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Best sports movie

The 16 movies of the “Best sports movie” bracket, with year, director, runtime and rating for each — then play the knockout tournament and let your own duels pick the winner.

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What is in this bracket

The bracket spans 43 years of cinema, from 1976 to 2019, with an average TMDB rating of 7.5/10. The dominant genres are Drama (16 movies), History (6 movies), Action (3 movies), Romance (1 movie). Clint Eastwood appears 2 times — a good sign of how much one filmography weighs on the outcome. Watching the whole line-up back to back would take about 35 hours. The 2010s are the best represented decade with 6 entries.

The highest-rated entry going in is Ford v Ferrari (2019) at ★ 8/10 — but a bracket is not a ranking: it only takes one duel against a favourite of yours for it to go out in the first round.

The full line-up (16 movies)

Seeded in the order they enter the bracket. 16 titles means 4 rounds and 15 duels to a champion.

  1. Rocky 1976 · John G. Avildsen · 120 min · ★ 7.8/10

    Rocky Balboa is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere. But when a stroke of fate puts him in the ring with a world heavyweight champion, Rocky knows that it's his one shot at the big time — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner!

  2. Raging Bull 1980 · Martin Scorsese · 129 min · ★ 7.9/10

    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.

  3. Moneyball 2011 · Bennett Miller · 134 min · ★ 7.3/10

    The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

  4. Creed 2015 · Ryan Coogler · 133 min · ★ 7.4/10

    The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

  5. Rush 2013 · Ron Howard · 123 min · ★ 7.7/10

    In the 1970s, a rivalry propels race car drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt to fame and glory — until a horrible accident threatens to end it all.

  6. Ford v Ferrari 2019 · James Mangold · 153 min · ★ 8/10

    American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

  7. Million Dollar Baby 2004 · Clint Eastwood · 132 min · ★ 8/10

    Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.

  8. Warrior 2011 · Gavin O'Connor · 140 min · ★ 7.8/10

    The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament – a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.

  9. The Wrestler 2008 · Darren Aronofsky · 109 min · ★ 7.5/10

    Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.

  10. Remember the Titans 2000 · Boaz Yakin · 113 min · ★ 7.7/10

    After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.

  11. Coach Carter 2005 · Thomas Carter · 136 min · ★ 7.6/10

    Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

  12. Invictus 2009 · Clint Eastwood · 134 min · ★ 7.2/10

    Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

  13. I, Tonya 2017 · Craig Gillespie · 120 min · ★ 7.5/10

    Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the sport is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.

  14. Chariots of Fire 1981 · Hugh Hudson · 123 min · ★ 6.8/10

    In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in

  15. Rudy 1993 · David Anspaugh · 114 min · ★ 7.3/10

    Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of 5 people and has set his sights upon joining the team.

  16. Any Given Sunday 1999 · Oliver Stone · 163 min · ★ 6.8/10

    A star quarterback gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the aging coach to reevaluate his game plans and life. A new co-owner/president adds to the pressure of winning. The new owner must prove herself in a male dominated world.

How this tournament works

  1. 16 movies enter a knockout bracket.
  2. Two titles face off at a time — you pick the one you would rather watch.
  3. Winners advance round by round until one champion is left: your pick for tonight.

There is no “right” answer and no algorithm deciding for you: the bracket only forces a series of small, easy comparisons instead of one impossible choice in front of a catalogue. You can also play it with friends — everyone votes the same duels from their own phone in a Brawl Room.

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