60 Best Football Movies of All Time (2024)
Are you prepared for the thrilling world of football on a large screen? From epic stories of success to hilarious comedies that’ll have you rolling on the floor, he world of football movies is just as diverse or even more so than football itself. We have come up with a list of our top football films ever made. So, get the popcorn ready and pick your favorite place on that old couch for a cinematic ride along the peaks and valleys of gridiron.
The List of Best Football Movies to Watch in 2024
1. Rudy (1993)
- Director: David Anspaugh
- Stars: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty
- Synopsis: Rudy is a young man who dreams of playing football for Notre Dame but faces many obstacles and with determination continues to make the team against all odds.
2. Remember the Titans (2000)
- Director: Boaz Yakin
- Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris
- Synopsis: The film is based on a true story. It tells how Coach Herman Boone struggles with integrating the Virginia high school football team and leads them to success, inspiring unity and understanding along the way.
3. Friday Night Lights (2004)
- Director: Peter Berg
- Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Luke, Garrett Hedlund
- Synopsis: This movie is based on the book by H.G Bissinger that depicts perennial strain and standard of life regarding a high school football team in an ordinary Texas town.
4. The Blind Side (2009)
- Director: John Lee Hancock
- Stars: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron
- Synopsis: This warm-hearted film is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who turned into an All American football player with the help of caring woman and her family.
5. Any Given Sunday (1999)
- Director: Oliver Stone
- Stars: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid
- Synopsis: The film is a behind the scenes of fictional professional football team, with its troubles, egos and pressures that players and coaches face.
6. Jerry Maguire (1996)
- Director: Cameron Crowe
- Stars: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger
- Synopsis: Jerry Maguire, sports agent has a moral crisis and starts his own agency with fewer clients while trying to develop genuine relationships. The film discusses the business of football.
Also Read: Top 10 Famous Baseball Movies of All Time
7. We Are Marshall (2006)
- Director: McG
- Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, David Strathairn
- Synopsis: With the true story of how a high-school football team was annihilated by an accident where their plane could not land, this movie shows what happened inside Marshall University to rebuild its program.
8. The Longest Yard (1974)
- Director: Robert Aldrich
- Stars: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter
- Synopsis: A former NFL player, now behind bars plays a blend of comedy and drama while organizing an impromptu football game between the inmates and themselves as prison guards.
9. The Replacements (2000)
- Director: Howard Deutch
- Stars: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Orlando Jones
- Synopsis: At a time of football strike, the owner of team takes help from replacement players at that moment and there comes an odd but driven gang to prove themselves in field.
10.The Express (2008)
- Director: Gary Fleder
- Stars: Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Darrin Dewitt Henson
- Synopsis: The movie is based on the true story of Ernie Davis, who was the first African American to win a Heisman Trophy and with whom white people defeated racial barriers in college football.
11. Invincible (2006)
- Director: Ericson Core
- Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks
- Synopsis: Basically, about Vince Papale who is a bar tender that becomes tells into Philadelphia Eagles against all odds inspiring his community and beating personal trials.
12. The Waterboy (1998)
- Director: Frank Coraci
- Stars: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler
- Synopsis: A comical illustration of the story of Bobby Boucher, who is a socially inadequate water boy with an ability to tackle that only emerges once he joins a college football team.
13. Draft Day (2014)
- Director: Ivan Reitman
- Stars: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary
- Synopsis: A sports drama during the NFL draft day where we follow a general manager of Cleveland Browns trying to make crucial decisions that might determine what direction this team will go on.
14. North Dallas Forty (1979)
- Director: Ted Kotcheff
- Stars: Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning
- Synopsis: a hard hitting look at the world of professional football, showing both physical and emotional pain suffered by players especially focusing on North Dallas Bulls led by their veteran receiver.
15. Gridiron Gang (2006)
- Director: Phil Joanou
- Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell
- Synopsis: This film is based on a real-life story of probation officer who has developed football team from the group of young delinquents and managed to use it as something much more than just sports – rehabilitation.
16. The Program (1993)
- Director: David S. Ward
- Stars: James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps
- Synopsis: College football players face pressures and challenges as they attempt to achieve success both on field, which is reflected in the use of performance enhancing drugs in this film.
17. Brian’s Song (1971)
- Director: Buzz Kulik
- Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden
- Synopsis: Focused on the actual story of Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, two players for Chicago Bears football team as they embark upon an emotional journey when faced with challenges.
