Sports Movies for Non-Sports Fans
by fiddlisa | created - 08 Aug 2014 | updated - 3 weeks ago | PublicCheering for the underdog, rallying for the community, learning something, fun sports movies with other elements that make them awesome films (even if you don't like sports)
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1. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.
Director: Gurinder Chadha | Stars: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher
Votes: 116,485 | Gross: $32.54M
2. Cool Runnings (1993)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican Bobsled Team.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: John Candy, Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis
Votes: 113,756 | Gross: $68.86M
3. The Flying Scotsman (2006)
PG-13 | 96 min | Drama, Sport
The true story of Graeme Obree, the Champion cyclist who built his bicycle from old bits of washing machines who won his championship only to have his title stripped from him and his mental health problems which he has suffered since.
Director: Douglas Mackinnon | Stars: Jonny Lee Miller, Laura Fraser, Brian Cox, Sean Brown
Votes: 5,637 | Gross: $0.14M
4. The Champ (1979)
PG | 121 min | Drama, Sport
Billy Flynn is an ex-champion boxer who was KO'd by booze and gambling. When the wealthy, estranged mother of his young son begins trying to lure the boy away from him, Flynn must return to the ring to provide for his child.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden
Votes: 9,241 | Gross: $30.44M
5. Hidalgo (2004)
PG-13 | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson, Louise Lombard
Votes: 85,546 | Gross: $67.29M
6. Seabiscuit (2003)
PG-13 | 140 min | Drama, History, Sport
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper
Votes: 76,783 | Gross: $120.28M
7. The Rookie (2002)
G | 127 min | Drama, Family, Sport
A Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Dennis Quaid, JD Evermore, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez
Votes: 37,170 | Gross: $75.60M
8. The Cup (1999)
G | 93 min | Comedy, Sport
While the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene contemplation is somewhat ... See full summary »
Director: Khyentse Norbu | Stars: Orgyen Tobgyal, Neten Chokling, Jamyang Lodro, Lama Chonjor
Votes: 3,406 | Gross: $1.07M
9. Wondrous Oblivion (2003)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Eleven-year-old David Wiseman is mad about cricket but no good at it. He has the entire kit but none of the skill. So when a Jamaican family moves in next door and builds a cricket net in the back garden, David is in seventh heaven.
Director: Paul Morrison | Stars: Sam Smith, Leagh Conwell, Dominic Barklem, Jo Stone-Fewings
Votes: 1,247 | Gross: $0.09M
10. The Karate Kid (1984)
PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove
Votes: 244,465 | Gross: $90.82M
11. A League of Their Own (1992)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their own growing rivalry.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna
Votes: 121,045 | Gross: $107.53M
12. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,095 | Gross: $64.43M
13. Mystery, Alaska (1999)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
The residents of a small town get over-excited when their hockey team gets chosen to host a televised event.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Russell Crowe, Burt Reynolds, Hank Azaria, Mary McCormack
Votes: 28,380 | Gross: $8.89M
14. Chariots of Fire (1981)
PG | 125 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers
Votes: 65,889 | Gross: $58.97M
15. The Natural (1984)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Sport
A middle-aged unknown comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a legendary baseball player with almost supernatural talent.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger
Votes: 52,457 | Gross: $47.95M
16. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
PG-13 | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.
Director: Sylvain Chomet | Stars: Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas
Votes: 57,079 | Gross: $7.00M
17. Moneyball (2011)
PG-13 | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 464,559 | Gross: $75.61M
18. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,488 | Gross: $255.96M
19. The Sandlot (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
Director: David Mickey Evans | Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Art LaFleur, Patrick Renna
Votes: 102,380 | Gross: $32.42M
20. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 102,713 | Gross: $95.00M
21. Remember the Titans (2000)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst
Votes: 231,918 | Gross: $115.65M
22. Jerry Maguire (1996)
R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston
Votes: 287,024 | Gross: $153.95M
23. Coach Carter (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown
Votes: 172,024 | Gross: $67.26M
24. Whip It (2009)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama, Sport
In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock-loving misfit finds a way of dealing with small-town misery after discovering a roller-derby league in nearby Austin.
Director: Drew Barrymore | Stars: Elliot Page, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Sarah Habel
Votes: 70,198 | Gross: $13.04M
25. Invictus (2009)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng
Votes: 167,882 | Gross: $37.49M
26. Necessary Roughness (1991)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Sport
Due to NCAA sanctions, the Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos must form a football team from their actual student body, with no scholarships to help, to play their football schedule.
Director: Stan Dragoti | Stars: Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, Robert Loggia, Harley Jane Kozak
Votes: 13,112 | Gross: $26.26M
27. Eight Men Out (1988)
PG | 119 min | Drama, History, Sport
A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: John Cusack, Clifton James, Jace Alexander, Gordon Clapp
Votes: 22,089 | Gross: $5.68M
28. Fever Pitch (1997)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A sports fan's romantic courtship clashes with his obsession with his favorite football team.
