics about famous sports personalities has never gotten old. Right since the ’50s, from the time of films like ‘Fear Strikes Out’ and ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’, to ‘Foxcatcher’ and ‘I, Tonya’ in present times, features about sports personalities have drawn large crowds in. There have been many memorable attempts to bring celebrated careers back to life on-screen. Some have been historic moments that have changed perceptions, while some just give you the hair-raising thrill of sports. Some of these films feature such fierce performances, that you almost feel the rushed breath and the perspiring forehead. Below are some of such sports biopics that set the conversation going. You can watch several of these sports biopics on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.

12. Borge v. McEnroe

‘Borge McEnroe’ is a movie that slipped almost everyone’s radars last year. Featuring arguably the two greatest players tennis has ever seen, the film recounts the historic Wimbledon match between the two and their life before and after that. ‘Borg McEnroe’ isn’t much a rivalry movie as it is an offering of the two men’s drive and eagerness to win. They achieve the same thing, or intend to at least, with different methods and temperament. While McEnroe is impulsive, rash, and often difficult, Borg is a complete opposite. The two hardly share a conversation throughout the movie, also exhausting the sparse meetings they have.

Januz Pederson ensures that the film doesn’t dramatize the emotion of the two men, but instead embodies what drove them toward success. The two leads show exemplary craft in translating their characters’ inner turmoil. The struggle, in fact, between the two men is mostly internal and the fight becomes who’ll handle it better. Sverrir Gudnason is a revelation as Borge. His closely guarded personality and restlessness about his marriage and career are integrated with the character with perfection. Shia LeBeouf , almost like McEnroe in real life, gets into the rebellious skin of the celebrated player and gives a solid performance. ‘Borg McEnroe’ is a unique effort that sets the meaning and essence of a sports rivalry as a fight within oneself, with oneself.

11. Paan Singh Tomar

‘Paan Singh Tomar’ embodies a common emotion many superlative athletes in contemporary share. Institutional incompetence, lack of urgency, and administrative corruption have long held India back to emerge as a sporting powerhouse. Although ‘Paan Singh’ presents only a part of the problem, it does so rather well. Irrfan Khan plays the titular character, a national champion turned dacoit who is unassuming in his demeanor and carries deep indignation for people who didn’t help him. The rebellious Paan Singh gives an interview about his life. After suffering enough, Paan Singh finally decides to show the world how wrong it was about him.

The underlying feeling that Irrfan beautifully integrates into his character study is one of resentment and desire. The revolting nature, that now defines Paan Singh, becomes his the inevitable downfall of his life. The people who recognize him now are the same ones who were ignorant when he broke records. This frustration reflects in Singh’s personality and becomes the emotive figure of the film. Despite its directional and conceptual flaws, ‘Paan Singh’ is a hearty movie about one man’s resolve to prove the world wrong and comes alive with a wonderfully nuanced and refined performance from its star lead.

10. I, Tonya

‘I, Tonya’ is a wild ride of an outcast and unconventional ice-skater whose dream of becoming the best is upended by criminal conspiracy and a permanent mark on her character. Tonya Harding was undoubtedly the hottest prospect in the world of skating at her time. She also became the first American woman to complete two Axel triple jumps in one competition.

‘I, Tonya’s style is very similar to the way many modern-day sitcoms like ‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recs’ are shot. The mockumentary is based on the experiences and perspectives of Tonya and her husband, thereby ensuring that the audience lives a subjective truth. This allows director Craig Gillespie to experiment with his storytelling and the performances turn it into a success. Margot Robbie’s stunning turn as Harding is a motley of emotions all at once. Her poise, passive aggressiveness, and imitation of Harding’s personality reconstruct her life with great vividity and resonance. ‘I, Tonya’ is a rock and roll journey with electrifying cinematography and a fast-paced narrative. It is a true cinematic experience and an ode to the carefree soul of Harding.

9. Invictus

‘Invictus’ is a living example of how sports goes beyond thrill and competition to bring people together. Heavily laced with weighty moral themes like racism and power-dynamics, ‘Invictus’ takes a look at President Mandela’s attempts to unite the peoples of his nation after the end of apartheid. With a warrior-like Francois Pienaar at the helm of his rugby football team, the two aim to consolidate racial solidarity and prove the world wrong about their country’s prejudices and dispositions about equality. Men- black and white -compete with a collective cadence to not only realize a historic sporting victory, but a much more significant moral goal that will affect generations after their existence.

Clint Eastwood lets the audience experience the hustle and struggles first-hand with impressive camerawork. Despite fairly hollow character development, it is the story that Eastwood tells through his brilliant directors that wins you over. Matt Damon is a revelation as Pienaar, towering over his peers, both physically and emotionally. His accent is inconsistent but hearty, and that is all the film is about.

8. Foxcatcher

In its poignant and haunting portrayal of Jon Du Pont, ‘Foxcatcher’ does two things: it gives Steve Carell an opportunity to dazzle; and the world a chilling insight to one of the most controversial and shocking incidents in the sporting world. On both the accounts, the film is a huge success. Carell’s immaculate understanding of Du Pont and his human frailties make for a terrific character sketch. The weighted persona, the burning longing, and the palpable enviousness define Du Pont, who looks to feel worthy for once in his life.

Bennet Miller’s follow-up to ‘Moneyball’ is in stark contrast, both in mood and theme. The essence of the stories, though, revolves strictly around the world of sports and an unlikely mission that almost seems impossible to achieve. ‘Foxcatcher’ is replete with stunning lead performances. Along with Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum deliver resonating performances as the Schultz brothers. The tense and highly personal film emerges as an instant must-watch, charting chequered events from history that are at once remarkable and disconcerting.

Will Smith ‘s transformation into Muhammad Ali fills Michael Mann ‘s true to life biopic with great tenor and vibrancy. Ali’s status as the greatest professional boxer to have ever lived is largely uncontested. His personal life, marred by controversies and revolutionary speeches, become the base of Mann’s thematic exposition. The biographical sketch covers Ali’s obscure existence as Cassius Clay, a feisty amateur boxer, to his glory days as an invincible pugilist. Mann doesn’t really delve deep enough into the causal relationship between Ali’s actions and his reasons to act out. Identity is a big talking point in the movie, which is largely taken up with sincerity. The only false note is Mann’s insistence on painting a holistic picture that is comprehensive in nature. The problem is the vastness of life that he intends to cover. Although flawed in its execution, ‘Ali’s biggest strength is the wisdom and resilience of its real-life legend and his uncompromising way of living life.

6. Moneyball

How often have men come up against the world and come out the other end unscathed? Not often. ‘Moneyball’ tells the story of one such individual whose belief in his ideals and modernity brought about a revolution in the world of baseball. The duo of Billy Beane and Peter Brand adopts ‘hardball’ techniques and employ a merit-based points system to scout players. The odd mix that turns up, as a result, underperforms initially and puts the two as central subjects of ridicule. With time, though, the formula works and put the two men on the brink of history.

5. The Fighter

‘The Fighter’ deals with a similar subject matter as ‘Foxcatcher’. Although the field of sports is different, the narrative revolves around similar complex family dynamics and the struggle for fame. The inspirational tale of the Ward brothers is retold through probably the most talented ensemble one could assemble. David O. Russel’s style adds great flair to the storytelling, which is mostly predictable and doesn’t pack a lot of surprises. Christian Bale easily gives the best performance of his career, inhabiting the four corners of his character with dedication and sincerity. He looks the part and certainly acts so, making his costars look amateur at times. With its triumphant performances and a heart-winning tale, ‘The Fighter’ makes every second of your time worth cherishing and remembering.

In terms of capturing sporting rivalries, ‘Rush’ is a glowing success. Its heightened dramatization of the relationship between Nikki Lauda and James Hunt, two of the greatest Formula One drivers the world has ever seen, becomes the bedrock of Ron Howard ‘s exploration of jealousy and human contempt. The lives of these two great men converge on the race track. Clearly the two outstanding men in the ranks of their colleagues, Lauda and Hunt instantly give us a taste of what would go on to become a legendary tussle, marked by mutual respect and exemplary sportsmanship.

The protagonist of the story is the spirit and competitiveness that defined these greats. Howard’s patient and weighted style allow worthy character dissections, ably performed by Bruhls and Hemsworth . The scenes on the track are especially done well, with credits to Howard and his technical team. Overall, ‘Rush’s infectious energy and a touching tribute to its real-life heroes pack enough power to make it a compelling watch.

Read More: Best Racing Movies

3. The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki

‘The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki’ is a largely unknown Finnish gem that premiered at the Cannes a few years back. Featuring an unknown cast, the black and white film is a weirdly satisfying mix of humor, romance, and heartbreak, that is ambivalently bemusing and melancholic. At the center of it all is Finnish boxer Olli Maki, a professional boxer who is regarded as a rare talent. His agent sets him up for a title bout with the world champion Davey Moore. At the same time, Maki gets smitten with a girl he meets, and on the day of the bout, he proposes. Although he loses the match, he wins at the game of life, with the acceptance of his proposal.

It is quite strange how Kuosmanen builds the film to the bout as an almost insignificant event. The totality of the film doesn’t revolve around Maki’s bout, but Maki, whose perspective allows us to see his desire and longing for happiness. In the end, despite losing possibly the biggest match of his life, Maki lives the happiest day of his life. And that is the beauty of this fantastic film.

2. Hoop Dreams

‘Hoop Dreams’ isn’t a feature film but deserves to be on the list through its exemplary and unprecedented documentation of real-life struggle. Shot over a period of five years, ‘Hoop Dreams’ is a journey about heartbreak and hope, prefaced with a nuanced, closely observed minutiae of American life. The documentary is not about dreams, or the life after, but about the suffering and sacrifice that precedes it. With its two protagonists, Steve James personifies hard-work and dedication, also raising the vagaries and vicissitudes of fate and life. The emotional and physical drainage that William Gates and Arthur Agee go through is hard enough to see. Because of the film’s gestation period, the audience is subjected to the change that Gates and Agee go through as human beings. With its hard-hitting themes and visceral emotive energy, ‘Hoop Dreams’ becomes an instantly urgent watch and proves that representation of life is not always limited to dramatization and the fourcorners of a set.

Read More: Best Sports Movies

1. Raging Bull

Martin Scorcese ‘s vision has produced movies that will be remembered forever in cinematic history as timeless classics. ‘Raging Bull’ arguably stands as his best work till date. With frequent collaborator Robert De Niro , Scorcese crafts a hard-hitting, nebulous, almost negative portrayal of a pugilist who lives in infamy as a fighter without any heart. De Niro’s incredible performance brings out the worst in LaMotta, often in the ring and outside. He captures the sense of paranoia and jealousy that preface LaMotta’s interactions in his personal life with such an impact that you almost end up sympathizing with him when the curtains draw. Scorsese furthers his hypnotic cinematic style with the same actor, writer, and spirit of a lonely man from ‘Taxi Driver’ to sculpt an intense and thought-provoking drama that would immortalize the character of LaMotta.

Read More: Best Boxing Movies

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Top-20 Best Sports Movies On Netflix 2020

At Sportytell, we have collated the top-20 of the best sports movies on Netflix right now, which you can watch this period. Some of these movies offer more depth and tell the tales of sports legends, while others take you through the struggle of up and coming athletes. From drama, documentary and thriller, to comedy — whatever you choose to watch when next you fire up your Netflix, you’re sure to be 100% entertained with these titles. We’ll keep this list updated from time to time, so feel free to check back once in a while.

Table of Contents

Here are the Best Sports Movies on Netflix Right Now

1. high flying bird (2019).

Genre: Drama — Released in 2019, the movie focuses on a different spectacular part of sports, this time not the athlete, but the men behind the athlete’s success, the agents. With great image quality, impressive for an iPhone, (the movie was shot with an iPhone, iPhone 8 specifically), a sports agent proposes a business opportunity which is highly controversial in nature to a young rookie basketball player during his company’s lockout. It doesn’t stop there. He races against time as he must pull off his plans in 72 hours. 

2. Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)

Genre: Drama — One of the most inspiring and best sports movies ever, you definitely will feel a sense of motivation and determination to accomplish anything after watching this. The 2016 1 hour 47 minutes long movie takes you through the rise of Pele from the slums of Brazil to the centre stage in the world. Observe greatly the amazing ball juggling and football skills shown by young Pele. To add to the creativity, Pele himself made a cameo in the movie.

3. The Natural (1984)

Genre: Drama — A story of disappointments, love, manipulation and talents. The movie which was released in 1984 is based on the novel named ‘The Natural’ where a naturally talented baseball player lost out of his opportunity to play in the Major League, all thanks to an obsessed star chaser who turns out to be a murderer. Later in life, he gets another shot, but a dubious love interest and an envious team owner stands in his way to success.

4. The Waterboy (1998)

Genre: Comedy — Looking for a sports-based movie to crack you up? Look no further. This 1998 movie takes us through the life of Bobby, who is depicted as a man child due to his stutters. He works as a water boy but subsequently gets fired, after which he gets a job with another team. He faces bullying at his second job, but after he’s encouraged to stand up for himself, Bobby tackling skill came to the coach attention and this was the beginning of a wonderful football career for the college football team water boy.  

5. Iverson (2014)

Genre: Documentary — Based on the life of retired NBA player, Allen Iverson, the movie shows how Iverson rises from a poor background which led him to bag a 15 years jail sentence, which was cemented by the Governor of Virginia. Iverson’s life in this movie is summarized. Absolutely phenomenal, this documentary will give you more insight into the life of the 11 times All-star than any Biography will ever.

