best movies based on a true story
by SebastianHoppe | created - 26 Jan 2015 | updated - 06 Jan 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt
Votes: 741,678 | Gross: $56.67M
2. The Theory of Everything (2014)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Stephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, Sophie Perry
Votes: 482,405 | Gross: $35.89M
3. The Imitation Game (2014)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech
Votes: 825,542 | Gross: $91.13M
4. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 987,712 | Gross: $170.74M
5. The Soloist (2009)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A newspaper journalist discovers a homeless musical genius and tries to improve his situation.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander
Votes: 55,418 | Gross: $31.67M
6. Rush (I) (2013)
R | 123 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 514,078 | Gross: $26.95M
7. The Intouchables (2011)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
Votes: 930,380 | Gross: $13.18M
8. Into the Wild (2007)
R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 658,535 | Gross: $18.35M
9. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 561,416 | Gross: $163.57M
10. 127 Hours (2010)
R | 94 min | Biography, Drama
A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Sean Bott
Votes: 401,650 | Gross: $18.34M
11. The Fifth Estate (2013)
R | 128 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A dramatic thriller based on real events that reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century's most fiercely debated organization.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brühl, Carice van Houten, Alicia Vikander
Votes: 42,720 | Gross: $3.25M
12. Ray (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 152 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell
Votes: 157,451 | Gross: $75.33M
13. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
Director: Terry George | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Xolani Mali
Votes: 372,419 | Gross: $23.53M
14. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
R | 117 min | Biography, Drama
In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Steve Zahn
Votes: 519,622 | Gross: $27.30M
15. American Sniper (2014)
R | 133 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis
Votes: 529,705 | Gross: $350.13M
16. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
R | 180 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Votes: 1,584,982 | Gross: $116.90M
17. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)
G | 93 min | Biography, Drama, Family
Professor Wilson discovers a lost Akita puppy on his way home. Despite objections from his wife, Hachi endears himself to the family and grows to be Parker's loyal companion. As their bond grows deeper, a beautiful relationship unfolds.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Sarah Roemer
Votes: 311,648
18. Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
R | 129 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Sam Childers is a former drug-dealing biker tough guy who found God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been forced to become soldiers.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Kathy Baker
Votes: 68,980 | Gross: $0.54M
19. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,452,038 | Gross: $96.90M
20. The Revenant (I) (2015)
R | 156 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson
Votes: 874,990 | Gross: $183.64M
21. The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama
The story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.
Director: Matt Brown | Stars: Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm Sinclair, Raghuvir Joshi
Votes: 62,197 | Gross: $3.87M
22. Eddie the Eagle (2015)
PG-13 | 106 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Director: Dexter Fletcher | Stars: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello, Jo Hartley
Votes: 100,327 | Gross: $15.79M
23. Sully (2016)
PG-13 | 96 min | Biography, Drama
When pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger lands his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew, some consider him a hero while others think he was reckless.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Valerie Mahaffey
Votes: 298,351 | Gross: $125.07M
24. The Social Network (2010)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara
Votes: 759,318 | Gross: $96.96M
25. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer
Votes: 594,910 | Gross: $67.21M
26. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,452,038 | Gross: $96.90M
27. Apollo 13 (I) (1995)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, History
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise
Votes: 315,841 | Gross: $173.84M
28. My Blind Date with Life (2017)
111 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
An ambitious young man struggles to achieve his dream of becoming an employee in a Munich luxury hotel despite being strongly visually impaired.
Director: Marc Rothemund | Stars: Kostja Ullmann, Jacob Matschenz, Anna Maria Mühe, Johann von Bülow
Votes: 5,781
29. The Greatest Showman (2017)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
Director: Michael Gracey | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya
Votes: 311,816 | Gross: $174.34M
30. Lion (2016)
PG-13 | 118 min | Biography, Drama
A five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Director: Garth Davis | Stars: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar
Votes: 251,354 | Gross: $51.74M
31. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen
Votes: 1,096,837 | Gross: $164.62M
32. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 913,267 | Gross: $32.57M
33. Life of Pi (2012)
PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu
Votes: 667,252 | Gross: $124.99M
34. Jungle (I) (2017)
R | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
A group of friends join a guide for a trek into the Bolivian jungle, searching for an Indian village. The men soon realize that the jungle is a difficult place to be.
Director: Greg McLean | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Thomas Kretschmann, Alex Russell, Joel Jackson
Votes: 63,703
35. Dunkirk (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Drama, History
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Votes: 740,784 | Gross: $188.37M
36. Everest (2015)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
On May 10, 1996, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa, Thomas M. Wright, Martin Henderson
Votes: 232,554 | Gross: $43.48M
37. Stronger (I) (2017)
R | 119 min | Biography, Drama
Stronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr.
Votes: 49,696 | Gross: $4.21M
38. The Glass Castle (2017)
PG-13 | 127 min | Biography, Drama
A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who's an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children's imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Ella Anderson
Votes: 38,591 | Gross: $17.27M
39. Only the Brave (2017)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.
Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Connelly
Votes: 77,453 | Gross: $18.34M
40. Snowden (2016)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto
Votes: 163,047 | Gross: $21.59M
41. Rocketman (I) (2019)
R | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years.
Director: Dexter Fletcher | Stars: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 194,966 | Gross: $96.37M
42. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy
Votes: 593,536 | Gross: $216.43M
43. Green Book (2018)
PG-13 | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
Director: Peter Farrelly | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco
Votes: 573,177 | Gross: $85.08M
44. Blow (2001)
R | 124 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of how George Jung, along with the Medellín Cartel headed by Pablo Escobar, established the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the United States.
Director: Ted Demme | Stars: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths
Votes: 275,190 | Gross: $52.99M
45. The Captain (2017)
118 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In the last moments of World War II, a young German soldier fighting for survival finds a Nazi captain's uniform. Impersonating an officer, the man quickly takes on the monstrous identity of the perpetrators he's escaping from.
Director: Robert Schwentke | Stars: Max Hubacher, Alexander Fehling, Sebastian Rudolph, Max Thommes
Votes: 21,615 | Gross: $0.11M
46. Unbroken (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 137 min | Action, Biography, Drama
After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he's caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Director: Angelina Jolie | Stars: Jack O'Connell, Miyavi, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 182,834 | Gross: $115.64M
47. Patch Adams (1998)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The true story of a heroic man, Hunter "Patch" Adams, determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humour and pathos.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 122,376 | Gross: $135.03M
48. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
R | 129 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong
Votes: 193,496
49. Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
R | 116 min | Drama
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso, Haley Bennett
Votes: 46,502
50. The Dig (2021)
PG-13 | 112 min | Biography, Drama, History
An archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.
Director: Simon Stone | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn
Votes: 82,646
51. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 244,276 | Gross: $19.02M
52. The Swimmers (2022)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.
Director: Sally El Hosaini | Stars: Matthias Schweighöfer, Ali Suliman, James Krishna Floyd, Alfredo Tavares
Votes: 36,167
Tell Your Friends