18. Leatherheads (2008)
- Director: George Clooney
- Stars: George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski
- Synopsis: The movie focuses on a team in the early years of professional football, who are trying to deal not only with its development but also romantic relationships that players find themselves into.
19. The Game Plan (2007)
- Director: Andy Fickman
- Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick
- Synopsis: A funny, heartwarming family comedy when a star quarterback’s life turns upside down through hilarious situations.
20. Radio (2003)
- Director: Michael Tollin
- Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger
- Synopsis: The film is based on a true story and tells about the friendship of an American high school football coach with a mentally challenged boy who becomes the team’s source of inspiration.
21. Facing the Giants (2006)
- Director: Alex Kendrick
- Stars: Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields, Jason McLeod
- Synopsis: It is a religious sports drama depicting the life of college football coach, who faces many challenges on and off the field but suffers with faith and determination.
22. Little Giants (1994)
- Director: Duwayne Dunham
- Stars: Rick Moranis, Ed O’Neill, Shawna Waldron
- Synopsis: A comedy about a group of kids considered to be misfits who form their own football team and take on the reigning champion coached by his brother, an ex-football star.
23. The Best of Times (1986)
- Director: Roger Spottiswoode
- Stars: Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, Pamela Reed
- Synopsis: Comedy drama of a man from an average town who persuades his high school’s competing football squad to replay the championship game that was played when they were younger.
24. Horse Feathers (1932)
- Director: Norman Z. McLeod
- Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx
- Synopsis: A Marx Brothers classic comedy about university president who enlists the help of two incompetent football players to win a game over another college.
25. Necessary Roughness (1991)
- Director: Stan Dragoti
- Stars: Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, Robert Loggia
- Synopsis: College football team struggles but rebuilds with a mix of inexperienced players including 34-year-old quarterback.
26. The Mighty Ducks (1992)
- Director: Stephen Herek
- Stars: Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, Lane Smith
- Synopsis: A family inequalities comedy about a lawyer who must do community service like coaching an ice hockey youth team to develop himself and make the team grow together.
27. Wildcats (1986)
- Director: Michael Ritchie
- Stars: Goldie Hawn, Swoosie Kurtz, Robyn Lively
- Synopsis: A sports drama comedy about a young high school track coach who takes it upon himself to take up the challenge of coaching and transforming an otherwise underachieving football team in the face gender prejudices.
28. Heaven Can Wait (1978)
- Director: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
- Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason
- Synopsis: A fantasy comedy-drama about a pro quarterback who dies prematurely and is taken to heaven only to be given a second chance at life but in the body of his recently murdered millionaire.
29. Paper Lion (1968)
- Director: Alex March
- Stars: Alan Alda, Lauren Hutton, Joe Schmidt
- Synopsis: The movie, based on George Plimpton’s book about a journalist who decides to try out as a quarterback during the Detroit Lions training camp so he can get close-up and personal with professional football from his own point of view.
30. The Junction Boys (2002)
- Director: Mike Robe
- Stars: Tom Berenger, Ryan McDonald, Fletcher Humphrys
- Synopsis: The film is based on the book by Jim Dent and chronicles the tough training camp of Texas A& M football team under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant in 1950s.
31. The 5th Quarter (2010)
- Director: Rick Bieber
- Stars: Aidan Quinn, Andie MacDowell, Ryan Merriman
- Synopsis: Focusing on the real-life tale of Jon Abbate, a college football player and his family dealing with the devastating loss of his younger brother who serves as an inspiration to defy all odds.
32. The Damned United (2009)
- Director: Tom Hooper
- Stars: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney
- Synopsis: The film is a biographical drama that tells the story of Brian Clough’s 44-day reign as manager at Leeds United in 1970s.
33. When the Game Stands Tall (2014)
- Director: Thomas Carter
- Stars: Jim Caviezel, Alexander Ludwig, Michael Chiklis
- Synopsis: It is about the true story of how De La Salle High School’s football team deal with hardship after an unprecedented winning streak comes to a halt.
34. The Big Green (1995)
- Director: Holly Goldberg Sloan
- Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Olivia d’Abo, Jay O. Sanders
- Synopsis: A Comedy about a teacher who discovers the passion for soccer and with the help of a new kid from England creates an unfit team into competitive one.