6. Icarus (2017)

Genre: Documentary/Thriller — This movie is a must-watch! In 2017, the sports world was caught by surprise by the doping scandal which implicated Russia. Well, if you doubt that revelation, hearing from the man who spearheaded the operation will likely convince you. The documentary shows how Russia engages in doping by switching urine samples to cover act the heinous acts. The filmmaker, Bryan Fogel passes through the process and thus it’s verifiable. It also shows death threats issued to the man behind the revelation. The message in this movie is practically clear. Go watch and find out for yourself.

7. Ali (2001)

Genre: Drama — Ever doubt Will Smith knows his onion? Well, this will probably wane that thought. Smith perfectly or near-perfectly navigates and show us the life of boxing legend, Mohammed Ali in the 2 hours 45 mins long 2001 movie. The movie also depicts clearly Ali’s controversial behaviours such as his Islam conversion, his decision not to fight in the Vietnam War and also the political fragilities in the US Post Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations. 

8. Last Chance U (TV Series 2016– )

Genre: Documentary — For most people outside the US, the college football program is widely known, but the junior college football program remains in the shadow. This Netflix original series, which has 4 seasons takes you through the challenges and complexities experienced by players in the less recognized junior football program. 

9. The Fighter (2010)

Genre: Drama — Well scripted, this movie shows how two brothers, one a former boxer who now is addicted to crack, and the other who is used as a stepping stone for other boxers seeking to make a name for themselves, fight back their way to the top. The first brother after getting sober in prison following a documentary which showed how crack ruined his career helped his brother forge his way to claim the welterweight championship. But it actually ends on a good note as both brothers got the success they long for, but not without fights, as well as ridiculous tricks which goes wrong.

10. The 4th Company (2016)

Genre: Crime/Drama — This movie actually may not seem like a sport based movie due to the intense focus on crime and corruption in the prison system in which the lead character is lost in, but it brings to the fore the power sport wields. Perfectly fused to show how sports can be used to defend crime, the film emboldens the core values propagated by sports.

11. Little Miss Sumo (2018)

Genre: Documentary/Short — Sports on the surface seems like a peaceful engagement which is open to all, but sadly this isn’t true, at least not in certain places and in certain sports not known to many. The movies capture how a sumo wrestler battles sexism in a bid to become the best in the world. This movie will surely give you the ego boost you need to confront those who doubt you.

12. Tyson (2008)

Genre: Documentary/True Crime — The 2008 film, captures the life of Mike Tyson from juvenile years where he got heavily involved in crime to the centre stage of world boxing, winning several championships. While showing quite well the success Tyson enjoyed in his career, the movie shed a bright light on the personal failings and struggles of the boxing star and the huge effect it had on his career and finances. This movie will definitely give you more insight into the life of the boxing personality than any Biography will ever.

13. Miracle (2004)

Genre: Drama: — Only a few of us have a recollection of the 1980 winter Olympics Miracle on Ice event. But this movie released in 2004, sums it all in the most dramatic and inspiring way ever. It shows how the US Hockey team led by Herbs Brooks won the gold medal after defeating the Soviets who were heavily favoured.

14. Basketball or Nothing (2019)

Genre: Reality — One thing capable of bringing attention to a rural location is sports, and in this movie which was released in 2019, it depicts quite dramatically a Navajo reservation high school team basketball exploits. The Navajo Nation located deep in Arizona share a passion for basketball not uncommon in America, but the attention they receive is quite unconvincing. However, this movie intends to square things up.

15. CounterPunch (2017)

Genre: Documentary — Ever wonder how it feels to endure quite a bit of challenge in a bid to achieve success. You possibly must have felt it, but this documentary takes you through the life of three boxers at different stages in their career persevering and giving their all to achieve their dream; winning a boxing championship. With commentary from retired boxers such as Sugar Ray Leonard, the intense emotion felt is indeed convincing.

16. Undefeated (2011)

Genre: Documentary — Defeat tastes so bad, but when it becomes normal, you just don’t care anymore. This was the case of Memphis high school football team, Manassas Tigers who have never won a playoff game in over a century. But things are about to take a turn for the better as a new coach is bound to break the defensive streak. Did he succeed? Watch to find out.

17. The Short Game (2013)

Genre: Documentary — Unlike most sports movies which focus on adults, this 2013 sports documentary depicts how the best golf proteges from 7-year-olds compete to emerge Champion at the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. This movie surely will give you an idea of the challenge young sports enthusiasts face, which is surprisingly not different from that of established sports stars.

18. The Carter Effect (2017)

Genre: Documentary — This documentary revolves around the life of NBA and Toronto Raptors legend, Vince Carter. It captures the progress of Carter’s fame in the NBA as he influenced the positive view of basketball in Toronto and Canada at large. This movie features first-hand accounts from Carter’s cousin and Former NBA player, Tracy McGrady. 

19. The Damned United (2009)

Genre: Drama — With a major focus on soccer, this movie focuses on Brian Clough a former football manager and his personal relationship struggles with fellow footballer managers which involves several disputes and negative sentiments. It also involved Clough’s dealings with Leeds United where he was fired after 44 days of work. He, however, goes on to find success with another team.

20. Creed (2015)

Genre: Drama — Worthy of mention, this movie released in 2015 has a sequel entitled Creed II. It revolves around the life of Adonis Johnson played by Michael B. Jordan, who resigns from his corporate job to pursue a career in boxing against the will of his stepmother, the wife of his father, who was died in the rings thirty years back. Adonis tries to relive his father’s legacy and thus establish himself as a Champion. The screenplay by Sylvester Stallone who acts as Rocky, Adonis coach, further heightens the drama in the fictional sport based movie. 

An epic dramatisation of real-life events or our imaginations, the act of storytelling by screenplay is one that captivated virtually every one of us. Movies, especially those who tell stories that greatly intrigued, do not just have the power to influence us, it also inspires. In the world of sports, movies have often been used to tell the story of athletes whose impact in the world continues to be felt despite their retirement from the sports scene.

Now especially, as major parts of the world are in total or partial lockdown, the possibility of being bored is a reality gradually becoming dawn to many, but as a way to prevent that, watching inspiring movies on a movie subscription platform such as Netflix , is an option many are fast turning to. From sci-fi, horror and fantasy to sports movies, Netflix, has it all—this is why we have brought you our article on the best sports movies on Netflix 2020.

About The Author

SportyTell Editors

This article was created by a combination of a few writers and editors from Sporty Tell. It's not rare for our writers and team members to collaborate and work together to create the articles you read on the site. This is just one of these examples. This is why you don't see just one author for this article.

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It turns out that when it comes to the best sports movies, it's not always the sport that is at the forefront of the drama. And that's why we love this genre so much.

Sometimes combining two glorious things doesn’t always pay dividends – like chips and mayonnaise for example. And don’t even think of arguing otherwise.

But, sometimes mixing things can lead to a brief glimpse of nirvana. Take films for instance – they are aces. This is indisputable. Sport is also the best… Can you see where we’re going with this yet?

UPDATE: They haven't made the list but 2022 is a vintage year already for sports movies. Both King Richard, about the rise of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, and the fictional The Hustle, starring Adam Sandler as a basketball scout, are a fantastic watch.

That’s right, we are here to salute those films that portray sporting endeavour. From boxing to baseball, via football and long distance running, we have uncovered the 20 best sports movies ever made.

Back page glory awaits…

The best sports movies

1 . Rocky (1976)

Okay, the franchise might have been slightly sullied by endless resurrections, but the original film is a masterclass in sporting drama. A gritty, no-nonsense, but ultimately affectionate tale featuring Sylvester Stallone as the titular Philadelphia pugilist, it catapulted Stallone (who also wrote the story) to stardom. Made for $1.1m, it took $225m. Rags to riches indeed.

2 . Raging Bull (1980)

Boxing and Hollywood has proven to be a heady mix down the years. From Somebody Up There Likes Me to Million Dollar Baby, the guts and glory of boxing is made for the big screen. Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull is unquestionably the best of a proud genre. Robert De Niro excels as Jake LaMotta, lending the film’s mixture of the balletic and the bruising an extra depth of pathos.

3 . Moneyball (2011)

Sport might be played instinctively, but that’s not to say the actions of sportsmen aren’t hostage to the analytic tendencies of number crunchers and the like. In this cinematic adaptation of Michael Lewis’s acclaimed book, Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics, who takes a novel approach to scouting players for his ailing team. Action-packed on and off the field.

4 . The Fighter (2010)

Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale star as half-brothers and boxing champs Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund in David O. Russell’s Oscar-winning film. Based on the pair’s real-life antics and tormented relationship, both Wahlberg and Bale mesmerise as the aspiring Micky and the effervescent, drug-addled has-been Dicky respectively. In doing so, Russell presents two sides of the same boxing coin with his majestic film.

5 . Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Another racing film worthy of the list, Ford v Ferrari (otherwise known as Le Mans ‘66) documents one of the most competitive battles in sporting history. A film that will no doubt leave you rooting for the underdog, the plot depicts the automotive legend that is Carroll Shelby and his relationship with British driver, Ken Miles (played by Christian Bale). The pair, led by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca, set out to build the now legendary Ford GT40, with the seemingly insurmountable challenge leading this story to become a modern-day classic.

6 . The Wrestler (2008)

F Scott Fitzgerald remarked that there were no second acts in American life. Sport and Mickey Rourke both refute this oft-quoted aphorism. In The Wrestler , Darren Aronofsky’s enthralling story of sporting salvation, Rourke plays Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson, an ageing wrestler trying to relive his Eighties heyday. Both deeply moving and displaying a deft comic touch, The Wrestler is one of the best sports films of recent years.

7 . Caddyshack (1981)

The more observant of you will know we have a bit of a Bill Murray man crush here at ShortList. Caddyshack is one of the reasons for our devotion. Murray stars alongside Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield in this comedic tour-de-force that neatly rebuts Mark Twain’s observation that golf was a good walk spoiled. It’s not, but it does make for hole-in-one comic material.

8 . Field Of Dreams (1989)

If you pick it, they will come. Or something like that. Back in his salad days Kevin Costner was actually a cracking actor, and this wonderful slice of nostalgic drama concerning baseball and the loss of childhood innocence is one of his best films. Compelled to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield, Costner’s character reconnects with his dad, while discovering the magic of sport and life.

9 . The Hustler (1961)

Paul Newman stars as Fast Eddie Fulson, a charismatic pool hustler who aims to prove himself the best in a shady business. An iconic movie that served Newman’s manifold charms well, and the inspiration behind Martin Scorsese’s sequel, The Color of Money.

10 . The Damned United (2009)

As a rule football at the flicks is a dispiriting experience. The Damned United , the film based on David Peace’s gripping book that imagined Brian Clough’s brief managerial reign at Leeds United, is a glorious exception. Michael Sheen illuminates the screen as the larger-than-life Clough, while the Machiavellian intrigue that pollutes every football club’s boardroom is fantastically brought to life. A dour classic.

11 . Senna (2011)

Ayrton Senna was undoubtedly the greatest Formula One driver of all time, and this spellbinding documentary pays testament to the Brazilian’s tempestuous genius. And although the tragic ending is already written, the film is no less captivating for that – indeed one need not be an F1 fan to appreciate it. A fitting homage to a honourable and glamorous man.

12 . Tin Cup (1996)

This is one of the most underrated sports movies of all time. Kevin Costner stars as a former golf prodigy who gives lessons to Rene Russo's psychologist and things get a little heated. Yes, it's predictable but Costner and Russo are superb as the leads and the golf isn't too bad, either.

13 . Chariots Of Fire (1981)

Films don’t come more rousing than Chariots of Fire. Telling the events leading up to and including the 1924 Olympics – and featuring that Vangelis score – it really is stirring stuff. The lead actors Ben Cross (who plays Harold Abraham) and Ian Charleson (who portrays devout Christian Eric Liddell) would never reach such heights again, but this story is the stuff dreams are made of. That it’s mostly true is even more moving.

14 . I, Tonya (2017)

It’s not often sporting prowess and comedy seamlessly overlap, but I, Tonya - directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers - certainly fits that brief. Depicting the dramatic twists and turns involved in the life of competitive figure skater Tonya Harding, the mocumentary style film is loosely based on real-life events. Depicting Tonya’s connection to the 1994 attack on skating rival Nancy Kerrigan, the film picked up a slew of big award nominations and led Margot Robbie to receive critical acclaim for her depiction of Harding.

15 . Friday Night Lights (2004)

Another film that artfully captures how the ennui of high school life is momentarily punctured by fleeting moments of sporting glory. This time the subject is American Football rather than the basketball of Hoosiers. Billy Bob Thornton is the coach trying to propel the Permian High School Panthers to a shot at the state championship.

16 . The Bad News Bears (1976)

The 1976 original starring Walter Matthau is a comic masterpiece. And the 2005 remake (featuring Billy Bob Thornton) is worth two hours of your time too. Matthau plays a washed-up former minor league baseball player who is drafted in to coach a bunch of no-hopers. Along the way to the edge of glory, both coach and kids learn a few things about sport and life.

17 . Seabiscuit (2003)

It’s hard to believe that a racehorse could lift a nation off its knees, but that’s what Seabiscuit did in America during The Great Depression. It’s an uplifting tale retold in the 2003 cinematic adaptation featuring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper. Seabiscuit is initially dismissed by racing experts as too small and fiery, but the triumvirate of Maguire, Bridges and Cooper (jockey, owner and trainer) bring success to the horse and hope to a nation.

18 . Warrior (2011)

An incredible film, Warrior charts the differing fortunes of two estranged brothers - both budding MMA fighters who have to fight each other for the chance to win big. Both Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton (relative unknowns when the move was made) are superb in their brutal roles

19 . Hoop Dreams (1994)

Hoop Dreams is without doubt the best sports documentary ever made. It might even be the best documentary ever. Filmed over eight years, it follows the hopes and dreams of two aspiring basketball players in inner city Chicago. Touching upon notions of race, class, education and the power of sport to transcend these issues, Hoop Dreams is both a touching and unflinching expose of Nineties America.

