Sports – something which billions of people love. Sports help us to grow communities of like-minded sports lovers. It also helps in the preservation of a common history. Sports movies express how much we want to win and how much we sympathise with those who lose. In this blog, for instance, we have listed the best sports movies on Netflix and the top sports movies of all time. 

SPORTS MOVIES

Every person has watched one or the other sports in their lives. On the other hand, sports movies are often loved by hardcore sports lovers. People looking for motivation or simply for a good film to pass the time also watch sports movies. They have the ability to fill us with hope and despair, triumph and disaster – all in the period of a few minutes or a couple of hours at the most. Read on to discover the top sports movies you can watch free online today. 

BEST SPORTS MOVIES

In the list below you will find some of the most precious gems in the world of sports, the best sports movies. From Rush to I, Tonya, Rocky and Million Dollar Baby, you will find your favourite sports movies here and discover many more. 

RUSH

• Year of Release: 2013
• Name of the Director: Ron Howard
• Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
• IMDb Rating: 8.1

PLOT OF RUSH 

The film is based on the true story of a great competitive rivalry between gorgeous English playboy James Hunt played by Chris Hemsworth. His meticulous, brilliant opponent is Austrian driver Niki Lauda. The story is set during the sensual, glamorous golden age of Formula One racing in the 1970s (Bruhl).

The story follows their very different personalities on and off the track, as well as their loves. It also covers the incredible 1976 season in which both drivers were willing to sacrifice all to win the world championship. This was a sport where there is no room for error: if you make a mistake, you die. It is one of the best sports movies to have ever released, now you can watch the movies free online.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY 

• Year of Release: 2004
• Name of the Director: Clint Eastwood
• Genre: Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 8.1

PLOT OF MILLION DOLLAR BABY  

Maggie Fitzgerald played by Hilary Swank wants Frankie Dunn or Clint Eastwood to train her. Because she wants to learn only from the greatest. He openly rejects from the beginning, stating that he has no interest in training a girl. Frankie’s life is lonely, as he is estranged from his only daughter and has very few so-called friends. (source: wikipedia)

Maggie is a bit rough in her skills, but she puts in a lot of effort in the ring. Seeing her effort, he eventually gives in. Maggie shows to be not only the fighter he’s always wanted under his wing but also a companion. Maggie is someone who fills a vacuum in his life. Maggie’s career takes off, but an unfortunate incident in the ring prompts her to beg Frankie for one more favour. Watch one of the top sports movies ever made in the history of sports movies. 

MONEYBALL 

• Year of Release: 2011
• Name of the Director: Bennett Miller
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.6

PLOT OF MONEYBALL | BEST SPORTS MOVIES

Faced with the franchise’s restricted budget for players, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant general manager Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) use a sophisticated photographing technique. This is done in order to research and analyse players to assemble a team of discounted talent.

We observe throughout the movie that Beane can’t enjoy baseball games, either as a player or as the General Manager of a team, since he’s so focused on winning and losing. However, as Beane hears the song at the conclusion, he realises that he is abandoning the team and the daughter he adores because he is frightened of losing.

REMEMBER THE TITANS

• Year of Release: 2000
• Name of the Director: Boaz Yakin
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.8

PLOT OF REMEMBER THE TITANS 

This is a story about racial injustice. For centuries, schools in suburban Virginia have been separated. Under a federal mandate to integrate, one Black and one White high school were shuttered and students were relocated to T.C. Williams High School. The year is viewed through the eyes of the football squad, when the man hired to coach the Black school gets promoted to head coach, despite the fact that the white coach is a proven winner. Based on true events from 1971, the squad becomes the community’s unifying symbol as the boys and adults learn to rely on and trust one another.

THE WRESTLER 

• Year of Release: 2008
• Name of the Director: Darren Aronofsky
• Genre: Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.9

PLOT OF THE WRESTLER | BEST SPORTS MOVIES

This is a drama about an ageing professional wrestler who has outlived his peak. He now makes a living by doing minor wrestling performances in VFW halls and works part-time at a grocery store. He tries to come to terms with his life outside the ring by working full time at the grocery store. He is constantly trying to reconcile with the daughter he abandoned as a child.