35. Two for the Money (2005)
- Director:J. Caruso
- Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Al Pacino, Renée Russo
- Synopsis: A drama about sports gambling, in which a former college football star is pursued by an influential sports consultant.
36. The Program (2015)
- Director: Stephen Frears
- Stars: Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd, Guillaume Canet
- Synopsis: Put simply, a sports drama that delves deep into the intense physical and psychological pressures of college football players including performance enhancing drugs.
37. Johnny Be Good (1988)
- Director: Bud Smith
- Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr., Uma Thurman
- Synopsis: A comedy movie about a highly sought after high school football player as he goes through several challenges and temptations while college recruiters try to get him in their colleges.
38. All the Right Moves (1983)
- Director: Michael Chapman
- Stars: Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson
- Synopsis: 1) A drama of a high school football player who is determined to break away from his small town as he plays the scholarship game on and off the field.
39. Varsity Blues (1999)
- Director: Brian Robbins
- Stars: James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker
- Synopsis: A sports dramedy about the pressure and expectations placed on high school football players in a rural Texas town.
40. Go Tigers! (2001)
- Director: Kenneth A. Carlson
- Synopsis: A documentary about a soccer team Massillon Tigers and the community that is influenced by this sport.
Also Read: Best Classic Baseball Movies
41. The Game Plan (2007)
- Director: Andy Fickman
- Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick
- Synopsis: A comedic family film in which a star quarterback’s life changes drastically when he finds out that he has an infant daughter, resulting both hilarious and sweet situations.
42. Lucas (1986)
- Director: David Seltzer
- Stars: Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen
- Synopsis: A film about a smart, youthful boy who becomes part of the high school football team trying to fit in.
43. The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon (1998)
- Director: Tim Kelleher
- Stars: Tony Danza, Jessica Tuck, Art LaFleur
- Synopsis: A story about a garbage man who finds out that he can kick footballs and ends up being part of the Philadelphia Eagles team.
44. School Ties (1992)
- Director: Robert Mandel
- Stars: Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell
- Synopsis: This drama, set in the 1950s sees a Jewish student hiding his origins to get along with boys on an elite prep school’s football team.
45. Undefeated (2011)
- Directors: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin
- Synopsis: A film about the Manassas Tigers, a high school football team in Memphis whose inspiring journey to conquer obstacles and succeed both on and off the field.
46. Mickey (2004)
- Director: Hugh Wilson
- Stars: Harry Connick Jr., Shawn Salinas, Michelle Johnson
- Synopsis: A film about a father reconnecting with his distant son because of their mutual love for football, which they both experience.
47. In Football We Trust (2015)
- Directors: Tony Vainuku, Erika Cohn
- Synopsis: A documentary about the lives of Polynesian American high school football players in Utah as they face cultural and family pressures.
48. The Turkey Bowl (2019)
- Director: Greg Coolidge
- Stars: Ryan Hansen, Matt Jones, Alan Ritchson
- Synopsis: It is a comedy where Thanksgiving in the small town sees an old football rivalry reigniting between two once veddy high school stars.
49. Safety (2020)
- Director: Reginald Hudlin
- Stars: Jay Reeves, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Corinne Foxx
- Synopsis: This sports drama is based on a real story about college football player who in addition to his academic and athletic responsibilities also becomes the legal guardian of his little brother.
50. Greater (2016)
- Director: David Hunt
- Stars: Christopher Severio, Neal McDonough, Leslie Easterbrook
- Synopsis: A biographical sports drama focused on the life of Brandon Burlsworth, a walk-on to Arkansas football team that eventually earned All American honors as an offensive lineman for Razorbacks.
51. My All American (2015)
- Director: Angelo Pizzo
- Stars: Finn Wittrock, Sarah Bolger, Aaron Eckhart
- Synopsis: The story of Freddie Steinmark, a college football player who faces obstacles both on and off the field is about an American biographical sports.
52. 4th and Goal (2010)
- Directors: Nina Gilden Seavey
- Synopsis: A documentary about the journeys of six high school footballers aiming to make it into NFL, focusing on both physical and emotional strains that come with realizing dreams.
53. The 60 Yard Line (2017)
- Directors: Leif Gantvoort
- Stars: Randall Park, Chelsey Crisp, Mindy Sterling
- Synopsis: A comedy about a Green Bay Packers fan who purchases house next to Lambeau Field and converts his living room into ultimate shrine of the Pack.