20 . This Sporting Life (1963)

Kitchen sink dramas don’t get any dirtier than Lindsay Anderson’s powerful film about wayward rugby league player Frank Machin (played to brutal perfection by Richard Harris). A violent misfit in real life, Machin’s machismo finds legitimate expression in the gladiatorial arena of rugby league. If only his life outside rugby could make some sense.

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The 42 greatest sports movies of all time.

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Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and " the Clown Prince of Baseball," Max Patkin, in a scene from "Bull ... [+] Durham."

Whether it's about baseball, basketball, football or even roller derby, there is something electric about the best sports movies. While they can be cheesy and overly sentimental, they also capture the ecstasy of victory and the sting of defeat. The greatest sports movies aren’t really even about sports; they are about human will and achievement… well, sometimes they are. Sometimes, they are gross-out comedies about playing dodgeball. There are over 200 internationally recognized sports (and according to the World Sports Encyclopedia, there are over 8,000 indigenous sports). Just like sports themselves, there are hundreds of sports movies, and this list seeks to compile the MVPs of the genre.

Top Sports Movies

From comedies to coming-of-age films to dramatic biopics, the genre of “sports movies” is as diverse as the range of sports they cover. This list includes films covering 18 sports, including baseball, soccer, judo, rugby, ski jumping and many more. Many famous directors have tackled the sports film genre, including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Clint Eastwood, Richard Linklater and Darren Aronofsky.

This list notably omits billiards, auto racing, aviation, caving and darts. However, cases have been made for their inclusion. It also features scripted films from 1942 to 2024 but does not rank documentaries (as sports documentaries could be their own separate list). This list also tries to avoid movies with one or two sports scenes like Twilight, Ferris Buller’s Day Off or Naked Gun . And all the films on this list need to be tens across the board, a real slam dunk, and a home run.

42. 42 (2013)

Chadwick Boseman filming on location for "42" on July 18, 2012 in Brooklyn.

42 plays it a little safe for a movie about one of the most influential sports players of all time, Jackie Robinson. This film is mostly worth watching for the late Chadwick Boseman’s performance as Robinson.

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42 isn’t the first film about Robinson's life. The first was 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story , in which Robinson played himself. 42 stars Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni and André Holland. Boseman spoke with Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, before playing the role. He recalled , “I asked her were there any physical things that he did that stood out. We sat down for hours and talked about his personality and what his tendencies were.” The film is available to stream on Max.

41. Hard Ball (2001)

Hard Ball isn’t a perfect film. It struggles with a bit of a white savior narrative and an underwhelming b-plot about gambling. However, where this film really shines is in its heart and performances. The film follows a down-on-his-luck gambler as he steps in as a coach for an inner-city Chicago little league team.

Hard Ball is often considered “the saddest movie ever” for many millennial boys. The film stars Keanu Reeves and Diane Lane, and also features a pre- The Wire Michael B. Jordan in his first principal film role. Surprisingly (given all the players are children) the actual gameplay depicted in the film is better than many other baseball films. Hard ball is available to stream on Amazon Prime .

40. Angels in the Outfield (1951)

An "Angels In The Outfield" poster featuring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh.

While many millennial and Gen-Z viewers will remember the 1990s remake, the original 1950s Angels in the Outfield is a better-made film. The movie follows the heartless manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a young reporter who blames him for the team’s losing streak; the manager then starts to hear the voice of an angel.

The film was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's favorite movie—it stars Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh. The original and the remake of this movie are pretty different from each other. One of the most significant changes is that in the 1951 film, the angels aren’t really shown; their presence is far more alluded to. Angels in the Outfield is available to purchase on Amazon Prime , YouTube, Google Play and Apple TV .

39. Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Michael "Eddie The Eagle" Edwards poses for a special screening of "Eddie The Eagle."

Eddie the Eagle should be a bigger sports film. The movie tells the story of Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards, who, in 1988, became the first competitor to represent Britain in Olympic ski jumping since 1928.

A true underdog story, “Eddie” had to overcome walking difficulties, self-train and fight for inclusion in the Olympics . The film is a little sentimental and schmaltzy, but that isn’t always a bad thing; it delivers on heart. Eddie the Eagle stars Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken and Iris Berben. It is available to stream on Max .

38. The Sandlot (1993)

The gang of kids in a scene from the film "The Sandlot."

Many sports films are not exactly great but hit on a specific type of nostalgia that makes them feel classic: Space Jam, The Mighty Ducks and AirBud, to name a few. However, The Sandlot is probably the top of the pack. Roger Ebert even said of the film in 1993, “I realized I didn't have a mitt, and it was then I also realized how completely this movie had seduced me with its memories of what really matters when you are 12".

The Sandlot follows Scott Smalls and the summer that he tries to make friends through playing backyard baseball. The Sandlot gang are at first terrified of Mr. Mertle, played by James Earl Jones, and his large dog, “the beast,” but have to confront their fears after the beast eats a Babe Ruth-signed baseball. Many parts of the film do not age well, and it has received criticism for consent issues especially. However, the film is, in many ways, an ode to childhood. It is currently streaming on Disney+ .

37. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Dodgeball isn’t the first sport that most sports fans think of. However, Dodgeball has all the trappings of a classic sports comedy: a team of lovable underdogs, a David and Goliath championship game and an iconic training montage.

Dodgeball stars Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor and Rip Torn. The movie is crass and pretty profane, but it delivers some great jokes. The goofiness of Dodgeball is kind of the point. Dodgeball is available to stream on Hulu.

36. Miracle (2004)

Kurt Russell honors Herb Brooks before the 54th NHL All-Star Game on February 8, 2004 .

Miracle doesn’t break any molds when it comes to sports films. Still, it is a competently made, enjoyable and surprisingly accurate look at the 1980 Winter Olympics men’s ice hockey and the “Miracle on Ice.” In the film, the American ice hockey team beats the highly favored Soviet team to take home the gold.

The film stars Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson and Noah Emmerich. Russell was especially praised for his performance. Surprisingly understated for being a classic underdog film, it also won the ESPY for Best Sports Movie in 2004. Miracle is currently streaming on Disney+ .

35. Happy Gilmore (1996)

Bob Barker prepares to punch Adam Sandler in a scene from the film "Happy Gilmore."

Adam Sandler comedies are crass, loud and sometimes kind of stupid. Happy Gilmore is no exception, but it all works. The film follows a struggling Ice Hockey player who transitions to playing golf keep his grandma’s house.

The film stars Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay and Carl Weathers. Happy Gilmore did well at the box office but recieved poor reviews from critics. However, it has gained a cult status, especially amongst golfers. Some professional golfers have attempted the “Happy Gilmore” swing for fun and even training . The film also won an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight for the film’s famous fight scene between Sandler and Bob Barker. In May of 2024, Netflix announced that a sequel to the film is in the works. The original is currently streaming on Netflix.

34. Better Off Dead (1985)

Diane Franklin as Monique Junot in the 1985 movie "Better Off Dead."

Better Off Dead is a black comedy that combines coming-of-age themes with skiing. This film comes with a content warning since much of the first act is about suicide. However, the second and third acts are mostly about getting the girl and winning the big ski race in true 1980s sports fashion.

The film also features drag racing and surprisingly accurate Howard Cosell impressions. Not everything ages perfectly in the movie, but it still stands as an inventive and unique sports comedy. Better Off Dead stars John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Diane Franklin and Kim Darby. The film ends with a kiss at home plate at Dodger Stadium, and what could be more sports romcom than that? It is available for rental on YouTube , Google Play , Amazon Prime and Apple TV .

33. Challengers (2024)

Mike Faist, Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and director Luca Guadagnino attend a "Challengers" Photocall.

There may be some recency bias here. However, Challengers is one of the most inventive sports films of recent years. Slight spoilers ahead, but the film breaks almost every sports movie convention. In the end, to misquote Oscar Wild, everything is about sex except sex. Sex is about tennis, or maybe everything is about tennis except tennis.

Challengers explores doubles, singles, love and winning over the career of three young tennis players. The film is a little “millennial tennis Bull Durham ” without the jokes, but that isn’t a bad thing. Part of what makes it a great sports film is how the tennis is filmed. Between whip pans and inventive angles, the pace of the game radiates through the screen. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist. Challengers premiered in theaters and is now available online for digital purchase.

32. Invictus (2009)

One of two films on this list directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman , Invictus is based on the 2008 John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation. The film follows the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the Springboks Rugby team in their first season post-apartheid.

The film also stars Matt Damon. Damon and Freeman's roles earned them Oscar nominations. The film explores the overlap between sports and politics and the meaning of national pride. Invictus is available to rent on YouTube , Google Play, Apple TV and Amazon Prime .

31. Uncut Gems (2019)

Directors/Writers Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie at A24's Uncut Gems Los Angeles premiere.

Uncut Gems isn’t higher on this list because it’s not really a sports movie. If you are looking for an Adam Sandler lead sports movie that is more about basketball, try 2022’s Hustle (or Eight Crazy Nights … though that one isn’t very good; he has been in a lot of sports films more generally as well.) However, Uncut Gems is a sports gambling film, and in the 2020s, what is more current about sports than the rise of sports gambling?

The film, directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, stars Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel and real-life basketballer Kevin Garnett. The film has the frenetic pace of a heart attack, making it uncomfortable to watch. However, it became a critical darling, and the film was nominated for four Golden Globes. Sandler was also nominated for the Golden Rassbery, Razzie Redeemer Award for his role in the movie. The movie is available to rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play and Apple TV.

30. Coach Carter (2005)

The real Ken Carter during Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Some have called Coach Carter “predictable.” The story follows a tough coach who is brought in to shape up an inner-city High school basketball team, which is a familiar narrative when it comes to sports movies (the co-writer of the film, John Gatins, also wrote Hard Ball ). However, this take isn’t entirely fair, given that it is based on the true story of Ken Carter, The Richmond, California Oilers and the 1998 season lockout, which made national news.

In the film and in real life, Ken Carter kept his undefeated basketball team from playing until they met an honor code and improved their grades. The decision was unpopular with the community but caught the eye of then-California Governor Gray Davis , who came to a game later in the season. The film was directed by Thomas Carter (no relation) and stars Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Brown, Antwon Tanner and Channing Tatum in his first film role. It is available to rent on Amazon Prime , Google Play and Apple TV .

29. Field of Dreams (1989)

One of the "ghost" players in "Field of Dreams."

Is Field of Dreams a little corny? Well, yes. But that’s kind of the point. The film follows a farmer who builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield. Ghosts of baseball legends are pulled to the field, including Shoeless Joe Jackson and Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham.

The film stars Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones and Burt Lancaster in his final film role. Upon reading the script, Costner felt the film was his generation’s It’s A Wonderful Life. Roger Ebert shared this feeling, writing, "This is the kind of movie Frank Capra might have directed, and James Stewart might have starred in—a movie about dreams." The film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture. In 2021, Major League Baseball held a "MLB at Field of Dreams game" which marked the first Major League game ever held at the fan-favorite movie location, as well as in the state of Iowa. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

28. Moneyball (2011)

Atmosphere at the Premiere of "Moneyball" at The Paramount Theatre on September 19, 2011 in Oakland, ... [+] California.

Moneyball is one of those movies where the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis is better. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great movie. The film follows the Oakland A’s 2002 season and the sabermetric strategy their manager, Billy Beane, used to identify undervalued talent to scout.

The film stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Moneyball was directed by Bennett Miller with a script by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards. Art Howe (played by Hoffman in the film) was upset by his portrayal, and Bay Area locals and critics noted several significant historical inaccuracies in the film. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

27. Shaolin Soccer (2004)

Shaolin Soccer might be the wackiest film on this list. The movie follows former monks as they use their superhuman martial arts skills to play soccer. Part soccer, part martial arts, part comedy film, Shaolin Soccer was written, directed by and starred Stephen Chow. The film also features Zhao Wei, Ng Man-tat, Patrick Tse and Danny Chan Kwok-kwan.

Shaolin Soccer was initially banned in China but did well at the Hong Kong box office. Edgar Wright named Shaolin Soccer as an influence for his film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender , Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, named it amongst their favorite movies and that it inspired how elemental bending could look on the show. The film is currently streaming for free on Pluto TV.

26. Remember the Titans (2000)

Denzel Washington stars In "Remember The Titans."

Remember the Titans might not be the best sports movie of all time, but it might be the “most sports movie.” It has everything you want from a sports movie: an underdog story, a devoted coach thrown into a new situation days away from being fired, the love of football, being based on a true story and even an inspirational training montage. However, Remember the Titans adds the backdrop of 1970s segregated Virginia.

The film stars Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Donald Faison and Nicole Ari Parker. It received mixed but lightly favorable reviews. Washington also won a BET and NAACP award for his performance. Remember the Titans is currently streaming on Disney+.

25. King Richard (2021)

Demi Singleton, Serena Williams, Will Smith, Venus Williams, Saniyya Sidney and Aunjanue Ellis ... [+] attend the 2021 AFI Fest Closing Night Premiere of "King Richard."

King Richard tells the story of Richard Williams, the father of Serena and Venus Williams, as they begin their tennis careers. The Williams sisters both signed on as executive producers after seeing the film and praised its accuracy.

The film stars Will Smith as well as Aunjanue Ellis and Saniyya Sidney. King Richard earned Smith the Best Actor Oscar and was nominated for five others. The film received some mild criticism for diminishing the accomplishments of the Williams sisters and shifting the focus to their father. However, Smith’s performance makes this film more than worth a watch. Serena Williams said of the film, “I think it was a great opportunity to see how amazing African-American fathers are. A lot of black men aren't seen in that light.” It is currently streaming on Netflix and Max .

