Best Football Movies
by rylen | created - 09 Feb 2016 | updated - 11 Feb 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Any Given Sunday (1999)
R | 162 min | Drama, Sport
A behind-the-scenes look at the life-and-death struggles of modern-day gladiators and those who lead them.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, James Woods
Votes: 125,863 | Gross: $75.53M
2. Remember the Titans (2000)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst
Votes: 231,803 | Gross: $115.65M
3. We Are Marshall (2006)
PG | 131 min | Drama, Sport
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Director: McG | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie, David Strathairn
Votes: 64,810 | Gross: $43.55M
4. Varsity Blues (1999)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A back-up quarterback is chosen to lead a Texas football team to victory after the star quarterback is injured.
Director: Brian Robbins | Stars: James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester
Votes: 49,037 | Gross: $52.89M
5. Radio (2003)
PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man who he took under his wing.
Director: Michael Tollin | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger, S. Epatha Merkerson
Votes: 43,975 | Gross: $52.33M
6. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham
Votes: 112,001 | Gross: $59.51M
7. Friday Night Lights (2004)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Jay Hernandez, Derek Luke, Lucas Black
Votes: 66,821 | Gross: $61.26M
8. Invincible (2006)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Based on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.
Director: Ericson Core | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Conway
Votes: 75,302 | Gross: $57.81M
9. Concussion (2015)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Director: Peter Landesman | Stars: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, David Morse
Votes: 100,562 | Gross: $34.54M
10. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,310 | Gross: $255.96M
11. The Express (2008)
PG | 130 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
Director: Gary Fleder | Stars: Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Clancy Brown, Darrin Dewitt Henson
Votes: 22,862 | Gross: $9.59M
12. Undefeated (2011)
PG-13 | 113 min | Documentary, Sport
Chronicles three underprivileged students from inner-city Memphis and their volunteer coach who tries to help them beat the odds on and off the field.
Directors: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin | Stars: Bill Courtney, O.C. Brown, Montrail 'Money' Brown, Chavis Daniels
Votes: 7,337 | Gross: $0.56M
13. Draft Day (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Sport
At the NFL Draft, General Manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he's willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Kevin Costner, Chadwick Boseman, Jennifer Garner, Frank Langella
Votes: 66,885 | Gross: $28.83M
14. The Replacements (2000)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Sport
During a pro football strike, the owners hire substitute players.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones
Votes: 69,442 | Gross: $44.74M
15. When the Game Stands Tall (2014)
PG | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur, who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Alexander Ludwig, Michael Chiklis, Laura Dern
Votes: 16,900 | Gross: $30.13M
16. Brian's Song (1971 TV Movie)
G | 73 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying.
Director: Buzz Kulik | Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden, Bernie Casey
Votes: 8,856
17. My All-American (2015)
PG | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Freddie Steinmark, an underdog on the gridiron, faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.
Director: Angelo Pizzo | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Robin Tunney, Sarah Bolger
Votes: 7,815 | Gross: $2.25M
18. Leatherheads (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1925, an enterprising pro football player convinces America's too-good-to-be-true college football hero to play for his team and keep the league from going under.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, David de Vries
Votes: 33,434 | Gross: $31.20M
19. The Longest Yard (1974)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad
Votes: 21,416 | Gross: $7.13M
20. The Program (1993)
R | 112 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer
Votes: 11,571 | Gross: $23.00M
21. Gridiron Gang (2006)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.
Director: Phil Joanou | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Leon Rippy
Votes: 80,647 | Gross: $38.43M
22. The Waterboy (1998)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Sport
A waterboy for a college football team discovers he has a unique tackling ability and becomes a member of the team.
Director: Frank Coraci | Stars: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk
Votes: 178,262 | Gross: $161.49M
23. Wildcats (1986)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Sport
A rookie high school football coach has a harder time than she expected trying to whip her tough inner city team into shape.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Swoosie Kurtz, Robyn Lively, Brandy Gold
Votes: 14,604 | Gross: $26.29M
24. North Dallas Forty (1979)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team family are bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Mac Davis, Dayle Haddon
Votes: 5,988 | Gross: $26.08M
25. Everybody's All-American (1988)
R | 127 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A Louisiana football legend struggles to deal with life's complexities after his college career is over.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Hutton, John Goodman
Votes: 3,450 | Gross: $12.64M
26. Heaven Can Wait (1978)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
Directors: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry | Stars: Warren Beatty, James Mason, Julie Christie, Jack Warden
Votes: 23,501 | Gross: $81.64M
27. Rudy (1993)
PG | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
Director: David Anspaugh | Stars: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty, Greta Lind
Votes: 69,044 | Gross: $22.75M
28. Hoosiers (1986)
PG | 114 min | Drama, Sport
A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.
Director: David Anspaugh | Stars: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley
Votes: 51,041 | Gross: $28.61M
29. Necessary Roughness (1991)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Sport
Due to NCAA sanctions, the Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos must form a football team from their actual student body, with no scholarships to help, to play their football schedule.
Director: Stan Dragoti | Stars: Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, Robert Loggia, Harley Jane Kozak
Votes: 13,105 | Gross: $26.26M
30. Facing the Giants (2006)
PG | 111 min | Drama, Sport
A losing coach and his underdog football team face their giants of fear and failure on and off the field, with surprising results.
Director: Alex Kendrick | Stars: Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields, Jason McLeod, Tracy Goode
Votes: 18,050 | Gross: $10.18M
31. Little Giants (1994)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
Misfits form their own opposing team to an elite peewee football team, coached by the elite team coach's brother.
Director: Duwayne Dunham | Stars: Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, Shawna Waldron, Devon Sawa
Votes: 30,835 | Gross: $19.29M
32. All the Right Moves (1983)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.
Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson, Craig T. Nelson, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,390 | Gross: $17.23M
33. Paper Lion (1968)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Sport
Sportswriter George Plimpton poses as a rookie quarterback for the Detroit Lions for a "Sports Illustrated" article.
Director: Alex March | Stars: Alan Alda, Lauren Hutton, Joe Schmidt, Alex Karras
Votes: 1,240
34. School Ties (1992)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama
In 1959, a star quarterback from a working-class family is given an opportunity to attend an elite New England preparatory school, but he is conflicted about whether or not to tell his Evangelical classmates that he is Jewish.
Director: Robert Mandel | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Randall Batinkoff
Votes: 27,389 | Gross: $14.72M
35. Woodlawn (2015)
PG | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
A gifted high-school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.
Directors: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin | Stars: Caleb Castille, Sean Astin, Jon Voight, C. Thomas Howell
Votes: 7,845 | Gross: $14.39M
36. Greater (2016)
PG | 130 min | Biography, Family, Sport
The story of Brandon Burlsworth, possibly the greatest walk-on in the history of college football.
Director: David L. Hunt | Stars: Neal McDonough, Leslie Easterbrook, Christopher Severio, Michael Parks
Votes: 8,191 | Gross: $1.99M
37. Carter High (2015)
PG-13 | 110 min | Crime, Drama, History
During the 1980s Carter High School in Dallas, Texas was a football powerhouse. This is the story of four of the student athletes whose off the field activities cost them their future.
Director: Arthur Muhammad | Stars: Charles S. Dutton, Vivica A. Fox, Pooch Hall, David Banner
Votes: 590 | Gross: $0.34M
38. McFarland, USA (2015)
PG | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Jim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach, and at his new school he turns seven disappointing students into one of the best cross-country teams in the region.
Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez, Carlos Pratts
Votes: 42,218 | Gross: $44.47M
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