Sports movies: The top 50 sports films of all time

Get into the game with our definitive list of the best sports movies: inspirational dramas, rude comedies and classic documentaries celebrating the real thing.

By David Fear, Joshua Rothkopf and Keith Uhlich Mon Sep 17 2012

Sports movies: Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Sports movies: Big Fan (2009)
Sports movies: Murderball (2005)
Sports movies: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Sports movies: Eight Men Out (1988)
Sports movies: Big Wednesday (1978)
Sports movies: Field of Dreams (1989)
Sports movies: A League of Their Own (1992)
Sports movies: Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Sports movies: The Fighter (2010)

Sports movies: Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Fresh-faced Keira Knightley became a star when this crowd-pleasing cross-cultural drama booted its way into American multiplexes. Even if the definitive soccer movie is yet to be made, this one—about the importance of inclusiveness on the field and off—scores nicely.—Joshua Rothkopf

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Big Fan (2009)

Folks in the stands are thanked plenty enough come postseason, but how often do they get their own movie? After scripting The Wrestler, writer-director Robert D. Siegel turned his attention to the subject—darkly and with great empathy—via this tale of a Giants fan (Patton Oswalt) tackled by his own obsession.—Joshua Rothkopf

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Murderball (2005)

Quadriplegic athletes don’t want your sympathy—and to watch them play their variation of wheelchair rugby, flesh and metal merging into living cruise missiles, they don’t want casual entertainment either. This exuberantly rude documentary captures the essence of sports euphoria in a surprising, universal way.—Joshua Rothkopf

Buy on Amazon

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

The bane of young nerds everywhere, this violent playground game offers the perfect vehicle to parody sports-movie clichés: the team of lovable misfits, the rich snob rivals, the tournament with a decisive sudden-death moment. Grafted onto a kids’ game, the high stakes seem hilariously absurd, even as you sincerely root for Vince Vaughn & Co. to be the last ones out.—David Fear

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Eight Men Out (1988)

Because it’s a John Sayles movie, you can expect the director’s heady brand of politicized entertainment. Still, the real-life scenario—about the infamous Chicago “Black Sox,” who threw the 1919 World Series—makes the stridency go down in riveting fashion, as does a dynamite cast led by John Cusack.—Joshua Rothkopf

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Big Wednesday (1978)

Three close-knit California dudes break the waves and comb their way through some turbulent political tides in John Milius’s awesomely macho surf drama. The cast is pure ’70s virility (Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey) and the spindrift set pieces are as epic as a Star Wars space battle.—Keith Uhlich

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Field of Dreams (1989)

Kevin Costner had already strutted his stuff once in Bull Durham, but Phil Alden Robinson’s sentimental tale of a man building a playing field in his backyard proved that the star was Hall of Fame material. Here, baseball isn’t just a game; it’s a chance for fathers, sons and even dead legends to have one last crack at redemption.—David Fear

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

A League of Their Own (1992)

Penny Marshall’s funny and moving dramedy about a WWII-era women’s ball team has an A-list roster (Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna), some stellar pinch hitters (hey, Rosie O’Donnell) and memorable one-liners (“There’s no crying in baseball”) that’ll have you choking on your chewing tobacco.—Keith Uhlich

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this tough, tear-jerking story about a gruff, aging trainer and the unseasoned female boxer (Hilary Swank) he takes under his wing. The film strikes a near-perfect balance between brawn (in the arduously raw fighting sequences) and sentimentality (in Eastwood and Swank’s tender surrogate father-daughter relationship).—Keith Uhlich

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

The Fighter (2010)

Using vintage Betamax cameras and hiring veteran cable-sports crews to replicate the look of HBO’s mid-’90s boxing matches, David O. Russell adds a level of period-perfect verisimilitude to this biopic on welterweight champ Micky Ward. The stoic Boston brawler is played, punch for punch, by Mark Wahlberg, who personally nurtured the project for years.—David Fear

Watch now on iTunes Watch now at Amazon Instant Video

Your rating
Name *
Email *
Comment *
* mandatory fields

Comments & ratings

(5 ratings)

do we read this list as higher numbers are better? perhaps the list maker is trying to judge a sports movie by the usual parameters of movie making for "good". you don't do that. a good movie tells a sports story well by emphasizing the elements that make sports so interesting and entertaining, and often meaningful. i also note no effort to change the list when obvious omissions like remember the titans are pointed out (and don't tell me titans is "formula".. yes, it pushes all the correct buttons and manipulates its audience to no end.. but it is a good story well told and denzel washington and the rest of the cast, with just a few exceptions, ring true. anyways, thanx for this, now i don't have to check out any more of your "lists"

don marks Tue Oct 23 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
no rudy, sandlot, remember the titans, or he got game .. major league? the program?

guy Tue Oct 23 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
Good movies, good list. The order will always by negotiable because people have different tastes, but I was really struck when I couldn't find Remember the Titans.

Wilmar Tue Oct 23 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
Overall a good list but I feel as though it hit the right movies just wrong order. Without Limits wasn't even on this list and honestly that hidden gem could make top 10, and Any Given Sunday deserves better than #20.

Gage Tue Oct 23 2012
Rated as: 3/5
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
Are you kidding me?! Rudy isn't on the list wtf is wrong with you. . .

Reece Tue Oct 23 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
This list has some significant omissions, such as: Jim Thorpe All American It Happens Every Spring Band the Drum Slowly Angels in the Outfield (original) just to name a few.

Craig Lumpkins Sat Oct 20 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
Stick It and Cool Runnings missing... And really? Bend it like Beckham is LAST!?

Molly Sat Oct 20 2012
Rated as: 1/5
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
What a joke of a list. Do you even watch sports? Terrible...just terrible.

Shane Fri Oct 19 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
terrible list # 1 Rudy, # 2 Sandlot # 3 Remember the titans.... go crawl in a hole and never come out

your mom Fri Oct 19 2012
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *
And although it's kinda new, the movie Goon is a really good sports flick. This list needs trimming and have better more beloved movies in there. The whole, "it's old so it's good" thing has run it's course.

Silly Fri Oct 19 2012
Rated as: 2/5
Report
1. Name *
2. Email *
3. Reason *