Sporting feats can inspire, motivate, and move you to tears. So, it makes sense that sports movies can achieve the same. Although we love watching a great sports documentary, such as ‘Rafa’, which has received Emmy recognition, there’s something special about a scripted sports movie.

Among the top 100 grossing sports films of all time, you’ll find stories about football, motorsports, American football, boxing, and even horse racing. Whether you enjoy comedies, dramas, or biographical pictures, there’s something for every taste. These are the best sports movies to watch with your whole family!

42

The movie 42 tells one of the most inspiring sports stories in the history of the world. The story of Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play Major League Baseball. It is far from pleasant to watch Robinson, played by the late, great Chadwick Boseman, receive racially charged abuse. This is especially difficult knowing it is what actually happened. But, seeing this legend rise above the hatred, even coming from his own teammates, can be quite inspiring. Although far from simple, Robinson broke the color line and became a baseball legend in a then-all-white league.

This movie almost had its day in the sun in 1995 with Spike Lee at the directing helm, but that project fell apart. Getting Chadwick Boseman as the iconic Jackie Robinson, though, was the perfect casting. This movie had a budget of $31–40 million and earned over $95 million at the box office. With a fantastic script, lead actor, and a supporting cast of Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, and Christopher Meloni, this movie is a 10/10.

Bend It Like Beckham

Bend It Like Beckham is one of the most culturally significant sports movies of all time. Although on the surface it looks like a basic coming-of-age football movie, it’s so much more than that. Titled after Premier League legend David Beckham, this movie explores themes of racism in English society, gender roles and expectations, and friendship. The journey that Jess, the main character, goes on shows us that dedication to your sport and your team can take you far in life.

Jess plays football despite her family’s objections and the obstacles she faces. She goes against her parents’ rules who are quite restrictive, despite their best intentions. Bend It Like Beckham has had incredible success at the box office, earning over $92 million with a budget of around $5.5 million. This movie also boasts an 85% Tomatometer score on RottenTomatoes. That makes it one of the best sports movies to watch with your whole family.

Creed

Creed is one of those movies that not many people had high hopes for before its release. As a Rocky spin-off about Apollo Creed’s illegitimate son, critics saw this movie failing before it even premiered. But, 11 years after its premiere, Creed is one of the best sports movies to watch with your whole family. It has a 95% Tomatometer and an 89% Popcornmeter rating, having earned over $174 million on a budget of $35-40 million.

This movie tells the story of Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky’s late friend Apollo, who we know from the original franchise. Apollo’s widow, Mary Anne, found Adonis in a juvenile detention center after Apollo’s death and took him in, raising him as her own. Adonis quits his cushy white-collar job to pursue boxing, which his adoptive mother is staunchly against. So, he moves to Philadelphia to track Rocky down and convince him to train Adonis, who never met his father. Apart from the Rocky-esque training montages, we get a beautiful love story between Adonis and Bianca, and a touching bond between Adonis and Rocky. Ryan Coogler, as the director, masterfully mixed the Rocky nostalgia with fresh new elements that make this movie great.