24. The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

Gary Cooper in "Pride of the Yankees."

While there have been movies about sports (and especially baseball) since the late 1800s, The Pride of the Yankees was one of the first sports movies to win an Academy Award. The film is based on the real-life story of Lou Gehrig, a legendary Yankees’ first baseman who passed a year before the film’s release at the age of 37 of “Lou Gehrig’s disease” or ALS.

Gary Cooper portrays Gehrig, while several of his teammates, including Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig and Bill Dickey, play themselves. The film is a loving epitaph that focuses more on Gehrig’s life than his baseball career. It was nominated for ten Oscars. The film's theatrical release was paired with the premiere of an animated short from Walt Disney Animation Studios called How to Play Baseball , featuring Goofy demonstrating how to play America’s pastime. It is currently streaming for free on Tubi, Pluto TV , Peacock and Amazon Prime .

23. Caddyshack (1980)

Bill Murray in a scene from the film "Caddyshack."

The second cult comedy about golf on this list, Caddyshack , is perfectly 1980s . Directed by Harold Ramis, the film follows a caddie vying for a scholarship who becomes embroiled in a feud between old money and new money at the club.

Caddyshack stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray. It was originally met with tepid reviews, but it has gained a loyal following. ESPN called It “perhaps the funniest sports movie ever made.” It is currently streaming on Philo .

22. Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

Akira Kurosawa's directorial debut, Sanshiro Sugata, follows a young man in the 1880s who travels to the city to learn Jujutsu and instead discovers the newly invented Judo. Unfortunately, seven minutes of the film were cut and lost due to Japanese wartime censorship .

The film isn’t usually noted among Kurosawa’s best work, but it has a gritty realness and moments of directorial interest scattered throughout. It has been remade several times in Japan, and Kurosawa also directed a sequel to 1945’s Sanshiro Sugata Part II . Sanshiro Sugata is currently streaming for free on Plex .

21. Major League (1989)

When a new owner inherits a team from her husband, she decides to try to run it into the ground. No, this isn’t Ted Lasso ; it’s Major League . Starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, Bob Uecker and Rene Russo, Major League follows the, unfortunately named, Cleveland Indians and their struggle to keep attendance high enough so the team won’t move to Miami.

The film is beloved amongst baseball fans and is often referenced by professional baseball players and announcers. The film also features appearances from real players like Pete Vuckovich, Willie Mueller and Steve Yeager. The gameplay in the movie is also surprisingly accurate. Sheen was a former high school pitcher, and during filming, he had an 88-mile-per-hour fastball. However, years later, he admitted that he had to take steroids for two months to get into athletic shape for filming. It is currently streaming on Max .

20. He Got Game (1998)

Denzel Washington in "He Got Game."

Jesus Shuttlesworth has an important choice. As the top high school basketball player, he has to choose between a college program and the NBA. His choice is complicated after his incarcerated father, Jake, tries to convince him to go to “Big State” because it will take some time off of Jake’s sentence.

Spike Lee’s He Got Game stars real-life basketballer Ray Allen and actor Denzel Washington. The movie didn’t do well at the box office and received mixed reviews at release. However, there is something wholly creative about it. It doesn’t fall into a lot of the tropes of sports movies. Journalist and professor Lawrence Ware said of the film, “Looking back on the film 25 years later, I now see that it is not a perfect film, but it is a prescient one.” It is currently streaming for free on Tubi.

19. Sugar (2008)

Sugar is a real hidden gem. The film takes a sensitive look at Miguel "Sugar" Santos, a baseball player from the Dominican Republic, as he comes to play for a minor league team in Iowa. While the story is fictional, many Dominican players have come to the Major League through a similar process, and the film was obviously well-researched (especially when it comes to how the league uses foreign talent and farm teams.)

The film currently holds a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film stars Algenis Perez Soto, Karl Bury and Michael Gaston. The film isn’t an average sports movie. Roger Ebert noted in his review, “I thought I could guess the story. But I couldn't. There isn't a single scene in this film where it really matters which side wins a game, and it doesn't end with a no-hitter.” Sugar is available for purchase on YouTube , Google Play , Apple TV and Amazon Prime .

18. Whip It (2009)

Actress's Zoe Bell, Eve, Kristen Wiig, director Drew Barrymore and the roller derby team attend ... [+] the"Whip It" Premiere at the Ryerson Theatre during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut about roller derby, Whip It , is somewhat of a deep cut. The coming-of-age comedy follows a teenager longing to break out of rural Texas beauty pageant culture and into the world of roller derby in Austin.

Whip It stars Elliot Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wiig, Barrymore, Juliette Lewis and Eve. The film didn’t perform well at the box office, but it received generally favorable reviews, even though many thought it was predictable. Whip It deserves another look; some have even called it “criminally overlooked. ” Whip It serves up great comedy, heart and a look into peak 2000s alt-girl power. It is currently streaming on Paramount+.

17. Love & Basketball (2000)

Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan in a lobby card for the New Line Cinema movie "Love & Basketball."

Love & Basketball is about passion both in interpersonal relationships and for the game itself. The film follows two young ballplayers turned lovers who share the dream of getting to the NBA.

Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film stars Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. It has become a cult classic, especially in the Black community. When it came out, Love & Basketball got generally positive reviews. However, many have revisited the film. Jenni Miller wrote for the A.V. Club in 2015, “Love & Basketball is a nearly perfect modern romantic drama,” even if Quincy was kind of a jerk to Monica. It is available to rent on YouTube, Google Play , Apple TV and Amazon Prime .

16. The Iron Claw (2023)

Marshall Von Erich poses during "The Iron Claw" Dallas premiere.

The Iron Claw is as much about professional wrestling as it is about familial pressure, the bonds of brotherhood and generational curses. The film follows the real-life story of the Von Erich brothers and the World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW).

The film was produced and promoted during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike after being given special dispensation due to A24’s relationship with the Union. It stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Lily James. Efron was especially lauded for his performance. Many thought that the film and Efron were snubbed at the Oscars. The Iron Claw is available to stream on Max.

15. White Men Can’t Jump (1992)

One of two films on this list from Ron Shelton, White Men Can’t Jump, is still funny and even poignant after 30 years. The film stars Woody Harrelson as a former college basketball player who teams up with a streetballer, Wesley Snipes, to hustle games to pay off a gambling debt to the mob. The film also stars Rosie Perez as Harrelson’s live-in girlfriend.

Perez is a scene-stealer in many ways. In his 1992 review, Roger Ebert called her performance “Oscar-caliber supporting work” and noted her chemistry with Harrelson. While the film did well at the box office, it has also become a cult classic, inspiring a video game, Nike collab and a 2023 remake. The original is currently streaming on Max.

14. Creed (2015)

Creed is part of the Rocky canon, but it’s not quite a reboot or a sequel. It feels like it stands on its own while still enjoying the nostalgia of America’s favorite boxing movie franchise. Creed follows Adonis, the son of Apollo Creed, as he is trained by Rocky Balboa, a friend of his late father.

The film was directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad. A.V. Wire 's Herman Dhaliwal wrote, "I will say the film was everything I could have ever wanted and then some. It's a film that could have gone so wrong in so many ways so easily, but the results show something that is genuine and inspired.” The film is currently streaming on Philo.

13. Bring It On (2000)

Bring It On is a cult and sleepover classic for a reason. Even Roger Ebert revisited the film after an originally negative review called it “ Citizen Kane of cheerleader movies." The film follows two rival high school cheer teams preparing for nationals.

Bring It On stars Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford and Gabrielle Union. While the film prompted several direct-to-video sequels and a 2011 stage musical (with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda), its real legacy might be in its themes. The film addresses issues of systemic inequality, cultural appropriation and intersectional feminism. Katie Barnes wrote for ESPN.com, “The entire film is an exploration of appropriation and the way whiteness works in our culture. It tackles race, gender and sexuality in stunning ways. Somehow within 98 minutes, queer politics gets addressed too. It's a breakneck cultural mirror.” The film is currently available for streaming on Starz.

12. The Karate Kid (1984)

Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in a scene from "The Karate Kid."

While The Karate Kid is now a franchise, you can’t beat the original. Upon the release of the 2010 remake, film critic Dana Stevens wrote that the original “may have seemed like a standard-issue inspirational sports picture at the time, but… a generation of remove reveals what a well-crafted movie it actually was.”

The film follows a bullied kid as he learns karate from his apartment’s handyman, Mr. Miyagi. While The Karate Kid may be remembered for its wax-on-wax-off training montage and sweeping the leg, it also looks at the growth of unlikely friendship, the stain of Japanese internment in America and impressive fight choreography. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, William Zabka and Elisabeth Shue. Morita received an Oscar nomination for his role as Mr. Miyagi. The film is available to stream on Starz.

11. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

Richard Linklater’s love letter to the 1980s, Everybody Wants Some!!, maybe shouldn’t qualify as a sports film. While it follows a freshman pitcher’s introduction to a college baseball team, it is as much about baseball as it is about partying, hitting on girls and coming of age. However, the baseball scenes and the team's interactions make this feel like a sports movie.

The film didn’t perform well at the box office but received positive reviews, with an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes for its humor and heart. Reviewer Sheila O'Malley said of the film, “'Everybody Wants Some!!' is a corrective to the tired, false “dumb jock” stereotype." Everybody Wants Some!! also features excellent performances from Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Glen Powell and Wyatt Russell. The film is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.

10. Chariots of Fire (1981)

Actors Ian Holm and Ben Cross in a scene from the film "Chariots of Fire."

With one of the most iconic scores in movie history, Chariots of Fire is “the story of two men who run, not to run, but to prove something to the world.” The film follows a Jewish runner and a Scottish Christian runner as they represent Britain in the 1924 Olympics in Paris.

The film stars Ben Cross and Ian Charleson. Chariots of Fire was met with near-universal acclaim and was nominated for seven Oscars, winning four. The BFI has since ranked it among the Top 100 British films. While the film is very loosely based on the 1924 Olympics, it is not historically accurate and was not meant to be. Chariots of Fire is available to rent on YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV and Amazon Prime .

9. Offside (2006)

Offside is truly a hidden gem that captures the love of soccer so many feel. The film follows a group of girls who try to sneak into the World Cup qualifying match in Iran. Due to a law against women in football stadiums, the girls wear drag and costumes to try to sneak by the guards.

The film was inspired by director Jafar Panahi’s daughter, who attended a game. Offside was shot in Iran but couldn’t be screened there due to a ban. The sports-comedy satire won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and was also selected for the New York and Toronto International Film Festivals. It is available to rent on YouTube , Google Play , Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

8. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Million Dollar Baby follows an amateur female boxer and her trainer as they try to make a name for themselves in professional boxing. While it might sound uplifting, it is more tragic than many other rags-to-riches boxing stories.

Million Dollar Baby was directed, co-produced, scored by and starred Clint Eastwood. It also stars Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. Million Dollar Baby won four Oscars, including Best Picture. The film currently holds a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is available to rent on Amazon Prime , YouTube , Google Play and Apple TV .

7. The Wrestler (2008)

Mickey Rourke on location for "The Wrestler."

Darren Aronofsky’s gritty tale of an aging wrestler is about getting back in the ring. The film also served as a comeback for star Mickey Rouke, who earned an Oscar for the role.

The Wrestler also stars Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. The film was met with universal acclaim and currently holds a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes . Tom Ward wrote in a 15 year retrospective for Esquire , “Despite its abrasive (and bloody) subject matter, there is much beauty in The Wrestler . Shot on 16mm film, winter-time New Jersey is suitably melancholy. And, for a film about the most bombastic of sports, Aronofsky tells an incredibly subdued story.” It is currently streaming on Hulu.

6. I, Tonya (2017)

Did Tonya Harding orchestrate the 1994 assault on her figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan? I, Tonya is less interested in answering for sure than bringing the watcher into the difficult life of skating’s most controversial olympian. The film features unreliable narrators in a story that is self-professed: "contradictory" and "totally true.”

Starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser and Bobby Cannavale, I, Tonya isn’t your average sports film. However, it delivers humor, tragedy, emotional resonance and an unexpected look at the place of class in competitive sports. The film earned Robbie her first Academy Award nomination. Janney won the Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG Gravity and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. It is currently streaming on Max.

5. Raging Bull (1980)

Robert De Niro as boxer Jake LaMotta in a scene from "Raging Bull."

Martin Scorsese has made many great movies. However, Raging Bull is among his best. The film follows the life of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta and is based on his memoir Raging Bull: My Story. The film stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty and Nicholas Colasanto.

Scorsese initially didn’t want to make the film. However, after a collapse made him connect with LaMotta's story, he decided to work with De Niro. Raging Bull was nominated for eight Oscars and currently has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes . It is available to stream for free on Tubi , Pluto TV and t he Roku Channel . It is also available on MGM+ with a subscription.

4. Bull Durham (1988)

Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon in "Bull Durham."

Part romcom, part Baseball film, Bull Durham is simply delightful. The film follows a minor league veteran catcher as he trains a hopeful minor league rookie pitcher. Directed by White Men Can’t Jump ’s Ron Shelton, the film stars Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. Bull Durham is in many ways is a love letter to the minor leagues, partially because the film believes in the “Church of Baseball.”

The film earned Shelton an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Sports Illustrated ranked it as their #1 Greatest Sports Movie of all time in 2003. The film currently boasts a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bull Durham delivers on sexy love triangles, quippy dialogue and, most importantly, a reverence for the game. The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

3. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

The filming off "Bend It Like Beckham."