Director: David Evans | Stars: Colin Firth, Ruth Gemmell, Luke Aikman, Bea Guard
Votes: 11,704 | Gross: $0.01M
29. Love & Basketball (2000)
PG-13 | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman, Jess Willard
Votes: 24,311 | Gross: $27.44M
30. Miracle (2004)
PG | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet squad.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Nathan West, Noah Emmerich
Votes: 58,910 | Gross: $64.38M
31. Bull Durham (1988)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson
Votes: 59,375 | Gross: $50.89M
32. Wimbledon (2004)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon.
Director: Richard Loncraine | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Sam Neill
Votes: 66,615 | Gross: $17.00M
33. Breaking Away (1979)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley
Votes: 25,471 | Gross: $16.42M
34. Leatherheads (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1925, an enterprising pro football player convinces America's too-good-to-be-true college football hero to play for his team and keep the league from going under.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, David de Vries
Votes: 33,442 | Gross: $31.20M
35. Playing for Keeps (2012)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A former sports star who's fallen on hard times starts coaching his son's football team as a way to get his life together. His attempts to become an adult are met with challenges from the attractive football moms who pursue him at every turn.
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Dennis Quaid, Noah Lomax
Votes: 31,287 | Gross: $13.10M
36. The Cutting Edge (1992)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A temperamental figure skater and an arrogant former hockey player attempt to win the Olympic Gold Medal as a figure skating pairs team.
Director: Paul Michael Glaser | Stars: D.B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly, Roy Dotrice, Terry O'Quinn
Votes: 22,348 | Gross: $25.11M
37. Chasing Mavericks (2012)
PG | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
When young Jay Moriarity discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, exists just miles from his Santa Cruz home, he enlists the help of local legend Frosty Hesson to train him to survive it.
Directors: Michael Apted, Curtis Hanson | Stars: Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue, Abigail Spencer
Votes: 34,535 | Gross: $6.00M
38. Million Dollar Arm (2014)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Alan Arkin, Suraj Sharma
Votes: 47,844 | Gross: $36.45M
39. Win Win (2011)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A struggling lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach's chicanery comes back to haunt him when the teenage grandson of the client he has double-crossed comes into his life.
Director: Tom McCarthy | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor, Bobby Cannavale
Votes: 55,261 | Gross: $10.18M
40. Trainwreck (2015)
R | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.
Director: Judd Apatow | Stars: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn
Votes: 142,760 | Gross: $110.21M
41. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006)
PG | 110 min | Drama
A boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in 1970, when the World Cup coincides with political crackdowns by the military dictatorship.
Director: Cao Hamburger | Stars: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Daniela Piepszyk, Paulo Autran
Votes: 6,658 | Gross: $0.76M
42. Breakfast with Scot (2007)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Eric, a sports announcer and former hockey player, doesn't know how to deal with the flamboyant young boy to whom he and his partner suddenly become guardians.
Director: Laurie Lynd | Stars: Tom Cavanagh, Ben Shenkman, Noah Bernett, Benz Antoine
Votes: 3,251 | Gross: $0.05M
43. Queen of Katwe (2016)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza
Votes: 18,678 | Gross: $8.81M
44. What Men Want (2019)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A woman is boxed out by the male sports agents in her profession, but gains an unexpected edge over them when she develops the ability to hear men's thoughts.
Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Kristen Ledlow, Josh Brener, Kellan Lutz
Votes: 31,793 | Gross: $54.61M
45. Step (2017)
PG | 84 min | Documentary
STEP documents the senior year of a girls' high-school step dance team against the background of inner-city Baltimore.
Director: Amanda Lipitz | Stars: Gari McIntyre, Amanda Leonard, Blessin Giraldo, Chevonne Hall
Votes: 1,233 | Gross: $1.15M
46. Ted Lasso (2020–2023)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
American college football coach Ted Lasso heads to London to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League soccer team.
Stars: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster
Votes: 348,185
47. The Queen's Gambit (2020)
TV-MA | 57 min | Drama
Orphaned at the tender age of nine, prodigious introvert Beth Harmon discovers and masters the game of chess in 1960s USA. But child stardom comes at a price.
Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chloe Pirrie, Bill Camp, Marcin Dorocinski
Votes: 553,144
48. Step Sisters (2018)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy
To get the college dean's backing for Harvard, Jamilah has to teach girls at a white sorority to step dance.
Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Megalyn Echikunwoke, Eden Sher, Lyndon Smith, Gage Golightly
Votes: 4,873
49. The English Game (2020)
TV-14 | 47 min | Drama, History, Sport
The story of the invention of football and how it quickly rose to become the world's most popular game by crossing class divides.
Stars: Edward Holcroft, Kevin Guthrie, Charlotte Hope, Niamh Walsh
Votes: 17,081
50. All American (2018– )
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Sport
When a star high school football player from South Central is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High School, two separate worlds collide.
Stars: Daniel Ezra, Michael Evans Behling, Samantha Logan, Greta Onieogou
Votes: 14,088
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