30 Best Sports Movies You Can Watch Right Now
The Olympics are back, returning to Paris for the first time in a century (if you’re not familiar with that 100-year history, don’t worry—there’s a movie about it). Sports fans can certainly find a reason to be entertained by films that depict and dramatize all the best events, but many films have become popular hits even among the uninitiated. Even viewers who wouldn’t watch a baseball game might be brought to tears by the human drama depicted in films like Field of Dreams or A League of Their Own; you don’t have to be a football expert to root for Rudy or the Titans. Whether based on a true story or completely fictional, films can distill the thrill of a game into a manageable, emotional two-hour segment, capturing emotional moments that in real life might take seasons to create. and go behind the scenes to see the human drama you’ll never see while watching the big game or your favorite event.
These are some of the best, most emotional and inspiring sports films currently airing.
The Challengers (2024)
Of course, this is a tennis movie—and, by all accounts, an impressively accurate one . I’ll have to take their word for it. But it’s Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino who brings us the horny bisexual romantic sports drama we never knew we needed. Zendaya plays a former professional tennis player turned coach who finds herself in a love triangle with her champion husband (Mike Feist) and her boyfriend (Josh O’Connor). The chemistry between these three is amazing.
Where to watch: MGM+, digital rental.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Vangelis’ theme song may be more memorable than the film itself at this point, but this Best Picture Oscar winner takes an unconventional approach that pays off in a big way. Set during the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris (the last time they were held there), the film dramatizes the true story of Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a track and field athlete and English Jew struggling to overcome prejudice. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a devout Christian whose uncompromising beliefs make national headlines. The pace may be slow for a film about competitive running, but it’s a direct example of the sport’s inspiration.
Where to watch: digital rental
Installation (1949)
Robert Wise, the director who brought us one of our best musicals, West Side Story , as well as a couple of our best horror and science fiction films ( House on Haunted Hill and The Day the Earth Stood Still ), also gave us ” Set”. Up, a brilliant boxing film that is also considered a great film noir. Like Robert Ryan’s tired, ex-boxer Stoker Thompson, the film is lean and dirty, taking place mostly in a smoky, small arena where there are no saints. Noir mainstay Audrey Totter plays his wife—she knows he’s in his final days, but she also knows they have nothing unless he can win (or lose) another fight.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Although Friday Night Lights is “based on a true story,” it uses Herbert Bissinger’s nonfiction book of the same name (and the season it depicts) only as a tentative basis, finding the idea of a small Texas town as its main source of inspiration. for whom School football is the only significant industry. It is loosely based on the 1988 Permian High School championship of the Panthers from Odessa, Texas. As with the later TV series adaptation, it is both an inspiring tale of impressive athletics and a slightly pathetic portrait of a community where nothing else happens. Billy Bob Thornton’s performance as the controversial Coach Gaines is especially good.
Where to watch: Starz, digital rental.
Wedding Dreams (1994)
It’s a documentary, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. Hoop Dreams is about two black teenagers (William Gates and Arthur Agee) recruited into a predominantly white high school basketball program, and it’s as entertaining and relevant today as it was in 1994, while inspiring and depressing. The stories of their lives, told over the course of six years, are fascinating and compelling, although they touch on much more serious issues. the chance of success still represents their best hopes. Through Gates and Agee, documentarian Steve James explores everyday life beyond the media’s portrayal of the “ghetto” as simply a place to be avoided by white people, as well as the self-interest that lies at the heart of anyone promising the American Dream.
Where to watch: Max , Paramount+ , The Criterion Channel, Crackle, digital rental.
Express (2008)
Rob Brown leads the cast as Ernie Davis, the Elmira Express, who led Syracuse University to a national championship in just his sophomore year, becoming the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy. In the film, as in real life, Davis faces ugly examples of racism while playing in an era when black players were just beginning to become a more common sight. The film sticks firmly to the “inspirational sports movie” cliché, but tastefully and without going into tearjerker mode, even as Davis’ leukemia diagnosis brings his career to a premature end. Brown is great, but “Express” also marks the film debut of Chadwick Boseman, who plays Floyd Little, Davis’ successor at Syracuse.