Bend It Like Beckham follows Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, a British Punjabi Sikh, as she tries to turn her soccer dreams into a reality. Bend It Like Beckham balances humor with culture, sports and changing attitudes.

Directed by Gurinder Chadha, the film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Both Nagra and Knightley completed three months of soccer training before the film and did all their own playing. The film was a box office smash, earning over $76.5 million against a $6 million budget. Bend It Like Beckham also received an ESPY Award for Best Sports Movie and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film. It is currently streaming for free on The Roku Channel or with subscription on Hulu and Disney+ .

2. A League of Their Own (1992)

"A League Of Their Own" event at Geena Davis' 2nd Annual Bentonville Film Festival with fan. ... [+] (Photo by Ernesto Di Stefano Photography/Getty Images for Bentonville Film Festival)

"There's no crying in baseball!" Based on the true story of the All-American Girls League, A League of Their Own follows a fictionalized women’s baseball team, The Rockford Peaches, as World War II shuts down men’s major league baseball. Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Tom Hanks , Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Jon Lovitz, Garry Marshall and Bill Pullman.

Every woman who auditioned for the film had to be able to play baseball. Davis especially had some natural talent, and learning to play for the movie led her to tap into a love for sports and eventually make it to the Olympic trials for archery. In 2012, A League of Their Own was chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry. It is still the highest-grossing baseball movie of all time, beating out the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42. It is currently streaming for free on Tubi.

1. Rocky (1976)

Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers in 'Rocky"

It is tempting to put several Rocky movies on this list (remember when he won the Cold War by boxing?), but you can’t beat the original. Rocky follows a small-time Philly boxer and his unlikely rise to the world heavyweight championship. It was written by and stars Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the script in three days.

His work on the film made him the third actor to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor in the same year. The film won two Oscars for John G. Avildsen’s directing and Best Picture. Rocky is also often credited with popularizing the “rags to riches” sports film in America. However, the first Rocky film doesn’t lead audiences to care about the outcome of the fight. The film also features an iconic score and training montage, which have become part of the American cinematic vocabulary. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” in the Library of Congress. It is currently streaming on AMC+ and Philo .

Bottom Line

The greatest sports films capture the nature of sports. They show crushing defeats, unlikely wins and the excitement and momentum that real games bring fans. From baseball to boxing, great sports films make the audience care about the game and its players. Is this ranking even really a competition, or are they all winners here?

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The 10 Best Sports Movies of All Time, According to the AFI

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The 30 Best Sports Movies of All Time, Ranked

Every john wick movie, ranked by action, 10 period movies that are perfect from start to finish.

From classic boxing films to golf comedies, the sports genre has covered just about every game in the book and is admired for its inspirational underdog and success stories. There are some sports movies that are an absolute must-see like Field of Dreams and 42 starring Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford , but according to The American Film Institute , there are some titles that qualify as leading contenders.

For several decades, The AFI is a prominent organization that has dedicated all of its efforts to educating and preserving the art and history of cinema. The AFI has also compiled various lists of essential films categorized by genre, decade, and even Hollywood stars and directors. Out of over a hundred years of movies, these are the 10 best sports movies of all time, according to The AFI .

10 'Jerry Maguire' (1996)

When a successful sports agent, Jerry Maguire ( Tom Cruise ) makes a moral choice that costs him his job, he quickly becomes desperate to keep his current clientele of athletes and decides to start his own management firm. With the help of his co-worker, Dorothy ( Renée Zellweger ), they risk everything on Maguire's only remaining client, Arizona wide receiver, Rod Tidwell ( Cuba Gooding Jr. ).

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Jerry Maguire is a sports and romantic comedy that accurately portrays the cutthroat world of professional football. With memorable performances by Cruise, Gooding Jr. and Zellweger, Jerry Maguire is one of the most iconic movies of the 1990s and earned several Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor, and went on to win Best Supporting Actor for Gooding Jr.'s performance.

9 'National Velvet' (1944)

Velvet Brown ( Elizabeth Taylor ) is a young girl who has always dreamed of having her horse and when she becomes the proud owner of a rebellious stallion, she decides to train him for England's Grand National race. She manages to convince an employee of her father's and a former jockey, Mi Taylor ( Mickey Rooney ) to help her, but when an issue arises with their jockey on the day of the race, they must find another rider to take his place.

Even though Rooney has top billing in the equestrian film, National Velvet , Taylor's performance is the film's main attraction and to be able to outshine an established star like Rooney speaks volumes about her raw, natural talent. In 1978, a sequel to the film, International Velvet , was released and stars Tatum O'Neal , Christopher Plummer , Anthony Hopkins , and Nanette Newman.

8 'Breaking Away' (1979)

In Bloomington, Indiana, 19-year-old Dave Stohler ( Dennis Christopher ) tries to figure out what he wants to do with his life and becomes obsessed with competitive bicycling and Italian racers. When he develops a crush on a co-ed at the local college, he pretends to be an exchange student from Italy and enters the university's annual bike race with his friends in an attempt to win her heart.

Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid , Jackie Earle Haley, and Daniel Stern in his film debut star in the coming-of-age sports comedy, Breaking Away , which centers around Indiana University's annual Little 500 bike race held every April on campus. Screenwriter, Steve Tesich , based the story on his fraternity brothers who won the race in 1962, and developed the main character around his friend and legendary cyclist, Dave Blase . Breaking Away earned several Oscar nominations including Best Picture and took home the win for Best Original Screenplay.

7 'Caddyshack' (1980)

In the summer, Danny Noonan ( Michael O'Keefe ) works as a caddie at the uptight Bushwood Country Club. In an attempt to win their annual college scholarship, he volunteers to caddy for a prominent club member ( Ted Knight ). As the club's Caddy Day tournament approaches, Noonan tries to soak up as much advice as he can from a rich, golf enthusiast, Ty Webb ( Chevy Chase ).

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Caddyshack is a hysterical sports film directed by Harold Ramis and also stars Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Murray as the unhinged groundskeeper who spends most of the movie hunting a destructive gopher. Known for his standup comedy, Caddyshack essentially launched Dangerfield's film career as well as Murray's who inadvertently steals the show with his hilarious antics and traps that wind up backfiring on him.

6 'The Hustler' (1961)

Pool shark, Fast Eddie Felson ( Paul Newman ), travels with his friend and partner, Bert ( George C. Scott ) to the home pool hall of the legendary Minnesota Fats ( Jackie Gleason ) and challenges him to a game of straight pool. Even though the small-time hustler has talent, his obnoxious showmanship and cocky attitude stand in the way of destroying his career before it even starts.

The Hustler is a complex story of aimless ambition and redemption featuring unforgettable performances by the entire cast including Laurie Piper who plays Eddie's love interest, Sarah. Gleason, who is best known for starring in the classic sitcom, The Honeymooners , showcases his dramatic acting chops, which earned the comedian an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1986, Newman reprised his role in a sequel, The Color of Money , starring Tom Cruise, sharing striking similarities to Felson's rise and fall from grace.

5 'Bull Durham' (1988)

The minor league baseball team, Durham Bulls, have nothing going for them this season except for their star player and rookie pitcher, Ebby Calvin LaLoosh ( Tim Robbins ) who has the talent to make it to the major leagues. Unfortunately, LaLoosh isn't well-versed in the game of baseball and to prepare him for a potential MLB career, they bring on former minor catcher, Lawrence "Crash" Davis ( Kevin Costner ) to teach him everything he needs to know about America's favorite pastime.

Costner's in rare comedic form in the 1980s baseball film, Bull Durham , alongside Susan Sarandon who plays a dedicated team groupie who starts to fall for Davis. Upon the movie's initial release, Bull Durham was a success at the box office and earned positive reviews for the cast's overall performances but through the years, the movie has grown to become one of the most beloved baseball movies of all time.

4 'Hoosiers' (1986)

Former college basketball coach, Norman Dale ( Gene Hackman ) is hired to coach a high school team in a small Indiana town and gets a chance to redeem himself and his checkered past. When the team's star player quits to focus on his studies, Dale struggles to bring the team together and is criticized by the community for his short-temper and unusual choice of assistant coach, Shooter Flatch ( Dennis Hopper ) who is a well-known alcoholic.

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Hoosiers is a genuine underdog movie inspired by the men's basketball team at Milan High School who went on to win the Indiana state championship in 1954. Hackman and Hopper are at their finest, but aside from the impeccable performances and characters, Hoosiers is a sports film that comes from the heart and embodies the qualities of what it means to come together as a team and defy the odds.

3 'The Pride of the Yankees' (1942)

When the mother of a gifted baseball player, Lou Gehrig ( Gary Cooper ) becomes ill, he makes a career change and signs up to join the New York Yankees to pay for his mother's hospital bills. He effortlessly works his way through the minor league up to the majors where he plays alongside legendary players like Babe Ruth and becomes one of the greatest baseball players in history as well as an American icon.

Cooper gives a riveting performance in The Pride of the Yankees as the legendary baseball player, Lou Gehrig, who died in 1941 from a neurodegenerative disease that later became known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The film also stars Walter Brennan , Teresa Wright , and Dan Duryea and features real-life New York Yankee stars including Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig and The Bambino, Babe Ruth .

2 'Rocky' (1976)

Heavyweight boxing champion, Apollo Creed ( Carl Weathers ) is set to defend his title in an upcoming match in Philadelphia but when his opponent is injured, they pick small-time boxer, Rocky Balboa ( Sylvester Stallone ) to take his place. In preparation for the high-profile event, Balboa trains with a feisty former boxer, Mick ( Burgess Meredith ), and learns firsthand what it means to be a true champion.

In 1975, Stallone wrote the first draft for Rocky in three and a half days after watching the championship fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner . Initially, Rocky earned some mixed reviews at time of release, but received several Oscar nominations winning for both Best Picture and Best Director. Today, the movie is regarded as an inspirational classic for its non-traditional ending and Stallone's riveting performance, which film critic, Roger Ebert , said reminded him of a young Marlon Brando .

1 'Raging Bull' (1980)

In the 1940s, boxer, Jake LaMotta ( Robert De Niro ) works his way through the ranks at a shot at earning the title of middleweight championship. LaMotta becomes fully immersed in the ring and despite achieving the opportunity to wear the crown, his detachment from those around him and bottled-up emotions eventually send him down a dark and destructive path.

Martin Scorsese 's epic boxing film, Raging Bull , is a cinematic masterpiece and intense sports drama based on the autobiography of middleweight boxer, Jake 'The Bronx Bull' LaMotta, who held the world champion title from 1949 to 1951. Raging Bull is considered to be Scorsese and De Niro's finest film and earned several Oscar nominations including Best Supporting Actor for Joe Pesci , Best Director, and Best Picture. The movie won for film editing and De Niro's performance earned him his third nomination and first win for Best Actor.

NEXT: From 'Creed' to 'Raging Bull': 12 Best Boxing Movies of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb

Top 20 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time (The Ultimate List)

1. Hoosiers

3. Field of Dreams

4. Raging Bull

5. Million Dollar Baby

6. The Fighter

7. Cinderella Man

8. Bull Durham

9. The Blind Side

10. The Natural

12. Remember the Titans

13. Seabiscuit

14. Invictus

15. Glory Road

16. Breaking Away

17. Miracle

18. Friday Night Lights

19. A League of Their Own

20. The Karate Kid

More to explore, recently viewed.

30 Best Sports Movies of All Time

An underdog team takes the field. A has-been suits up one final time for a last-gasp grab at glory. A never-was gets his or her shot to prove they have what it takes. Sports movies are never just sports movies — they’re tales of the human spirit triumphing over adversity, or metaphors for the little guy taking on the corporate Goliaths and grown-up rich kids and beating them at their own rigged game. Sometimes they smell like team spirit. Sometimes they inspire with examples of exceptional individualism. And other times, they prove that a well-timed explosion by a deranged groundskeeper trying to kill a gopher will help you go home a winner. But the great ones always make you want to stand up and do the wave in the theater.

So we’re counting down our choices for the 30 best sports films of all time — from boxing dramas to bowling comedies, surfing docs to slobs-versus-snobs battles on the links, trash-talking basketball showdowns to ninth-inning baseball stand-offs. All apologies to Jim Thorpe, Knute Rockne, the Rockford Peaches, the Z-Boys, Miguel “Sugar” Santos, Seabiscuit and every other screen athlete/coach/trainer that’s uplifted us over the years — we’ll catch you on the flip side when we do the Top 50 list.

