Special Report

Best Sports Movies Based on True Events

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

Sports films are made to inspire. Whether they highlight the determination of a disadvantaged underdog or the bonds of teamwork that can transcend pure technical skill to bring home the prize, these stories reveal the heart and humanity behind often idolized athletes. At their best, they convince us that anyone can achieve their goals if they stay focused and never give up. 

Many of the best sports movies are based on the lives of real athletes, coaches, and racecar drivers. Some of the greatest sports stars in history had lives more interesting, complicated, or tragic than a fictional tale could tell. (Read about the 40 most successful athletes of the 21st century.)

To determine the best sports movies based on true events, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of April 2023, weighting all ratings equally. Documentaries were not considered. Cast credits are from IMDb.

Click here to see the best movies based on true events

Many of the best sports films follow football players or teams, from high school teams that overcome racial and class differences to bring their towns together, to college football players that succeed despite ridicule about their size, to NFL stars who overcome homelessness or economic difficulties and make the team against all odds.

A few involve crimes, including “I, Tonya,” which dramatizes the life of figure skater Tonya Harding and her involvement in the 1994 attack against fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, and “Foxcatcher,” which portrays the relationship between two wrestlers, brothers Mark and David Schultz, and a wealthy DuPont heir who would eventually murder one of the brothers.

These films represent the lives of coaches, boxers, golfers, racecar drivers, tennis players, ski jumpers, runners and more, including household names like Muhammad Ali and Lou Gehrig, as well as possibly lesser-known stars like Scottish golfer Tommy Morris, New Zealand speedbike racer Burt Munro, and the First Lady of Drag Racing, Shirley Muldowney. (Here are the most exciting races in Indy 500 history.)

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

50. We Are Marshall (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (62,550 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (202,817 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 48% (126 reviews)
> Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie

“We Are Marshall” is based on the tragedy of the 1970 Marshall University football team, most of whom were killed in a devastating crash of their chartered plane while returning home to West Virginia after a game in North Carolina. The film follows a surviving player and the new coach as they rebuild the team.

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

49. Tommy’s Honour (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (1,183 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 68% (1,416 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 67% (83 reviews)
> Starring: Benjamin Wainwright, Peter Mullan, Jack Lowden

“Tommy’s Honour” is a 2016 film set in 1860s Scotland that details the challenges faced by early golfers. The film follows the dedicated young Tommy Morris as he wins his first Open Championship, and begins to outshine and defy his father, a golfing pioneering.

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

48. Ali (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (101,040 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 65% (107,316 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68% (156 reviews)
> Starring: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight

This film explores the complicated life of heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali from 1964 to 1974, during which time he changed his name from Cassius Clay, won the world heavyweight championship, and was stripped of his title after refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military.

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

47. Prefontaine (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (7,410 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (7,358 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 56% (36 reviews)
> Starring: Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ed O’Neill

Prefontaine chronicles the life of long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine, from his early days as a high school athlete to his competition in the 1972 Olympics to his untimely death at the age of 24.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

46. Million Dollar Arm (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (46,520 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 68% (35,574 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 64% (149 reviews)
> Starring: Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Alan Arkin

This film is based on the lives of Major League Baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, who – despite having no baseball experience – were recruited by a bold sports agent after winning a reality television competition in India.

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

45. Concussion (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (96,435 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (32,813 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 58% (207 reviews)
> Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks

Based on the 2009 exposé “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas, “Concussion” details the work of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-American pathologist who fights against the National Football League’s denial of a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

44. 80 for Brady (2023)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (4,954 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (2,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 60% (122 reviews)
> Starring: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno

Inspired by the story of four best friends and New England Patriots fans who would do anything to meet Tom Brady, this comedy follows a group of spirited older women as they win tickets to the Super Bowl and run into numerous obstacles on their way there.

Vera Anderson / WireImage via Getty Images

43. Lords of Dogtown (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (56,006 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (68,359 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55% (146 reviews)
> Starring: Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk

Former professional skateboarder and surfer Stacey Peralta looks back on his teenage years spent as a member of the Z-Boys, a now legendary group of skateboarders in Santa Monica and Venice who changed the sport forever.