The wrestler is keen on forming a closer bond with a stripper he has romantic feelings for. This happens as he faces health problems that may end his wrestling career for good. He juggles his new life and an offer of a high-profile rematch with The Ayatollah. The Ayatollah was his 1980s arch-nemesis, which may be his path back to glory. The Wrestler will serve the purpose of top sports movies which motivate you to be fearless. When it comes to your goals in life, we cannot give in to self-doubt. These, among all other sports movies on Netflix, are a big hit.

THE FIGHTER

• Year of Release: 2010
• Name of the Director:  David O
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.8

PLOT OF THE FIGHTER 

In 1993, veteran boxer Dicky Eklund, who formerly fought Sugar Ray Leonard, believes a TV team is shooting his comeback in Lowell, Massachusetts. In actuality, it’s a documentary on Eklund’s drug addiction as a 40-year-old man. Dicky and mother Alice seem to believe they have a stake in younger half-brother Micky Ward.

Micky is now the family’s great white hope for a boxing world title. His fiancée and father think he should leave them for a professional trainer and management. But as the big fights start coming Micky’s way, it’s Dicky’s guidance that gets him to the top. It also helps them in bringing them all together as Micky becomes world champion

TOP SPORTS MOVIES OF ALL TIME

In this list, we have included some of the top sports movies of all time, starting from the early 1960s and 1980s till 2000. These sports movies bring out the best in the characters of some famous sportsmen of all time. Read on to find out more about them also watch these movies free online.

RAGING BULL

• Year of Release: 1980
• Name of the Director: Martin Scorsese
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 8.2

PLOT OF RAGING BULL 

Jake LaMotta is a prizefighter when he enters a boxing ring and destroys his opponent. When he treats his family and friends the same way, he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Despite LaMotta’s desire for his family’s devotion, something constantly seems to get in the way. Perhaps it’s his paranoia and jealousy outbursts. This kind of wrath helped him become a champion, but in real life, he often finds himself alone in the ring. Watch one of the best sports movies ever released. 

ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS 

• Year of Release: 1961
• Name of the Director: Luchino Visconti 
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 8.3

PLOT OF ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS | TOP SPORTS MOVIES

The tale of the southern Italian peasant Parondi family and their traditions of putting family first at all costs, as promoted by the family matriarch, is told across several years. The story is divided into five parts, each of which focuses on a different Parondi brother in chronological sequence. Vincenzo’s part begins when their recently bereaved mother, Rosaria, transports her four younger kids to Milan, where the oldest Vincenzo has been residing, in order for them to have a better future than their worthless farmland could provide. It is one of the best sports movies highlighting the personal lives and struggles of sportspeople.

Vincenzo’s life is thrown into disarray by their arrival. As the oldest, he is supposed to figure out how they can survive without work or a place to reside. Simone’s portion explains how the transition to large city living had the most impact on him of the brothers. He has natural boxing aptitude, but despite some encouraging outcomes, he does not pursue this potential, possibly due to self-doubt.

THE BOXER 

• Year of Release: 1997
• Name of the Director: Jim Sheridan
• Genre: Drama, Romance, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7

PLOT OF THE BOXER | TOP SPORTS MOVIES

Danny Flynn, a kid from Belfast, is imprisoned for his connection with the I.R.A. He leaves behind his family and Maggie Hamill, his sixteen-year-old sweetheart. Danny is released from prison fourteen years later and returns to his previous working-class neighbourhood to resume his boxing career. He is fighting and building a boxing club to train aspiring boxers.

Maggie has since married Danny’s best friend. He is also serving time for his involvement with the I.R.A. Danny has chosen to live a life devoid of political violence. This is despite the fact that he has not condemned the I.R.A. or disparaged his I.R.A. comrades. His boxing club is open to both Catholics and Protestants and is nonsectarian. Some of his former I.R.A. comrades are irritated by this approach. They believe that collaborating with Protestants will not resolve their David vs Goliath conflict.