[ Editor’s Note: A version of this story was originally published August 2015 ]

‘No No: A Dockumentary’ (2014)

Dock Ellis is most famous for claiming that he once pitched a no-hitter while tripping on LSD,  but as Jeff Radice's "dockumentary" makes clear, the Pirates hurler had a fairly distinguished career, intersecting with one of baseball's wildest decades. In the age of afros and Astroturf, Ellis was in the thick of what was going on, from free agency to drug abuse to debates in the media over whether black players were getting "too cocky." It's a clear-eyed memorial of the best and worst of MLB in the Seventies. NM

‘Tin Cup’ (1996)

Kevin Costner reunited with his Bull Durham writer-director Ron Shelton for this golf-themed rom-com, playing Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy, a burned out ex-pro who tries to win the heart of a woman (Rene Russo) by out-shooting her boyfriend (Don Johnson) at the U.S. Open. The hero's sun-baked, casually philosophical air is a fine embodiment of Shelton's duffer romanticism. Like his creator, Costner's McAvoy gets the connections between seduction and hitting a golf ball, knowing that in both cases players can do everything right mechanically and still shank one into the rough. NM

‘Miracle’ (2004)

In the midst of draping our sports heroes in glory, we can forget that they're not always dynamic, astounding individuals. Consequently, one of the finest attributes of Gavin O'Connor's tribute to gruff coach Herb Brooks is that it never stops reminding us that the man who led the underdog U.S. hockey team to an unlikely gold medal was no touchy-feely, heart-tugging dude. As played by Kurt Russell, Brooks is a merciless taskmaster, whipping his young players into shape in order to prepare them for taking on the fearsome Soviet Union team in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Miracle isn't any less riveting because of Russell's terrifically flinty performance or because we know how the movie's electric finale will end. It merely makes the reaction to his team's triumph all the more moving. TG

‘Chariots of Fire’ (1981)

It's remembered today primarily for its pulsing Vangelis synthesizer score and that shot of Olympians running along a beach in slow-motion — but director Hugh Hudson's Oscar-winning sports drama is anything but an easy callback punchline. Recounting the true story of two early 1920s British track and field athletes (one a devout Christian, the other Jewish), the film doesn't hinge on any single winner-take-all race despite its lead-up to the 1924 Olympics; rather, it focuses on both the men themselves and the temper of the times in addition to the competitive triumphs and tragedies. The result is both uplifting and an elegiac look at Europe in between world wars, as well as a tribute to the stiff-upper-lip fortitude of England's fleet of foot. NM

‘Rudy’ (1993)

Forget some of the details the film conveniently overlooks (hey, turns out that iconic jersey scene never actually happened!) and pretend that the real-life Rudy wasn't charged with securities fraud in 2011 ; like all great mythology, this sports movie must be taken with a grain of salt. But when you've got a story about a hard-working, huge-hearted hero overcomes all obstacles (dyslexia, diminutive size, coach Dan Devine) to get his shot in the final home game of the 1975 season, well — you'd be foolish to let facts get in the way. And director David Anspaugh and screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, the guys who made Hoosiers , are no fools, creating the underdog story to end all underdog stories, one that gave Notre Dame football yet another folk hero (as if it needed more help in that department). Sure, foes of the Fighting Irish may roll their eyes, but there's no denying the thrill of watching Rudy realize his dreams…and as far as epic gridiron stories go, it's a lot better than the Legend of Ron Powlus . JM

‘Blue Chips’ (1994)

Basketball-fanatic director William Friedkin populated screenwriter Ron Shelton's story of college hoops corruption with the likes of Larry Bird, Bob Knight, Dick Vitale, Bob Cousy, and Shaquille O’Neal — some as themselves, and others as characters from a fictional west coast university. The ever-fiery Nick Nolte plays Pete Bell, a legendary coach who allows his boosters to buy him a team. Friedkin brings some of his jittery docu-realism to the games, though Blue Chips is more exciting is its forensic breakdown of how teams cheat, and of why well-off adults let their futures be determined by flighty young jocks. NM

‘Any Given Sunday’ (1999)

Oliver Stone, once considered American cinema's reigning political provocateur — not the ideal guy for a big football movie, right? Wrong. The director's flair for the epic serves him well in this look at a turbulent season in the life of a struggling Miami football franchise. So, too, does his feel for the mythic desperation of his characters. Everybody in this movie is at a crossroads of sorts: lonely, broken-down head coach Al Pacino; injured, aging quarterback Dennis Quaid; young, overwhelmed hotshot quarterback Jamie Foxx (then mostly known as a comic actor); and ruthless team-owner and football scion Cameron Diaz. That collective sense of anxiety and hopelessness is just one of the reasons why Pacino's climactic "Life's just a game of inches" speech to his troops has earned its place as one of the all-time greatest sports movie speeches. BE

‘Bend It Like Beckham’ (2002)

Caught between the old-world traditions of her Indian family and the need for new-world assimilation in Britain, first-generation immigrant teen heroine Jesminder "Jess" Bjamra simply wants one thing out of life: to play soccer for her country's national team, just like her idol David Beckham. There are a few obstacles in her way, the main one being a disapproving mother who'd never allow her daughter to play such a ruffian's sport. But with a little help from a player on a local team (hi there, Keira Knightley!) and a cute coach, Jess may be able to achieve her goal(s). Gurinder Chadha's follow-your-dreams fable wouldn't work half as well if weren't for future ER star Parminder Nagra's winning performance and a real knack for nailing how sports can boost the self-esteem and self-identity of young women. DF

‘The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings’ (1976)

Co-produced by Motown honcho Berry Gordy and directed by a pre- Saturday Night Fever John Badham, this period baseball comedy recalls the age of barnstorming, when pro athletes supplemented their income by traveling the country to play against rubes. It's helped by a murderer's row cast led by Billy Dee Williams as a cynical businessman, James Earl Jones as a principled activist, and Richard Pryor as a hustler trying to pass as Cuban. The movie spoofs the gimmicks and clowning of the Negro League era, while making a still-relevant argument for the inherent dignity of workers — even those who earn their money playing games. NM

‘Victory’ (1981)

Based on the Hungarian film Two Half Times in Hell, director John Huston's potboiler stars Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, and Brazilian superstar Pele as WWII POWs who're going to use a match against the Germans as an opportunity to escape. Everything is ready to proceed as planned — and then the players wonder if they can actually do more good by beating the Nazis on the pitch. The football-ignorant Stallone may be a surrogate for all the early 1980s Americans who were just starting to learn more about "the beautiful game." But watching the legendary Pele display his footwork on the field ( that bicycle kick! ), you almost believe the soccer god could have singlehandedly stopped Hitler's troops in their tracks. NM

‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)

Joel and Ethan Coen's Raymond Chandler-inspired shaggy dog story is, among its other qualities, a great bowling movie — and not just because it's the only one with a hallucinatory sequence set to Kenny Rogers' voice. The Big Lebowski captures how much of the experience of chucking a heavy ball down a lane depends on a number of factors: alley ambience, team camaraderie, between-frames taunts, and fetishistic equipment maintenance. The film even moves to bowling-like rhythms, with bursts of action followed by a whole lot of down time to puzzle over what just happened, and worry about what to do next. And if you don't agree, well, that's like your opinion, man. KP

‘The Natural’ (1984)

Movies sometimes treat baseball with hushed reverence, but never was the game depicted with more majestic grandeur than in this loose adaptation of Bernard Malamud's novel. Robert Redford plays the once-promising phenom Roy Hobbs, who, in his mid 30s, finally gets his shot at the big leagues after disappearing from the scene for mysterious reasons. The book was a cautionary tale about succumbing to earthly desires; Redford and director Barry Levinson instead pay homage to god-given talent, riding Randy Newman's misty-eyed score to a finale that still produces goose bumps. The Natural isn't about realism — it's too busy articulating the awe we feel watching mere mortals perform preternatural athletic feats. TG

‘The Wrestler’ (2008)

For those who don’t think pro wrestlers are athletes, take a look at Mickey Rourke’s Randy "The Ram" Robinson: an ex-superstar who gets beat to hell whenever he entertains. Director Darren Aronofsky's film lingers over the sport's lurid details (performers using blades to make their shows more visceral), and contrasts the Ram's colorful costumes with the bleak existence of his life offstage, spent between the crumbling trailer where he lives and his minimum-wage job in a wintry New Jersey suburb. This is what happens to people, the movie tells us, who abuse their bodies professionally until they become shells of their former selves. Even that blaze of glory at the end can't dispel the bleakness. NM

‘North Dallas Forty’ (1979)

Set among the players and management of a team semi-loosely modeled after the Dallas Cowboys, Ted Kotcheff's down-and-dirty sports drama does double duty as a broad satire as it delves into the corrupt underbelly of professional football – the drugs, the sex, the backstabbing, and the bureaucratic incompetence. Back then, sports movies were generally meant to be rousing and inspirational. Here's a movie that explodes all that – both an ode to and an interrogation of Seventies locker-room machismo, American style. And real-life college football star Nick Nolte, then a rather strapping 38 years of age, is perfect in the lead role as the team's aging, wounded wide receiver. BE

‘The Endless Summer’ (1966)

The greatest surfing picture of all time, this unassuming piece of counterculture anthropology is so likable that it had kids around the world buying boards and heading to the California coast in search of the perfect barrel. Ostensibly the story of two wave chasers (Mike Hynson and Robert August) who dodge winter by taking a trip around the world, The Endless Summer doubles as a mini-history of the sport, threading primers on beach-bum terminology between bitchin’ footage of gnarly tubes. By the time the film's final sunset rolls around, director Bruce Brown's half-winking/half-gushing narration has become an irresistible sales pitch for shooting the curl. NM

‘Fat City’ (1972)

Sweat, smoke, and whiskey fumes hang heavy over John Huston's fatalistic film about the relationship between the down-and-out alcoholic boxer Billy (Stacy Keach) and Ernie, the young-up-and-comer (Jeff Bridges) who inspires the older fighter to try for a comeback. It’s a boxing movie more concerned with between-bouts trials and traps than what goes on in the ring. Shot in what remained of Stockton, California's now-vanished skid row, the film lingers in the grimy bars and flophouses that its sad-sack pugilist hero calls home, and hints that new kid in the ring, no matter how great his talent, will probably easily end up there too. It's the sort of film that makes you want to take a shower immediately afterwards. KP

‘Murderball’ (2005)

It has all the makings of another rote, feel-good documentary: quadriplegic athletes find purpose in the thrill of competition. But what makes Murderball – so named for the brutal sport of wheelchair rugby it focuses on ­– such a great film is that it skips all the gooey, inspirational bullshit, instead chronicling the burgeoning, bloody rivalry between the U.S. and Canadian teams. Directors Henry Rubin and Dana Shapiro train their cameras on the competitors, hard-partying men who consider themselves to be modern-day gladiators, and the results are revelatory. These are warriors in the purest sense of the term; they want to win, they want to fuck (a lot) and most of all, they want to live life on their terms. If Hollywood had gotten ahold of this one, there would have been uplifting speeches and moving montages – instead, it makes no apologies and leaves nothing to the imagination. Just like the men brave enough to strap themselves in and let it rip for honor and glory. And chicks, too. JM

‘Hoosiers’ (1986)

Dramatic nuance? Emotional sophistication? Screw that: Sometimes you just want to be moved beyond all reason. Enter this dizzyingly feel-good sports movie in which a troubled coach (Gene Hackman) motivates a group of underdog 1950s Indiana high schoolers to play the best basketball of their lives by — wait for it — sticking to the fundamentals. To accuse television director David Anspaugh's feature debut of earnest nostalgia is to miss the point: Hoosiers is a proudly dewy salute to bygone innocence, to a time when doing your best was enough for David to slay Goliath. It's a fable delivered without a wink, embodied by Hackman's perfectly-aged performance that’s filled with rock-ribbed quiet decency. TG

‘The Pride of the Yankees’ (1942)

First baseman and power hitter Henry "Lou" Gehrig was one of the best to ever don the Yankees uniform — and thanks to this movie, every generation who came after the Iron Horse's heyday pictures Gary Cooper when you say his name. Like most sports biopics of the time, this retelling about Gehrig's life, career and ultimate demise from ALS (a disease that's synonymous with his name) is shamelessly sentimental, incredibly inspiring and focuses just as much on mythologizing the man as it does the game. It's chock full of fellow pinstripers who played alongside him — yup, that's the real Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel and Bill Dickey onscreen — and contains one of the most iconic sports-flick scenes of all time in Cooper's recreation of Number Four's farewell speech. Show just about any baseball fan that "luckiest man in the world" moment, and you'll see waterworks. DF

‘White Men Can’t Jump’ (1992)

A deceptively raucous celebration of smack-talk and slam dunks, White Men Can't Jump is but one of writer-director Ron Shelton's affectionate but clear-eyed examinations of the games men play in order to forget they're not kids anymore. Real-life pals Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes make for a sharp comedic dynamic duo as dead-end Venice Beach streetballers reluctantly teaming up to win local competitions. More than 20 years later, their verbal dexterity and energetic give-and-go remain a consistent, buzzy delight. Which makes the movie's wistful tone all the more poignant: Soon enough, adult responsibilities are going to strip away these guys' hoop dreams. TG

‘Friday Night Lights’ (2004)

Adapting Buzz Bissinger's nonfiction account of one season with a high-school football team in Odessa, Texas, was never going to be easy. How do you capture all the true-life grit and journalistic detail without sacrificing a need for sports-movie drama? Director Peter Berg found the answer by balancing documentary-inspired handheld camerawork against the soaring emotions of the players' lives both off and on the field, then grounding the entire affair via a rock-solid performance from Billy Bob Thornton as a deeply invested coach. The TV show may have eclipsed the movie at this point, but the elements that made the series great — the interpersonal relations, the small-town sports mania, the nailbiting gridiron drama — were already fully developed here long before the small screen version started waxing poetic about clear eyes and full hearts. KP

‘Senna’ (2010)

Brazil's Ayrton Senna became a national hero and the photogenic face of the Formula One circuit in the Eighties and Nineties before an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 ended his life. Asif Kapadia's portrait of the champion racer relies on home movies, press conferences, off-screen interviews and you-are-there footage from the driver's seat to piece together a career never short of tumult — including an intense rivalry with French driver and former teammate Alain Prost. Senna emerges as a charismatic, uniquely skilled figure whose love for racing was not always returned by organizations more concerned with spectacle than safety. A documentary that detailed his triumphs would be thrilling enough; Kapadia's ability to capture an athlete's life solely through his actions and accomplishments turns this into something above and beyond the let-us-now-praise-great-men genre. KP

‘When We Were Kings’ (1996)