Where to watch: Max , digital rental
A League of Their Own (1992)
Even before it was recognized as a minor classic, the film’s success may have seemed highly unlikely, despite its cast (Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Tom Hanks, Madonna) and direction by Penny Marshall. The true story of the relatively short-lived All-American Women’s Professional Baseball League (founded during World War II to keep baseball alive while men were at war) sounds downright sentimental—and it is, in part—but Marshall’s cynical sensibility lends it a strong sense of humor. which helps him avoid getting sentimental (after all: there’s no crying in baseball). The film was (and remains) widely popular, but holds a special place in the hearts of many sports-minded gay kids who came to see Madonna and left with a love of baseball. Or maybe it’s just me?
Where to watch: digital rental.
Remember the Titans (2000)
High school football was a way of life in Alexandria, Virginia in the 1970s. We’ve seen this before, but 1971 was the year that white and black schools integrated, to the outrage of white parents. Adding to the tension was a potential disruption to local athletics, providing cover for those who preferred not to be seen as overtly racist but still opposed the merger of the two schools. Denzel Washington plays the real-life Herman Boone, a coach who ends up being hired as the team’s manager instead of the now-legendary coach of the former white high school team. The formula works here, but depicting a moment in history makes the story both more complex and interesting. This is a real crowd favorite.
Where to watch: Disney+ , digital rental.
Rocky (1976)
As far as inspiring sports narratives go, it’s hard to beat the mix of old-school Rocky and just enough realism (like that not-so-happy ending) to keep things from getting too sentimental. The meta-narrative doesn’t hurt either: its script and lead performance catapulted Rocky-esque misfit Sylvester Stallone from Hollywood bit player to the A-list (he was nominated for an Oscar, and the film won Best Picture and Best Director). . And of course, it started a franchise that, although it has failed a few times, is still going strong.
Where to watch: Prime Video, digital rental.
Moneyball (2011)
I still don’t understand how a movie about the intersection of baseball and statistics manages to be so appealing even to those of us who don’t have much to do with them, but here we are. Aaron Sorkin co-wrote the screenplay, and it showcases the strengths of his best work without many of his annoying tropes; this is a talkative film in which the dramatic moments are built not around the events on the field, but around the people talking about them. Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s who, in a break from centuries of tradition, decides to invest his money in statistical analysis (in the form of his numbers guy, played by Jonah Hill) to build a winning team. It’s a reminder that professional sports are played just as hard behind the scenes as they are on the field.
Where to watch: Peacock , digital rental
King Richard (2021)
It was and remains a strange decision to make a film about Venus and Serena Williams that focuses on their father rather than the tennis legends themselves, but they both produced the film and it seems like it’s exactly the story they wanted to tell. Will Smith, who won an Oscar for leading one of the most intense nights in Academy history, gives a brilliant performance as a persistent but loving father who groomed his daughters for success on the tennis court from the day they were born. . The film paints a nuanced picture of a father who never stops pushing his daughters, yet is absolutely right in his belief that they could be one of the greatest to ever play the game.
Where to watch: Max , Peacock , digital rental
Knute Rockne, All-Americans (1940)
Based on the life of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, this film is probably best known for giving future President Ronald Reagan a catchphrase (one that makes absolutely no sense unless you are actually star football player George Gipp): Knute Rockne’s All American remains a highly entertaining early football film, establishing many of the tropes that would come to dominate the genre: the stubborn but generous coach, the deciding big game, and the tragedy that inspired everyone to fight. . it’s much more complicated.
Where to watch: digital rental
I, Tonya (2017)
This rock-documentary about figure skating doesn’t make Tonya Harding a hero, but it avoids making fun of her, even as it plays fast and loose with the events of her life and the madness surrounding the 1994 attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan – an attack in which Tonya may or may not have played a direct role. By treating Tonya (Margot Robbie) and ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan) as completely unreliable narrators, the film revisits one of the most sensational stories in Olympic figure skating history. Robbie is great, as is Allison Janney as her aggressive and cruel mother.
