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The 35 Best Sports Movies of All Time, According to a Rotten Tomatoes Critic

We chatted with Rotten Tomatoes critic Mark Ellis

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Today we’re choosing violence and bringing you an article that is sure to get you fired up—the good ole debate on the best sports movies of all-time. We repeat-the best sports movies of all-time. Now this is a passionate conversation that you have probably already had amongst friends, family members, colleagues, etc., and if those debates have gone anything like ours, then nobody was able to come to an agreement. While the topic of which movie is the best (Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans comes to mind as a potential top choice) is one that is purely subjective, there are certain films that have to be included in every list. In our opinion, the best sports movies of all time (Brad Pitt in Moneyball is another great film) are the ones that not only have great storylines, but are able to pull in an audience outside of sports lovers. Below are 35 movies that we believe did that.

Best of all, we got our expert, Rotten Tomatoes Contributing Editor Mark Ellis, to put together our list for us based on many years of film watching and reviewing. Mark currently leads the on-camera efforts at Rotten Tomatoes, hosting such shows as The Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong podcast and Versus — his passion and encyclopedic knowledge of film make him a well-suited candidate to advise cinephiles and sports fans alike.  Scroll down to see what made the final cut.

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35. 'High School Musical' (2006)

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34. 'Like Mike' (2002)

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33. 'Major League' (1989)

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32. 'Dodgeball' (2004)

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31. 'The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh' (1979)

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30. 'Rookie of the Year' (1993)

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29. ‘Space Jam’ (1996)

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28. 'Caddyshack' (1980)

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27. 'Bend It Like Beckham' (2002)

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26. 'The Blindside' (2009)

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25. 'Ali' (2001)

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24. 'I, Tonya' (2018)

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23. 'The Jackie Robinson Story' (1950)

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22. 'The Natural' (1984)

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21. 'Miracle' (2004)

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20. 'Rudy' (1993)

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19. 'Creed II' (2018)

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18. '42' (2013)

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17. 'Raging Bull' (1980)

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16. 'Love and Basketball' (2000)

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15. 'Coach Carter' (2005)

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14. ‘Hoosiers’ (1986)

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13. 'The Wrestler' (2008)

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12. 'The Rookie' (2002)

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11. 'Bull Durham' (1988)

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10. 'The Bad News Bears' (1976)

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9. 'The Sandlot' (1993)

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8. Remember the Titans (2000)

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7. 'Moneyball' (2011)

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6. 'He Got Game' (1998)

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5. 'Field of Dreams' (1989)

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4. 'Creed' (2015)

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5. ‘Hoop Dreams’ (1994)

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4. A League of their Own (1992)

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3. Rocky IV

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2. 'Rocky' (1976)

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1. ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ (1992)

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This article was updated on January 8, 2024.

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