Leon Gast flew to Zaire in 1974 to shoot the Muhammad Ali/George Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" fight, then spent over 20 years chasing the money to finish his film. The persistence paid off: Blessed with the benefit of two decades' perspective, his Oscar-winning documentary is pretty much the definitive last word on the legendary bout, complete with talking-head testimonies from Norman Mailer and George Plimpton, training clips and footage of the moment the Greatest takes back the belt. At the time of the match, Ali was the underdog, taking on an undefeated heavyweight champion in some folks thought was a folly and others predicted would end in a massacre. But when you watch the charismatic fighter running down crowded African streets as children chant his name, you suddenly believe that the people's champ simply can't be brought down or broken. The title says it all. NM

‘Slap Shot’ (1977)

Drawing on her brother Ned Dowd's experiences in the lowest reaches of professional hockey, screenwriter Nancy Dowd created this spirited, profane tribute to sports' lost causes and those who see them through to the end. Paul Newman stars as a player/coach who resorts to questionable, often violent, tactics to boost the profits of the Charlestown Chiefs, the local heroes of a failing steel-mill town. Director George Roy Hill directs the ice-rink mayhem with tremendous energy, but it's the underlying sense of futility that makes the film resonate. The Chiefs may win, but the world keeps reminding them they were born to lose. Long live the Hanson brothers. KP

‘Bull Durham’ (1988)

For middle-aged minor-league catcher "Crash" Davis (Kevin Costner), baseball has become less about winning than persevering — a habit that may now be more foolish than noble. His latest assignment, taming the talented, erratic young pitcher "Nuke" Laloosh (Tim Robbins), may feel like a glorified babysitting job. But it also brings him into contact with Annie (Susan Sarandon), a worshipper at a self-created "Church Of Baseball" with an annual habit of taking on a promising young player each year as a personal project. A tribute to those whose love for the game needs no limelight, Bull Durham is at once a breezy romance, a knowing look at the less-glamorous aspects of America's pastime, and a story about how the compromises of aging aren't just unavoidable — they're far preferable to clinging to the past. KP

‘Caddyshack’ (1980)

You can argue that it's not the greatest golf movie of all time, but you'd be wrong; eminently quotable and supremely rewatchable, Caddyshack has earned a sizable cult following since arriving in theaters in the summer of 1980, and it's easy to see why. From Rodney Dangerfield crushing one-liners like Jordan Spieth in the tee box and Bill Murray's standout turn as slack-jawed groundskeeper Carl Spackler (locked in an eternal struggle to rid the course of "Varmint Cong,") to Ted Knight's villainous Judge Smails and Chevy Chase's laconic, ironic Ty Webb, there's something for everyone – even folks who hate golf. Little wonder then, that 35 years after it was first released, it remains the gold standard of shiftless, semi-stoned sports films and the spiritual forefather of flicks like The Big Lebowski . Try and forget the truly awful sequel, and remember a simpler time, when the weed was good, the gophers unkillable and everybody did, in fact, end up getting laid . It's a Cinderella story, indeed. JM

‘Raging Bull’ (1980)

"I didn't know anything about boxing," director Martin Scorsese once confessed, which probably explains why Raging Bull is such a brutal, unromantic portrait of the sport and the film's real-life protagonist — the charmless but utterly compelling Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro). Shooting in black & white and incorporating innovative fight scenes that emphasized raw violence, Scorsese didn't so much make a boxing movie as he continued a thread from his earlier films, exploring the ways that masculinity poisons everyone in its path. Less a biopic than a psychological study of what it takes to get in the ring (and what happens when you take that killer instinct home with you), it's the anti- Rocky : There are no moral victories, and our hero certainly doesn't get the girl. TG

‘The Bad News Bears’ (1976)

Not every youngster grows up to be Mike Trout. Most of us grind through our Little League years on the scrub-end of bench, more interested in the post-game pizza party than the score. That's what makes The Bad News Bears so timeless — even if the sight of Walter Matthau playing a beer-guzzling single guy overseeing latchkey children screams "Yes, this most definitely is the 1970s." Writer Bill Lancaster and director Michael Ritchie capture the pressure grown-ups put on pre-teens who have more on their minds than sports. But they also convey the bond that develops among kids who never expected to care so much about whether they win or lose, which only makes the ending that much more perfect. Also: Kelly Leak forever. NM

‘Rocky’ (1976)

Hey, remember when Rocky Balboa wasn’t considered an example of lunkheaded Reagan-era jingoism, but rather a soulful, working-class underdog? There's a reason the original Rocky won a Best Picture Oscar: It's a surprisingly lived-in, sensitive drama about a broken-down boxer who gets one last, very unlikely chance to prove himself against the World Heavyweight Champion, played by a wonderful Carl Weathers (just because you're a nemesis doesn’t mean you can't have a soul). Those hang-dog eyes, that sensuous mouth, that shrinking demeanor, even his characteristically slurred speech – there's something so noble about this very human bruiser, and the then-unknown Stallone, who also won an Oscar for the screenplay, must have seemed like such a revelation. And if you want sports-movie symbolism, you could not do better than the driven, determined Rocky going for round after round with the red-white-and-blue clad Creed – the American dream as Sisyphean beat-down. BE

‘Hoop Dreams’ (1994)

Initially inspired by its makers' shared obsession with basketball, this story of inner-city dreams started as an idea for a 30-minute nonfiction short about playground hoopsters. It then evolved into a three-hour odyssey about high school kids William Gates and Arthur Agee as they try to make their way to the NBA. A landmark American documentary, this compassionate labor of love from filmmakers Steve James, Peter Gilbert and Frederick Marx has plenty of on-court action and suspense. (It's possible no single free throw has ever been so nerve-wracking in the history of cinema.) But Hoop Dreams is even more powerful as a look at poverty, racial inequality and adolescence — the agonies of everyday life that sports only occasionally help us forget. TG

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The best sports movies to watch right now

Underdog stories, lighthearted comedies, powerful documentaries, and more

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by Oli Welsh , Toussaint Egan , Pete Volk , and Polygon Staff

Let’s face it: A lot of sports movies, especially the most famous ones, are pretty bad. Often corny, schlocky, and with only a mediocre understanding of the sports they depict at best, sports-loving movie audiences have long been disappointed by adaptations of the games they love on the big screen.

That’s why we’re here — to separate the wheat from the chaff and hone in on the sports movies that are actually good.

Here are some sports movies we quite like, and we hope you do as well. They are organized by sport. Our latest update added Bull Durham , Challengers , Ferrari , The French , O.J.: Made in America , Rocky , and Throw Down .

Best baseball movies

Bull durham.

Where to watch: Prime Video

The sport: Baseball

The movie: A longtime minor league baseball player (Kevin Costner) who has never been able to make the big leagues is tasked with mentoring a young hotshot rookie (Tim Robbins). Meanwhile, a woman (Susan Sarandon) who loves baseball and picks a different player each year to romance has her eye on both men.

Why you should watch: In many ways, Bull Durham was Challengers before Challengers : a steamy sports movie with a central love triangle (but still committed to accuracy on the sports side of things, written and directed by former minor league baseball player Ron Shelton) and strong performances. — Pete Volk

Where to watch: Netflix

The sport: Baseball, or rather, baseball statistics

The movie: Adapted from a nonfiction book, this low-key but compelling real-life baseball drama from 2011 tells the story of manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and his attempt to turn around the struggling Oakland Athletics team. Beane goes against the headwinds of the sport (as you must do in all sports movies) by disregarding the received wisdom of scouting and assembling a team of overlooked players based on statistical analysis compiled by the nerdy Peter Brand (Jonah Hill).

Why you should watch: This is perhaps the only sports drama where the bean-counter is the hero, which gives it novelty value. The topic sounds dry, and it kind of is, but master screenwriters Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin know just how to spell it out and sell it, the filmmaking craft is impeccable, and you get treated to a supporting turn from the legendary Philip Seymour Hoffman. Bizarrely, there’s also a cameo from former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who plays the team’s owner. — Oli Welsh

Best basketball movies

High flying bird.

The sport: Basketball

The movie: Steven Soderbergh’s second movie shot on an iPhone (after Unsane ), High Flying Bird follows sports agent Ray Burke (André Holland), who looks to fight back against some of the power imbalances in sport by finding an opportunity for a rookie client (Melvin Gregg) during a labor dispute.

Why you should watch: High Flying Bird digs into some of the complicated dynamics on the business side of sports, and Soderbergh’s iPhone direction is paired well with a sharp script from Tarell Alvin McCraney ( Moonlight ) and a magnetic lead performance by Holland. —PV

Hoop Dreams

Where to watch: Max, Criterion Channel, Paramount Plus; free with ads on Pluto TV, Plex, Crackle

The movie: Steve James’ legendary 1994 documentary is one of the finest pieces of American nonfiction cinema, a detailed portrayal of two Black high school students in Chicago who aspire to make it to the NBA.

Why you should watch: Hoop Dreams is truly a classic in the history of American documentary filmmaking, using a nearly impossible dream of success to shine a light on the inequalities inherent to our culture and society. If you only make time for one movie on this list, make it this one. —PV

Where to watch: Free with a library card on Hoopla, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu

The sport: Being a basketball fan

The movie: The Safdie brothers’ 2019 masterpiece follows Howard Ratner, a jeweler and gambling addict who has one hell of a day.

Why you should watch: No movie has better captured the anxiety of watching a high-pressure sports event that you have a personal stake in. For most people, that stake is fandom. For Howard, it’s his life. — PV

Best boxing movies

Raging bull.

Where to watch: MGM Plus, free with a library card on Hoopla, free with ads on Pluto TV, Tubi, Roku Channel

The sport: Boxing

The movie: A 1980 biography of Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro), a champion middleweight boxer of the 1940s and ’50s. Adapted from LaMotta’s own memoir, Raging Bull takes the viewer on a brutalizing tour through his sporting and private life. It spares us neither the savagery of the ring nor the dysfunction and violence at home, and shows LaMotta both in his prime and in a sad, post-boxing life.

Why you should watch: Because, according to the American Film Institute , it’s the fourth-greatest American film of all time. Because it’s one of De Niro’s greatest performances, with a terrifying physicality. Because it’s a searing, tragic deconstruction of toxic masculinity. And because Scorsese’s filmmaking, powered by Michael Chapman’s black-and-white photography and Thelma Schoonmaker’s impressionistic editing, reaches a delirious intensity that will take your breath away, especially in the dumbfounding boxing scenes. — OW

Where to watch: AMC Plus, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu

The movie: One of the all-time great underdog stories and iconic movie characters. Sylvester Stallone stars as a small-time fighter who gets a surprising shot at glory when he secures a fight against the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).

Why you should watch: It’s Rocky ! No list of sports movies would be complete without it — it’s one of the main reasons underdog stories are so popular in the genre. Yes, it’s schmaltzy, but that’s the charm of the movie. Sylvester Stallone is among the most earnest pop artists of the 20th century, and nowhere is that clearer than in Rocky . — PV

Best football movies

The freshman.

Where to watch: Max, Criterion Channel; for free with ads on Tubi, Plex

The sport: Football

The movie: Harold Lloyd’s classic 1925 comedy follows his fresh-faced new student Harold Lamb, who wants nothing more than to be cool. How do you be cool? A great question that has baffled scientists for millennia. For Harold, however, the answer was joining the football team.

Why you should watch: A hilarious movie filled with some gags that don’t translate to the modern day and some that truly do (there’s a whistle-based gag in the football game that could still very much happen in real life), The Freshman is an early example of a sports movie and a standout movie from one of silent cinema’s great comedians. —PV

O.J.: Made in America

The sport: Football stardom

The movie: A nearly eight-hour documentary about the life of the late O.J. Simpson, with a focus on his relationship to race and stardom, and how these and other factors coalesced into the sensational coverage of his murder trial.

Why you should watch: OK, you got me. This one isn’t exactly a football movie. But football is completely and necessarily intertwined in this sprawling, detailed documentary about one of the biggest news events of the 20th century. —PV

Best racing and motorsports movies

Where to watch: Hulu

The sport: Motorsport

The movie: Michael Mann takes on the legacy of Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver), the founder of the luxury car brand and racing team and more than a bit of an asshole. The movie charts his later years as he deals with his struggling race team, hiding his secret second family from his wife, and public scrutiny.

Why you should watch: An exemplary anti-great man biopic, Ferrari was one of my favorite movies of 2023. It’s a terrific character study led by incredible leading performances by Driver and Penélope Cruz (the biggest Oscar snub of the year, in my humble opinion). Also, it’s a Michael Mann movie, so you know the action sequences are excellent (in this case, the racing sequences). —PV

Where to watch: Netflix; available for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu

The sport: Formula One

The movie: Ron Howard’s Rush brings to life one of the great rivalries in Formula One history, showing the battle between playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and disciplined racing mastermind Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) for the 1976 World Championship.

Why you should watch: Hemsworth and Brühl are pitch perfect in their respective roles, and the racing scenes are terrific. Few movies better get across the kind of distinct personalities that exist within the sporting world, and what happens when they clash. —PV

Speed Racer

Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu

The sport: Auto racing (extremely fictional variety)

The movie: The Wachowskis’ 2008 adaptation of the manga and anime series stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox.

Why you should watch: This extremely colorful movie really captures the artistic spirit of anime, with thrilling visuals and high-octane racing sequences. The sports drama element of it is also stellar, focusing on a family-owned racing team squaring off against big business interests. It also imagines a better world , and who couldn’t use that from time to time? —PV

Best UFC and MMA movies

Born a champion.

The sport: Brazilian jiu-jitsu

The movie: A former marine who was once a rising star at the beginning of the MMA boom gets the opportunity of a lifetime for a rematch to reclaim lost glory.

Why you should watch: Star and writer Sean Patrick Flanery is a jiu-jitsu black belt in real life, and his passion and respect for the martial art comes through in both the script and his performance. It’s not perfect, but Born a Champion is a quality low budget underdog story. —PV

Sanshiro Sugata

Where to watch: Criterion Channel and for free with ads on Plex

The sport: Judo and jiu-jitsu

The movie: The legendary Akira Kurosawa’s directorial debut follows a stubborn and confident young man, Sanshiro, who learns judo and faces a challenger from a rival school.

