Best sports movies
by magnummania | created - 13 Jul 2012 | updated - 13 Jul 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 628,260 | Gross: $117.24M
2. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 380,111 | Gross: $23.38M
3. Cinderella Man (2005)
PG-13 | 144 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The true story of James J. Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer, who returned to the spotlight to win the heavyweight championship of the world.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Craig Bierko, Paul Giamatti
Votes: 198,299 | Gross: $61.65M
4. Bad News Bears (2005)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Sport
A grizzled little league coach tries to turn his team of misfits into champs.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden, Sammi Kane Kraft
Votes: 22,757 | Gross: $32.87M
5. The Bad News Bears (1976)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 25,002 | Gross: $42.35M
6. 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: 102,348 | Gross: $32.42M
7. Major League (1989)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Sport
The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton
Votes: 76,416 | Gross: $49.80M
8. Major League II (1994)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Sport
The Indians are now a World Series contender. But last year's hunger is now replaced with complacency, and bad decisions by the new owner threaten to tear the team apart.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert
Votes: 28,028 | Gross: $30.63M
9. 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: 52,439 | Gross: $47.95M
10. 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: 59,335 | Gross: $50.89M
11. For Love of the Game (1999)
PG-13 | 137 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
After 19 years of playing the game he's loved his whole life, Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel has to decide if he's going to risk everything and put everything out there.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone
Votes: 37,453 | Gross: $35.17M
12. Rudy (1993)
PG | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
Director: David Anspaugh | Stars: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty, Greta Lind
Votes: 69,064 | Gross: $22.75M
13. Friday Night Lights (2004)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Jay Hernandez, Derek Luke, Lucas Black
Votes: 66,841 | Gross: $61.26M
14. Any Given Sunday (1999)
R | 162 min | Drama, Sport
A behind-the-scenes look at the life-and-death struggles of modern-day gladiators and those who lead them.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, James Woods
Votes: 125,883 | Gross: $75.53M
15. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 319,899 | Gross: $26.24M
16. 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: 22,338 | Gross: $25.11M
17. Vision Quest (1985)
R | 107 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Schoeffling, Ronny Cox
Votes: 10,247 | Gross: $12.90M
18. Bloodsport (1988)
R | 92 min | Action, Biography, Drama
"Bloodsport" follows Frank Dux, an American martial artist serving in the military, who decides to leave the army to compete in a martial arts tournament in Hong Kong where fights to the death can occur.
Director: Newt Arnold | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton
Votes: 93,968 | Gross: $11.81M
19. Rocky III (1982)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Sport
Rocky faces the ultimate challenge from a powerful new contender, and must turn to a former rival to help regain his throne as the undisputed fighting champion.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 211,171 | Gross: $125.05M
20. Rocky Balboa (2006)
PG | 102 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Thirty years after the ring of the first bell, Rocky Balboa comes out of retirement and dons his gloves for his final fight against the reigning heavyweight champ Mason 'The Line' Dixon.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Tarver, Milo Ventimiglia, Burt Young
Votes: 231,432 | Gross: $70.27M
21. Rocky V (1990)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Sport
Reluctantly retired from fighting, Rocky takes charge of Mickey's gym and agrees to train a young protégé who's hungry for success.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone
Votes: 150,576 | Gross: $40.95M
22. Rocky IV (1985)
PG | 91 min | Drama, Sport
Rocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 226,361 | Gross: $127.87M
23. The Hammer (2007)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A 40-year-old who gave up a promising amateur boxing career 21 years ago is offered a path to the Olympics.
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | Stars: Adam Carolla, Oswaldo Castillo, Heather Juergensen, Harold House Moore
Votes: 6,275 | Gross: $0.44M
24. The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Approved | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of the life and career of famed baseball player Lou Gehrig.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan
Votes: 11,992
25. 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: 9,239 | Gross: $30.44M
26. The Hurricane (1999)
R | 146 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 102,444 | Gross: $50.67M
27. Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
G | 88 min | Drama, Family, Romance
Thrilled by a performance she sees at a fair, Sonora Webster tries to land a spot as a daredevil who rides horses off of high dives.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Schoeffling, Cliff Robertson, Dylan Kussman
Votes: 5,866 | Gross: $7.30M
28. 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: 244,401 | Gross: $90.82M
29. 8 Seconds (1994)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
This movie chronicles the life of Lane Frost, 1987 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion, his marriage and his friendships with Tuff Hedeman (three-time World Champion) and Cody Lambert.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, James Rebhorn, Cameron Finley
Votes: 5,758 | Gross: $19.60M
30. Glory Road (2006)
PG | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
Director: James Gartner | Stars: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Jon Voight
Votes: 48,819 | Gross: $42.64M
31. White Men Can't Jump (1992)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Sport
Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez, Tyra Ferrell
Votes: 98,263 | Gross: $76.25M
32. Hoop Dreams (1994)
PG-13 | 170 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport
A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Director: Steve James | Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates
Votes: 28,014 | Gross: $7.83M
33. Slap Shot (1977)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Strother Martin, Jennifer Warren
Votes: 41,224 | Gross: $28.00M
34. Youngblood (1986)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A 17 year old farm boy is offered an ice hockey tryout. His brother drives him to Canada. He has fast legs, slow fists, but is chosen. Will he learn to use his fists and play ice hockey the Canuck way? Will he get the coach's cute daughter?
Director: Peter Markle | Stars: Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb, Patrick Swayze, Ed Lauter
Votes: 15,863 | Gross: $15.45M
35. The Program (1993)
R | 112 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer
Votes: 11,576 | Gross: $23.00M
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