54. The Perfect Game (2009)
- Director: William Dear
- Stars: Clifton Collins Jr., Cheech Marin, Moises Arias
- Synopsis: This is a true story of seven young Mexican baseball players fighting odds to compete in the 1957 Little League World Series, at Small Ville Pennsylvania.
55. Johnny Football (2016)
- Directors: Jack Thomas Smith
- Stars: Marco Amadeo, Kelsey Deanne, Steven Randazzo
- Synopsis: A drama based on the life of Johnny Manziel, showing his ups and downs through college football.
56. Underdogs (2013)
- Directors: Doug Dearth
- Stars:B. Sweeney, William Mapother, Richard Portnow
- Synopsis: A sports drama of a small-town high school football team on an unlikely path to the state championship.
57. The 4th Quarter (2017)
- Directors: Curtis Nichouls
- Stars: Andre Jamal Kinney, Rochelle Porter, Amanda D. Murray
- Synopsis: A drama based on the life of a former college football star who is going through ups and downs in his attempt to start over again.
58. Brother’s Keeper (2002)
- Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
- Synopsis: A movie that is based on the fact of Ward brothers centers around a killing in small town and how family unite during hardships.
59. The Best That Never Was (2010)
- Directors: Jonathan Hock
- Synopsis: It is a documentary centered on the life of Marcus Dupree, an all-star high school football star whose career was marred with obstacles and hindrances.
60. Patriots Day (2016)
- Director: Peter Berg
- Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons
- Synopsis: This drama-thriller, though not entirely centered on football tells of the Boston Marathon bombing and manhunt through it has a subsidiary plot which deals with New England Patriots’ Day involvement.
Wrapping Up
There you have it – a carefully selected list of the best football movies ever that will forever remain in our hearts. If you’re a dedicated football fan or just someone seeking for an enjoyable plot, these movies present all the necessary ingredients in drama, inspiration and fun. So, the next time you feel like watching some cinematic touchdowns, have in mind to revisit these classics or find a new favorite. Every frame of it could score a touchdown in the world of football movies, after all. You may watch these movies on Netflix and Hulu.
FAQs
Q: What are some of the best football movies of all time?
A: The greatest football movies of all time include Rudy; Remember the Titans; Friday Night Lights etc.
Q: Are there any good fantasy football movies?
A: One may not find too many fantasy football movies in the conventional sense; however, “The Comebacks”, a satire on an entry level college football coach uses fantastical elements to tell its story.
Q: Is there a football movie featuring the popular dog character, Air Bud?
A: Yes, there is Air Bud- a movie about football featuring the lovable golden retriever. The film is called “Air Bud: 3 “Golden Receiver” The story is about a dog that can play football among other sports.
Q: Can you recommend a good high school football movie?
A: Friday Night Lights is a good high school football movie that reflects the drama and intensity of sport at the level of secondary education.
Q: Are there any great football movies focused on college football?
A: Yes, such as “Rudy”, “The Program” and ‘We Are Marshall’ are the great football movies that concentrate on college-level football; they show how arduous it is to have a team or even be an individual player in one of those programs.
Q: What are some of the best football movies featuring well-known actors like Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise and Mark Wahlberg?
A: Some of the most successful football movies with well-known actors are – “Jerry Maguire” featuring Tom Cruise, “The Blind Side”, staring Sandra Bullock, ” The Longest Yard ,„ starring Adam Sandler and „ Remember that Titans“, featuring Denzel Washington.
Q: Are there any football comedy movies worth watching?
A: A very entertaining football comedy movie is “The Waterboy,” featuring Adam Sandler, which perfectly satisfies both fans of the sports category and comic lover.
Q: How many football movies have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature?
A: However, up till now there is no football movie that had been picked for the Academy Award of Best Documentary Feature.
Q: Are there any football movies based on true stories?
A: Yes, there are indeed a number football movies dealt with true events and about real life people in the sporting world like “Rudy”, The Blind Side,” We Are Marshall” Invincible”.
Q: Can you recommend a football movie that captures the spirit of the game and the culture surrounding it?
“Remember the Titans” is an absolutely brilliant football film not just about playing a game itself but also in looking at its societal and cultural aspects.
Also Read:
- Best Comedy Baseball Movies
- 90s Baseball Movies
- Best Baseball Movies for Kids
- Best Baseball Movies on Netflix
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