Where to watch: Max , digital rental
Field of Dreams (1989)
Whatever your feelings about the sport as a whole, it’s hard to leave the Field of Dreams without feeling like James Earl Jones is onto something when he talks about baseball as a rare constant in modern American history. On one hand, this is the story of a farmer who is struggling to pay his bills and is about to lose his land. On the other hand, it’s a slightly crazy fantasy about the ghosts of dead baseball players talking to Kevin Costner the way another movie might have angels whispering advice into someone’s ear. It’s all pretty silly, but done so expertly that it’s hard not to get drawn in, especially if you have daddy issues; This climactic performance between Costner and his ghostly patriarch is essentially your permission to openly sob every time you watch it.
Where to stream: Peacock
Body and Soul (1947)
John Garfield was at the top of Hollywood’s list before he ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and this film, one of Garfield’s best, explores the era in a way that HUAC couldn’t help but appreciate. . A gruff, working-class New Yorker (like Garfield himself), Charlie Davis takes up boxing against his mother’s wishes, rising through the ranks with the help of some unscrupulous individuals. He takes on as his trainer a black boxer (Canada Lee, a brilliant actor soon to be fired by HUAC) who can no longer find work because of the color of his skin. Given a choice between principles and money, Charlie chooses the former, even though he knows it could cost him his life.
Where to watch: The Roku Channel, Plex.
Damn Yankees (1958)
A delightful old-school Hollywood musical (based on the Broadway show and its predecessor novel), Damn Yankees also takes inspiration from Faust ; A mixture of sports, musical comedy and demonic deals in the story of an aging baseball fan who literally sells his soul to ensure his beloved Washington Senators win against those damn Yankees. If it doesn’t have the most memorable song line-up in American music history, it does give us Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter’s equally fun and sultry, seductive gay icon with the seductive ditty “Whatever Lola Wants.”
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, Prime Video
Rudy (1993)
Rudy is almost guaranteed to melt the hardest of hearts. Rudy pushes every emotional button and yet, incredibly, creates a believable world in which we can’t help but root for the little guy, literally. Broke, short, dyslexic and without any special skills (at least in the film), Rudy (inspired by the real-life Rudy Ruettiger, who at 5’6″ achieved his dream of playing football) devotes himself to his dream. It’s quite an incredible dream to simultaneously attend Notre Dame and play for its football team. Sean Astin is an absolutely iconic underdog hero.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Bull Durham (1988)
Bull Durham works not by shying away from the details of the game, but by delving into the details with an almost forensic eye (the film was directed by Ron Shelton, who spent several years as a minor league player). There’s also a love triangle in the mix – between a super-fan played by Susan Sarandon, a rookie played by Tim Robbins, and a never-been-experienced catcher brought in to coach him (Kevin Costner) – and the great performances sell it. but the film is more about selling baseball itself. It’s a compelling portrait of the behind-the-scenes drama that plays out on the field.
Where to watch: Tubi, MGM+, digital rental.
Raging Bull (1980)
Jake LaMotta is not a hero. Rather than glorifying feel-good science, as many boxing films do, Martin Scorsese’s early ’80s masterpiece muses that, surprisingly, the “male” kind of violence that boxing glorifies may not be limited to the ring. Robert DeNiro’s LaMotta is a pretty poor excuse for a man, but Scorsese nonetheless makes his rise and fall fascinating. What’s more, the fight photography is hypnotic: the matches feel like beautiful, terrifying fever dreams that convey a sense of what it would be like to be inside the ring rather than watching from the floor.
Where to watch: Max , digital rental
Sandbox (1993)
An unashamedly nostalgic coming-of-age film that itself became an object of nostalgia. This ’60s summer classic follows Scott Smalls (Tom Guiry), a new kid in a friendless town who knows nothing about baseball. but takes a job on a local sandbox team, hoping to fake it until he makes it. It’s full of quirky characters and follows all the expected storylines, however, although it received a mixed reception in 1993, it has shown impressive staying power among the children who watched it growing up. For those of us with limited interest in sports, Smalls is always there for us.
Where to watch: Disney+ , Hulu , digital rental.
Concussion (2015)
Traumatic brain injury, especially chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), remains a topic of debate among doctors and the NFL, although the issue now is less about whether repeated concussions in sports can have long-term consequences and more about the extent of the potential danger. damage. Following on from Will Smith’s Dr. Bennet Omalu, Concussion is not a sports film per se, as its focus is not on athletics or big game scenes, but on a real-life battle between a forensic pathologist and the football industry. types who weren’t very interested in listening to what he had to say.