To stop Danny, Danny’s old I.R.A. comrades, particularly their unofficial boss Harry, turn to traditional brutality tactics. Maggie’s father, Joe, an I.R.A. organiser, does not condone the violence against Danny. This is because he is fighting to free I.R.A. inmates (including Maggie’s husband) through nonviolent means. But he also does not want Maggie to restart her previous connection with Danny, whom he believes has no future. In the middle of this upheaval, Danny and Maggie fantasise about a future together, taking into account Maggie’s married status.

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

• Year of Release: 1981
• Name of the Director: Hugh Hudson 
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.2

PLOT OF CHARIOTS OF FIRE

Chariots of Fire is a British historical drama film or one of the sports movies released in 1981. It is based on the true storey of Eric Liddell, a devoted Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God. Harold Abrahams is an English Jew who runs to fight prejudice. He had competed in the 1924 Olympics. “Chariots of Fire” received seven Academy Award nominations and won four, including best picture in the Oscars. “Chariots of Fire” is also one of the best sports movies on Netflix of recent years, evoking a time when men still believed that if they wanted it bad enough, they could win a race. 

ROCKY 

• Year of Release: 1976
• Name of the Director: John G. Avildsen
• Genre: Drama, Sport 
• IMDb Rating: 8.1

PLOT OF ROCKY | TOP SPORTS MOVIES

Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer who works as a debt collector for a pittance in order to make it big. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed comes to Philadelphia, his promoters want to arrange an exhibition bout between Creed and a struggling boxer, portraying the fight as an opportunity for a “nothing” to become a “someone.”

The bout is meant to be easy for Creed to win, but no one told Rocky, who sees this as his only chance to make it big. It chronicles the rags to riches storey of Rocky Balboa, an ignorant, good-hearted working-class Italian-American boxer who works as a debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia’s slums. Rocky, a small-time club fighter, is given a chance to fight for the world heavyweight title.

SOME OF THE BEST SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX 

Netflix has recently added a whole collection of best sports movies. We have listed some of the sports movies on Netflix that have helped us out of a slump. For sports lovers, this is a treat for the eyes!

ICARUS

• Year of Release: 2017
• Name of the Director: Bryan Fogel 
• Genre: Documentary, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.9

PLOT OF ICARUS | SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX

Bryan Fogel, a filmmaker and a passionate amateur cyclist, plans to make a film about how simple it is to get away with doping in sports. He sets out to use illicit performance-enhancing drugs, increase his cycling performance, and demonstrate that the drugs are undetected.

Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory, is the target of his mission. Fogel had no idea that he is about to become a participant in, and a chronicler of, sport’s greatest ever doping scandal, as details of Russia’s systemic, pervasive, government-sponsored doping programme are disclosed. This is one of the best sports movies on Netflix. 

CONCUSSION 

• Year of Release: 2015
• Name of the Director: Peter Landesman
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 7.1

PLOT OF CONCUSSION | SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX

Concussion, a dramatic thriller starring Will Smith, is based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath storey of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, a brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu’s emotional journey brings him in direct conflict with one of the world’s most powerful institutions.

IP MAN 

• Year of Release: 2008
• Name of the Director: Wilson Yip
• Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
• IMDb Rating: 8

PLOT OF IP MAN | SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX

Dramatizes Yip Man’s (1893-1972) life in the mid-to-late 1930s. Foshun is a thriving city with a slew of martial arts schools. Yip, a Wing Chun practitioner, is the local master. When a bad gang shows up in town, it’s up to Yip to take them on. Japan then invades China.

Yip and his family are poor, and Yip will do any job to help feed them. Now that General Miura is in command, he organises martial arts fights between the Chinese and his soldiers, with the winners receiving additional rice. When a colleague of Yip’s is murdered by the general’s attaché, Yip is forced to take action.

The ruffians return to town at the same time, this time attacking a local cotton factory. Will Yip be able to safeguard the mill while still dealing with Miura and certain death? That is the plot of one of the best sports movies on Netflix. 

BEST SPORTS MOVIES IN HINDI | BEST SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX 

The world of Bollywood or Hindi cinema is filled with various anecdotes of famous Indian sportsmen in the form of sports movies. We have listed some of the top sports movies in Hindi, ranked according to IMDb Rating. These sports movies are popular not only in India but all over the world. 