Mark Davis / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

42. Dreamer (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (13,504 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (90,730 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 64% (117 reviews)
> Starring: Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Oded Fehr

Inspired by the story of thoroughbred racehorse Maria’s Storm, “Dreamer” is the story of a young girl who begs her father to keep an injured horse, and against all odds helps the horse recover to race again.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

41. The Express (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (22,275 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (820,228 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 62% (121 reviews)
> Starring: Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Clancy Brown

Based on the life of college football star Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, “The Express” follows Davis from his childhood in Pennsylvania to his years at Syracuse University, where he led the team to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1960 despite the racism he faced both on and off the field.

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

40. Secretariat (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (29,062 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (49,978 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 64% (158 reviews)
> Starring: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale

When a housewife with no horse-racing experience agrees to take over her father’s stables, a veteran trainer helps her navigate the male-dominated business, leading her racehorse Secretariat to become the first in 25 years to win the Triple Crown.

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

39. Invincible (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (72,150 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (87,684 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 72% (136 reviews)
> Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks

“Invincible” is the story of Vince Papale, a struggling 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who became an unlikely member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976 after the team’s new coach held an open tryout.

Courtesy of Magnet Releasing

38. Goon (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (87,901 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (22,823 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (106 reviews)
> Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill

An adaptation of the autobiography of Doug Smith, “Goon” describes the career of a kind, simple man from an intellectual family who finds surprising fulfillment as a brutish enforcer on a minor league hockey team.

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

37. The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (31,481 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (62,591 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 63% (112 reviews)
> Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Elias Koteas

“The Greatest Game Ever Played” is based on the story of Francis Ouimet, an American amateur golfer from humble roots who, at the unlikely age of 20, went up against his idol – British Open champion Harry Vardon.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

36. Battle of the Sexes (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (56,653 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (15,846 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (318 reviews)
> Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough

“Battle of the Sexes” is a fictionalized account of the 1973 tennis match between women’s world champion tennis player Billie Jean King and former men’s champion Bobby Riggs, a match that became one of the most watched sports events ever televised.

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

35. The Rookie (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (35,440 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 70% (61,164 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (155 reviews)
> Starring: Dennis Quaid, J.D. Evermore, Rachel Griffiths

After a shoulder injury keeps Jim Morris from his dream of playing Major League Baseball, he settles down and becomes a high school teacher and baseball coach – until a stroke of fate gets him into the Major Leagues in his late 30s after all.

[in-text-ad]

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

34. Coach Carter (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (153,299 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (406,791 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 64% (150 reviews)
> Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri’chard

When a new coach takes on a struggling high school basketball team, he imposes a strict regime that turns them into undefeated champions. However, the students’ poor academic performance causes him to bench the whole team until they improve their grades.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing

33. Foxcatcher (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (144,170 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (57,452 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (248 reviews)
> Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo

“Foxcatcher” is based on the true story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz and his relationship with John du Pont, a wealthy heir to the du Pont chemical fortune. The film follows John’s increasingly erratic and destructive behavior, which eventually leads to the murder of Schultz’s brother Dave.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

32. Invictus (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (161,444 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (211,985 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (246 reviews)
> Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge

“Invictus” is a snapshot of Nelson Mandela’s first term as President of South Africa, as he works with the captain of the Springboks rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite the country in the wake of Apartheid by getting their team to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship.

[in-text-ad-2]

Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images

31. Greater (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (6,455 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (3,191 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 67% (15 reviews)
> Starring: Neal McDonough, Leslie Easterbrook, Christopher Severio

“Greater” follows the dedication of walk-on college football player Brandon Burlsworth, as he perseveres through ridicule about his weight to become one of the best players his team has ever seen – only to be killed in a car crash 11 days after being drafted into the NFL.

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

30. Seabiscuit (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (74,088 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (118,456 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (206 reviews)
> Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks

This film chronicles the racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized and overlooked thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most significant cultural icons of the Depression era and was ultimately recognized as the top racehorse of the ’30s.