Why you should watch: The earliest display of some of the directorial techniques that would carry Kurosawa’s name into history, Sanshiro Sugata is also an excellent sports drama that captures the tension and risk that come with combat sports. —PV

Where to watch: Criterion Channel

The sport: Judo

The movie: Three people in the Hong Kong nightlife — a singer (Cherrie Ying), a former judo champion who runs a bar (Louis Koo), and an aspiring judoka who wants to take on anyone he can (Aaron Kwok) — intertwine in a powerful and touching movie about friendship and the search for the self.

Why you should watch: It only makes sense to follow up Sanshiro Sugata with Throw Down — Johnnie To dedicated the movie to Kurosawa, and while it’s not a remake, there are many similarities between the two. It’s a gorgeous, sentimental martial arts movie directed by one of the very best in the business. —PV

Where to watch: Peacock, for free with ads on Plex

The sport: MMA

The movie: Two estranged brothers (Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton) fight in the same massive MMA tournament, each with something to prove.

Why you should watch: Hardy and Edgerton are terrific as the leads (as are Frank Grillo, Jennifer Morrison, and Nick Nolte in supporting roles), and the action scenes are electrifying. Tournament dramas are a typically stellar sports subgenre, and this is one of the better examples Hollywood has produced in years. — PV

Best other sports movies

Challengers.

The sport: Tennis

The movie: Three youth tennis stars (Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, and Zendaya) find themselves in a love triangle that mixes personal feelings and competitive spirit. After an injury sidelines the most promising of the three, it seems the relationship drama sorts itself out. But when the trio run into each other on the competitive circuit years later, it seems old rivalries and passions are still just as hot as ever.

Why you should watch: Sports, at their very best, are really just a vehicle for drama, and Challengers understands that perfectly. The movie is framed around one central tennis match, the championship at a tiny, meaningless tournament, which we cut back and forth to between intersections of tense romantic drama. The tennis in this movie is shot the way other movies might approach a fistfight: It’s violent, kinetic, and personal, and every single hit has an emotional winner. All this makes both the tennis and the romance hit harder each time they come back up, leading to an inevitable conclusion that feels absolutely perfect. — Austen Goslin

Where to watch: Metrograph at Home

The movie: William Klein’s cinéma vérité documentary about the 1981 French Open had unprecedented access from the French Tennis Federation, allowing Klein to get behind the scenes with one of the most fascinating periods in tennis history. It’s a favorite of Wes Anderson’s, who presented the movie at the Metrograph.

Why you should watch: The movie is filled with intimate looks at the fascinating stars of that era — Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Yannick Noah, Chris Evert — and is a completely immersive portrait of a grand sporting event. Klein spends as much time embedding you in the sights and sounds of the crowd as he does in the tennis matches themselves, and the result is one of the greatest sports documentaries ever made. — PV

Where to watch: Prime Video, on Hoopla with a library card, or for free with ads on Crackle, Pluto TV, Tubi, and Plex

The sport: Ice hockey

The movie: Many sports have specialized roles, but hockey is unique — many teams have enforcers, aka “goons,” who are basically there to strategically get into fights with opposing players. Goon tells the story of one such enforcer, Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott), a very sweet but not very bright young man who gets signed by a team after attending a game as a fan and winning a fight against a homophobic player who climbed into the stands. The movie is based on the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey , written by Adam Frattasio and Doug Smith (who the Glatt character is based on).

Why you should watch: Scott’s affecting performance brings a lot of heart to what could have otherwise been a pretty flat character, and Goon hits a great balance of sports comedy and sports drama. —PV

Where to watch: Max

The sport: Figure skating

The movie: 2017’s I, Tonya tells the true — and at the time, notorious — story of Tonya Harding, an ice skating prodigy from the wrong side of the tracks who became a tabloid sensation when she was implicated in a physical assault on her rival Nancy Kerrigan in the lead-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Why you should watch: Director Craig Gillespie walks a tonal tightrope in I, Tonya , blending biopic, mockumentary, tabloid sauce, broad comedy, and Fargo -esque crime satire and threading it through with clearly unreliable narration from Harding (a fantastic Margot Robbie). It’s a fun, wild ride, but it’s secretly dead serious and compassionate about the fact that white trash like Harding, surrounded by idiots and snobs and bullied by her single mom (Allison Janney, also great), never had a chance in the first place. — Oli Welsh

Where to watch: Nowhere at the moment, unfortunately

The sport: Cricket

The movie: In 1893, a small Indian village is being exploited and mistreated by a British army captain, who raises taxes on them in the midst of a drought. When the villagers organize a protest, the captain challenges them to a game of high-stakes cricket to solve the dispute.

Why you should watch: Within its 224 minute running time, Lagaan contains pretty much everything you could want from a movie: a stirring underdog story, passionate romance, exciting dance and action sequences, and so much more. Plus, it never hurts for a sports story to have a villain to root against, and there are few more wicked than Paul Blackthorne’s sadistic Captain Russell. — PV

Minding the Gap

The sport: Skateboarding

The movie: Bing Liu’s 2018 documentary follows him and his two best friends as they grow up in Rockford, Illinois, and share a bond through their love of skateboarding.

Why you should watch: A moving portrait of adolescence and a poignant depiction of toxic masculinity in American culture, this is one of the strongest directorial debuts in recent memory and on our list of the best movies on Hulu . —PV

Shaolin Soccer

Where to watch: Free with a library card on Hoopla, free with ads on Pluto TV

The sport: Soccer and Shaolin kung fu

The movie: Stephen Chow directs and stars in his 2001 Hong Kong sports comedy as a itinerant shaolin kung fu student who, after crossing paths with a disgraced ex-soccer player (Ng Man-tat), reconciles with his former fellow students to compete in a soccer tournament and spread the good word of Shaolin kung fu. The team eventually face off with Team Evil, a rival soccer team with their own formidable abilities, in an explosive, climactic match for the championship. — Toussaint Egan

Why you should watch: Chow is a master of over-the-top theatrics, slapstick physical humor, and fist-pumping action. It’s nearly impossible to go five minutes throughout its one-and-a-half-hour run time without being struck by a moment of ingenious non-sequitur comedy, be it impromptu Shaolin-themed karaoke cabaret, hilarious sight gags, or exhilarating action scenes. Shaolin Soccer marries the thrill of watching an underdog sports drama with the unrestrained frivolity and anything-goes chaos of a Looney Tunes cartoon.

Strictly Ballroom

The sport: Ballroom dancing

The movie: Scott (Paul Mercurio) is the son of a ballroom dancing family and has been training for glory on the Australian scene since he was 6, but his flashy improvisations get the better of him, and he loses his partner. Shy Fran (Tara Morice) offers to replace her, and together they find something special — but the despotic conservatism of local ballroom impresario Barry Fife (Bill Hunter) stands in the way of their self-expression.

Why you should watch: Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 debut film is a dazzling, full-hearted crowd-pleaser, somehow blending the grotesque countercultural stylings of John Waters with classical upbeat sports drama and sequined pop spectacle. Luhrmann’s fairy dust turns caricatures into real people and finds the glamour in the disreputable, poor, and weird fringes of Australian society — and, of course, the dancing rules. — OW

The Wrestler

The sport: Professional wrestling

The movie: A bittersweet 2008 tale of washed-up wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), who’s well past his hair-metal 1980s heyday but still wrestling in small promotions on the weekends while he scrabbles out a lonely trailer-park life. He courts a stripper called Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), seeks reconnection with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), and contemplates one last big match-up with his old nemesis, The Ayatollah, before his body fails him completely.

Why you should watch: The Wrestler is a shabby, tender, and uncharacteristically naturalistic film from director Darren Aronofsky ( Requiem for a Dream, Mother! ). The reason to watch it is Mickey Rourke, himself an ’80s heartthrob who went off the rails, who’s poignantly cast as the “broken-down piece of meat” Randy. It’s a moving performance that takes the film to places you both do and don’t expect, right up to its moving yet ambivalent final frames. — OW

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Madden: Everything We Know About The Sports Biopic Movie

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John Madden’s life and legacy feel like something out of one of the best sports movies . He went from leading the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl victory to being the voice of NFL broadcasts on multiple networks to becoming the face of one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. And now, the NFL legend and broadcasting great, who passed away in December 2021 , is getting the sports biopic treatment with Madden .

That’s right, the man who taught generations of fans about Xs and Os on the gridiron (both real-world and simulation), is getting a biographical drama at some point soon with some major talent on both sides of the camera. Though the Madden movie release date has not been revealed, we know quite a bit about the project so far.  

What Is The Madden Release Date?

As much as we’d love to see Madden take up a spot on the 2024 movie schedule , it’s not going to be in the cards for the upcoming sports biopic as Amazon MGM Studios hasn't yet announced a release date . 

Though there’s been no word on the Madden movie release date, it would be fitting for it to hit the big screen during Thanksgiving weekend next year, considering John Madden spent so many Thanksgivings calling games and welcoming the NFL to his table for football and in-depth analysis like only he could provide. 

The Madden Cast

Though there’s a case to be made for Frank Caliendo playing Madden in the upcoming biopic after years of giving what is probably the best impersonation in sports TV history , the Madden cast is going to be led by an Academy Award-winning actor who’s made a career out of giving over-the-top performances. And, that man is none other than Nicolas Cage , according to Deadline .

One of the many upcoming Nicolas Cage movies , Madden will see the star of classics like Leaving Las Vegas and more modern gems like Longlegs take on one of his most interesting roles in quite some time, which is saying something. 

We still don’t know who’ll be filling out the cast alongside Cage, but surely the movie will feature portrayals of the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis or some of Madden’s broadcasting partners like Pat Summerall, Vin Scully, Al Michaels, and numerous other icons of the sports world.

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What Is Madden About?

When we first heard about a John Madden biopic, we assumed it was going to be a sports flick chronicling the life, career, and legacy of the Pro Football Hall of Famer. While that is true, the movie will also have a lot in common with some of the upcoming video game movies . According to The Hollywood Reporter , Madden won’t just be about the titular football icon’s rise to fame as the coach of the Oakland Raiders, but Instead, it will also follow the coached-turned-broadcaster as he becomes the face of the Madden NFL video game franchise, one of the most popular video game properties of all time.

Details are being kept close to the vest – or close to the playbook in this case – regarding the specifics of the Madden plot at this point in time, but it sounds like this could be a spiritual successor to Amazon MGM Studios' Air , the 2023 sports biopic about the creation and launch of the legendary Air Jordan basketball shoe brand and how it became a turning point for athletic wear in the 1980s.

David O. Russell Is Writing And Directing Madden, His Third Sports Movie

As reported by Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter in the aforementioned articles, David O. Russell wrote and will be directing Madden for Amazon MGM Studios, though a production start date has not yet been announced by either outlet. Once completed, this will be the director’s third movie that’s either about a prominent sports figure or has sports as a major part of its plot.

In 2010, Russell directed The Fighter , one of the best boxing movies of all time, which followed Lowell, Massachusetts boxer Micky Ward ( Mark Wahlberg ) as tried to make a name for himself in the ring while also dealing with his combative and deranged family. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Academy Awards for their portrayals of Dicky Eklund and Alice Eklund-Ward, respectively.

Two years later, Russell helmed Silver linings Playbook , a romantic dramedy about two broken people (played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence ) trying to find meaning in life by entering a dance competition. The movie, which focuses heavily on sports fandom, especially surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles, earned Lawrence an Oscar for Best Actress. 

Madden Has Been In The Works Since 2023, But The Focus (And Main Actor) Has Changed Since Then

If Madden sounds a tad bit familiar, there’s a good chance you’re thinking about David O. Russell’s previous attempt to tell the football legend’s story. Back in May 2023, prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Deadline reported that the filmmaker was planning to make a movie about John Madden as his followup to 2022’s star-studded box-office bomb , Amsterdam . However, the focus (and main star) of that earlier version has since changed.

At the time, Saturday Night Live alum Will Ferrell was attached to play Madden in a movie that would have followed Oakland Raiders coach as he made the transition to broadcasting following a successful career on the sidelines. The Madden NFL video game aspect was seemingly a part of that story, but just not as much as the current incarnation.

The project eventually fell by the wayside before being resumed more than a year later when it was announced that Nicolas Cage would be taking on the lead role.

This Is Just One Of David O. Russell’s In-The-Works Projects

Russell, like many filmmakers in today’s Hollywood, has numerous projects in the works outside of this biopic. 

In February 2023, IndieWire reported that he was working on a film called Super Toys starring Keke Palmer and Sacha Baron Cohen as married couple and toy sales reps in the 1970s. The movie is set to follow the couple as they attempt to save their careers, their marriage, and themselves on a life or death road trip.

Russell is also slated to direct the upcoming music biopic about the life and career of Linda Ronstadt with Selena Gomez taking on the role of the “You’re No Good” singer, according to Deadline . There are also reports, like one from World of Reel, stating that Russell is also reportedly working on a Get Smart reboot with John Mulaney, but there’s been no confirmation as of the time of this writing. 

Expect to hear much more about Madden in the weeks and months to come. But in the meantime, it’s never a bad idea to check out our 2025 movie schedule so you can start penciling in dates for all the releases hitting the big screen next year.

Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop barking at the mailman, or chatting about professional wrestling to his wife. Writing gigs with school newspapers, multiple daily newspapers, and other varied job experiences led him to this point where he actually gets to write about movies, shows, wrestling, and documentaries (which is a huge win in his eyes). If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.

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