Where to watch: digital rental.
White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
Wesley Snipes delivers a smart and funny performance in this basketball-themed comedy-drama, as does Woody Harrelson, although of course Rosie Perez steals every scene she’s in. A coming of age story about a couple of guys who might be too old to star in a coming of age movie. It was one of director Stanley Kubrick’s favorite films .
Where to watch: Max , digital rental
Major League (1989)
I suspect many baseball fans would rank Major League high on their list of favorite sports movies, but its goofy humor and underdog narrative have made it a widely popular and well-remembered piece of ’80s nostalgia beyond that group. A former Las Vegas showgirl (played by Margaret Whitton) inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband. Wanting nothing more than to move to Miami, the widow decides to take the team with her, which the contract says she can only do if attendance falls below a certain threshold. No problem: she’s just trying to assemble the worst team. However, the team (which includes Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen) soon learns of her plan, and what follows is an uncomplicated but appealing mixture of low-brow comedy and a legitimately appealing underdog story.
Where to watch: Max , digital rental
We Are Marshall (2006)
After a 1970 plane crash that killed members of the Marshall University football team, plans were made to suspend football at the school indefinitely, but several surviving team members convinced the university’s president to reinstate the team. The film follows rookie coach Matthew McConaughey, Jack Lengyel, who is joined by one of the few surviving members of the previous coaching staff (Red Dawson, played by Matthew Fox) in building a new team from the ground up. They aren’t very good at first, but the team’s determination is where the inspirational aspect really comes into play.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Creed (2015)
Creed both revitalized the Rocky franchise and pointed to the future of boxing films, celebrating everything we love about the genre while turning old stereotypes on their heads. Donnie Creed is also an underdog, but he’s also the rich son of boxing royalty fighting a rough, working-class opponent. Michael B. Jordan more than holds his own against previous boxing greats, and director Ryan Coogler crafts a thoughtful and contemplative film while still being a crowd pleaser. Sylvester Stallone, again playing Rocky, gives one of his best performances ever, a once great man succumbing to the ravages of old age.
Where to watch: MGM+, Prime Video.
The Karate Kid (1984)
Rocky director John J. Avildsen traveled from working class Philadelphia to cheap Reseda, Los Angeles in this mega-hit after being bullied by 17-year-old Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) as he fights karate champion Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and his clearly evil sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove). Pat Morita was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi, and the film has rousing music, a big championship finale, and such a legacy that we still hang out with these characters today. What else do you need?
Where to watch: Starz, digital rental.
Love and Basketball (2000)
Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps turn up the heat in this debut from writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood. The two characters grow up together, their mutual love of basketball uniting them but often driving them apart. Tracing their relationship over the years, the underrated film flawlessly combines character work with a real love for the game and an appreciation for the effort it takes to make it.
Where to watch: Paramount+ , digital rental.
Champion (1949)
The first of two truly great boxing films, directed by Mark Robson ( The Harder They Fall, released in 1956), stars Kirk Douglas as a merciless and brutal boxing champion who mercilessly rises through the ranks by treating the people in his life. (especially women) love trash. Deeply cynical about success, American style, the film was directed by producer Stanley Kramer and writer Carl Forman, who would collaborate just a couple of years later on High Noon , an anti-HUAC film that would set off a firestorm in a much more intense world. climate.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Before The Pride of the Yankees was released in 1942, baseball movies were just baseball movies. Numerous films have been made about the game, but none of them were likely to appeal to non-baseball fans (admittedly, they made up a much smaller portion of the population at the time). Pride , starring Gary Cooper, chronicles the life of New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died of ALS just a year before the film’s release. Baseball is by no means an afterthought in the story, but the film examines the full scope of his life and tragically young death, and the climactic speech on the field remains incredibly powerful.
Where to watch: Tubi, Peacock , Prime Video
Iron Claw (2023)
An A24 drama about the real-life Von Erich family, the film follows three wrestling brothers (played by Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson), members of a family long considered cursed for their seemingly endless tragedies. There’s quite a bit of talk here about the American dream, but there’s also an exploration of American-style masculinity and the high price of success when the challenges outside the ring are at least as great as the challenges inside.
Where to watch: Max , digital rental