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

29. Cool Runnings (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (106,274 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (533,040 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (42 reviews)
> Starring: John Candy, Leon, Doug E. Doug

“Cool Runnings” is loosely based on the story of the first Jamaican national bobsleigh team’s debut during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, as the underdogs and their disgraced former Olympian coach defy odds and win hearts.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

28. The Blind Side (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (336,377 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (431,935 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 66% (206 reviews)
> Starring: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw

Based on the 2006 book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Michael Lewis, this film details the youth of NFL player Michael Oher, a homeless teenager who was taken in by a wealthy family who eventually become his legal guardians.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

27. Fear Strikes Out (1957)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (1,832 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (1,214 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (24 reviews)
> Starring: Anthony Perkins, Karl Malden, Norma Moore

Based on the memoir of Major League Baseball player Jimmy Piersall, this film follows Piersall’s struggle with anxiety and depression as he is pushed to his limits by his domineering father, eventually having a nervous breakdown and becoming institutionalized.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of A24

26. A Prayer Before Dawn (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (24,259 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (1,843 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (63 reviews)
> Starring: Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringarm, Cherry Miko

“A Prayer Before Dawn” recounts the trials of English boxer Billy Moore as he struggles with addiction in Thailand, eventually becoming incarcerated in a notoriously brutal prison and fighting in Muay Thai tournaments in an attempt to gain his freedom.

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

25. Eddie the Eagle (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (94,751 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (22,932 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (203 reviews)
> Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello

“Eddie the Eagle” follows Michael “Eddie” Edwards, a tenacious and dedicated young athlete who beats the odds to become the first contender in 60 years to represent Britain in Olympic ski jumping.

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

24. A League of Their Own (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (111,120 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (367,100 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (72 reviews)
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty

A fictionalized account of the WWII era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), this film focuses on two sisters who are recruited onto the Rockford Peaches as they navigate sexism and their own rivalry in their attempts to keep the league alive.

Courtesy of Orion Pictures

23. Eight Men Out (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (20,901 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (12,698 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (51 reviews)
> Starring: John Cusack, Clifton James, Jace Alexander

Based on the Black Sox Scandal, this semi-fictionalized film portrays the conspiracy of eight members of the Chicago White Sox who accepted bribes to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series.

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

22. Friday Night Lights (2004)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (64,155 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (185,883 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (173 reviews)
> Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Jay Hernandez, Derek Luke

“Friday Night Lights” follows the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from the economically depressed and racially divided town of Odessa, Texas, as they compete for the state championship with the hopes of the whole town riding on their shoulders.

[in-text-ad-2]

Archive Photos / Getty Images

21. The Stratton Story (1949)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (2,918 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (1,260 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (8 reviews)
> Starring: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan

When star White Sox pitcher Monty Stratton loses his leg after a hunting accident, he learns how to make use of his wooden leg with the support of his dedicated wife and makes a minor league comeback.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

20. Without Limits (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (7,220 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (7,861 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (39 reviews)
> Starring: Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter

“Without Limits” portrays the relationship between Steve Prefontaine, a track and field athlete who competed in the 1972 Olympics, and Bill Bowerman, the renowned track and field coach who co-founded Nike.

[in-text-ad]

Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

19. McFarland, USA (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (39,679 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (26,649 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (133 reviews)
> Starring: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez

After being fired from multiple teaching positions, high school coach Jim White takes a job at a predominantly Latino school in the agricultural town of McFarland, California, and transforms a struggling cross-country team into one of the best in the state.

Courtesy of TriStar Pictures

18. Rudy (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (64,886 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (127,331 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (46 reviews)
> Starring: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty

Born in a steel mill town, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite having low grades, no money for college, and a diminuative physique. Determined to follow his dreams, however, he works tirelessly to make it onto the team.

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

17. Miracle (2004)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (55,605 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (57,108 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (165 reviews)
> Starring: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Nathan West

Under the guidance of player-turned-coach Herb Brooks, the 1980 United States men’s Olympic hockey team heads to the 1980 Winter Olympics to face off against the nearly invincible Soviet team.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

16. Remember the Titans (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (218,344 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (578,366 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73% (135 reviews)
> Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris

“Remember the Titans” details the racial integration of a Virginia high school in 1971 through the lens of the school’s football team as the Black head coach and white defensive coordinator work together for the good of the team and urge the boys to overcome their differences.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

15. Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (8,418 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (2,418 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (12 reviews)
> Starring: Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane

This biopic on legendary American boxer Rocky Graziano tells the story of the knockout legend’s rise from a delinquent youth and Army deserter to World Middleweight Champion.