LAGAAN: ONCE UPON A TIME IN INDIA

• Year of Release: 2001
• Name of the Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
• Genre: Drama, Musical, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 8.1

PLOT OF  LAGAAN: ONCE UPON A TIME IN INDIA 

This is the narrative of the Indians’ perseverance during their time under British rule. The British and their accomplices have already taxed them to the bone, so when Jack Russell declares that he would increase the Lagaan (tax) on all villages, they resolve to protest it. A lovely young guy named Bhuvan leads the villagers and dares them to a game of cricket, which will be played between veteran British cricket players and peasants, including Bhuvan, who have never played the game before and don’t know a bat from a piece of wood.

As the challenge is accepted, excitement builds, attracting Indians from all over the region, as well as British from all over the country, as everyone gathers to witness the British’fair play’ against their opponents, who are supported by none other than Captain Rusell’s sister, Elizabeth. Lagaan is one of the best sports movies ever made and one of the top sports movies on Netflix as well. 

DANGAL 

• Year of Release: 2016
• Name of the Director: Nitesh Tiwari 
• Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
• IMDb Rating: 8.4

PLOT OF DANGAL | SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX

Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestling champion, was forced to retire from the sport owing to family pressure because it was not financially beneficial to his family. He only wishes for his son to win a gold medal in wrestling for India, yet he has four daughters. While his daughters Geeta and Babita are growing up, Mahavir realises that they have the potential to be wrestlers and begins training them.

Geeta and Babita detest their father for this, but they realise that he is doing it for their benefit and begin to take the sport seriously. Geeta quickly establishes herself as a well-known wrestler in the state, winning Junior International. Geeta must also travel to Patiala for additional training in order to compete in the commonwealth games. This is where she will be coached by a new coach, Pramod Kadam. Meanwhile, Babita is making a name for herself at the junior level.

Mahavir is depressed because Geeta believes her coach’s training is superior to her father’s. It is one of the best sports movies on Netflix and all over the world. 

CHAK DE! INDIA

• Year of Release: 2007
• Name of the Director: Shimit Amin 
• Genre: Drama, Family, Sport
• IMDb Rating: 8.2

PLOT OF CHAK DE! INDIA

After losing a match to rival Pakistan, Kabir Khan is labelled a traitor and goes missing for years. Seven years later, he reappears to take over as coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, which the association believes is of little use. Kabir is in charge of a sixteen-member team that is separated into competitive, district, and seniority divisions, although Kabir’s goal is for us to play for India rather than any of them.

One of the best sports movies on Netflix in Hindi is this movie. The team is unhappy with his harsh discipline and tough coaching, and they want him fired. Eventually, he resigns. During Kabir’s farewell ceremony, the women get into a fight with guys. They were trying to be clever with the team and bash them hard, and Kabir notices his team’s cohesiveness. The team recognises their error and asks Kabir to remain their coach. Kabir’s sole goal now is to lead the team to the World Cup in Australia.

PAAN SINGH TOMAR

• Year of Release: 2012
• Name of the Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
• Genre: Action, Biography, Crime
• IMDb Rating: 8.2

PLOT OF  PAAN SINGH TOMAR | SPORTS MOVIES ON NETFLIX

Paan Singh Tomar, an Indian athlete, has won seven gold medals in a row at the Indian National Games. He was a gifted runner who excelled in the steeplechase.  When his mother is murdered and the cops do nothing, he is compelled to become a dacoit. He leads other village members who have been mistreated in similar ways. Tigmanshu Dhulia’s direction and Irrfan Khan in the lead of Paan Singh Tomar makes the movie a worthwhile watch. It is a tribute to India’s unsung heroes of sports. 

CONCLUSION 

The best sports movies on Netflix and the top sports movies of all time mentioned in this blog will bring out the best in you. You got to know about some of the famous as well as some of the unsung heroes in the world of sports. Worldwide, these sports movies have helped spread awareness about certain activities and sports. The main theme connecting all of these sports movies is – to never give up. No matter what, dedication, hard work and sincerity take you a long way in the path to success.