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

14. The Hurricane (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (98,363 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (55,668 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (114 reviews)
> Starring: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger

Based on the life of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a boxer who was wrongly convicted of murder, this film follows Carter’s nearly 20-year imprisonment and the dedication of a compassionate teenager named Lesra Martin who wouldn’t give up on Carter’s case.

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

13. Heart Like a Wheel (1983)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (1,477 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (2,172 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (10 reviews)
> Starring: Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, Bruce Barlow

“Heart Like a Wheel” tells the story of Shirley Muldowney, the first woman to earn a license to drive top fuel dragsters, overcoming significant gender barriers and going on to win multiple championships and become a drag racing icon.

Courtesy of The Ladd Company

12. Chariots of Fire (1981)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (61,896 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (113 reviews)
> Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell

“Chariots of Fire” follows two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics – one a devout Christian who uses his running to honor God, and the other a Jew who runs to overcome the prejudices he encounters despite his privilege.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

11. Fighting with My Family (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (82,697 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (5,034 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (241 reviews)
> Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn

This comedy-drama concerns a family of former professional wrestlers as their two children audition for the WWE, with their daughter Paige being chosen to train while their son Zak is left in the cold.

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

10. The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (55,754 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (35,818 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (144 reviews)
> Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Iain Rea

Based on the life of Burt Munro, a New Zealand speed bike racer who set a land-speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1967, this film details the years Munro spent rebuilding a 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle.

[in-text-ad]

Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

9. Cinderella Man (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (189,703 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (282,263 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (215 reviews)
> Starring: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Craig Bierko

“Cinderella Man” follows the life of James J. Braddock, a former light heavyweight boxer who falls on hard times during the Great Depression and becomes a longshoreman, working with an injured hand, until he finds a chance at a comeback.

Courtesy of Orion Pictures

8. Hoosiers (1986)
> IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (47,992 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (50,777 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (45 reviews)
> Starring: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper

Inspired by the 1954 Milan (Indiana) High School basketball team, “Hoosiers” tells the story of a small town school in Indiana where a new school basketball coach attempts to turn the team into a winning squad along with the help of a local drunkard.

Courtesy of 30WEST

7. I, Tonya (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (219,878 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (12,586 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (384 reviews)
> Starring: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney

This film follows the life of figure skater Tonya Harding as she overcomes class discrimination to make it to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the Olympics, only to become involved in a vicious attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

6. Moneyball (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (428,352 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (92,018 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (267 reviews)
> Starring: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill

Based on the 2003 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, “Moneyball” is an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and their manager Billy Beane’s attempts at building an elite team using a scouting system based on statistical analysis.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

5. The Fighter (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (371,534 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (121,585 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (254 reviews)
> Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams

“The Fighter” follows young boxer “Irish” Micky Ward as he realizes his potential while his trainer and older half-brother, former boxer Dicky Eklund, falls into drug addiction.

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

4. Rush (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (482,996 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (79,330 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (235 reviews)
> Starring: Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde

James Hunt and Niki Lauda are both talented Formula One race car drivers with contrasting styles who quickly become rivals and go head to head during the 1976 racing season.

Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

3. The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
> IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (10,492 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (6,847 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (32 reviews)
> Starring: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth

“The Pride of the Yankees” is a homage to the life of legendary baseball player Lou Gehrig, who played 17 seasons for the New York Yankees and set several major league records before becoming terminally ill with a rare, incurable neurodegenerative disease.

Courtesy of United Artists

2. Raging Bull (1980)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (356,943 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (131,523 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (76 reviews)
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci

“Raging Bull” is based on the memoir of vicious Italian-American middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. The film portrays the self-destructive rage that helped LaMotta in the ring but destroyed his family and personal life.

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

1. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (398,868 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 98% (24,159 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (351 reviews)
> Starring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal

Highlighting the rivalry between automakers Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, this film follows a team of designers and engineers as they attempt to build a state-of-the-art racecar – the Ford GT40 – to defeat the Ferrari 330 P3 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.

Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts

Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.

It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.

We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today.  Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.

 

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.