The 9 Highest-Grossing Sports Movies Of All Time

The drama that makes sports one of the most beloved pastimes on the planet naturally lends itself to the kind of stories Hollywood has mastered the art of telling, so it’s only natural there are plenty of movies that revolve around the world of athletics.

Hollywood has pumped out a ton of sports movies over the years, and while plenty of those projects ended up missing the mark, there are also more than a few that absolutely killed it at the box office.

Wikipedia has a pretty liberal definition of “sports” based on the titles included on the list of movies that have racked up the most money in theaters around the world after being released (the Fast and the Furious franchise makes far too many appearances), but I’ve narrowed things down to only include ones that deserve to fall under that umbrella.

The Blind Side: $309.2 Million

The Blind Side hasn’t exactly aged well since it came out in 2009.

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy with a well-acted role that nonetheless sparked a debate about the use of the “white savior” trope, and Michael Oher, the NFL player who inspired the movie, took issue with the film’s decision to undermine his intelligence and ignore his preexisting football knowledge.

With that said, it was a hit with critics and audiences alike and raked in close to $310 million by the time it ended its theatrical run.

Rocky IV: $300.4 Million

The Rocky franchise makes multiple appearances on this list, but none of the films it spawned have been able to top the installment that dropped in 1985.

Released when the Cold War was still in full swing, it’s easy to understand why American moviegoers flocked to theaters to witness the wildly entertaining saga where the eponymous hero defeats the comically evil  Ivan Drago with the help of a montage and some good, old-fashioned patriotism.

Rocky VI made $127.8 million in the United States and Canada alone and was also a big hit overseas en route to earning just over $300 million.

Creed III: $275.2 Million

Movies in the Rockyverse actually make three appearances in the top five, as the third installment in the Creed franchise continued to build on the success of the previous two as Michael B. Jordan proved he can also get things done behind the camera in his directorial debut.

Released in 2023, Creed III featured Jordan’s Adonis Creed character going up against a former childhood friend and recently-released felon “Diamond” Dame Anderson (a pre-canceled Jonathan Majors) and outdid the $173.6 million the original earned as well as the $214.2 the sequel generated with more than $275 million.

Rocky III: $270 Million

This is the last Rocky movie for a bit and the one that thrust both “Eye of the Tiger” and Mr. T into the public consciousness thanks to his breakout role as Clubber Lang.

The first sequel to Rocky actually ended up making less than the original, but the third managed to outdo both of them with the $270 million it garnered following its release in 1982.

Space Jam: $250.1 Million

In 1996, Warner Bros. struck gold when it tapped Michael Jordan to star alongside the Looney Tunes in a live-action/cartoon mashup where the most famous basketball player of all time was tasked with saving them from being enslaved on a planet overseen by an evil alien voiced by Danny DeVito.

It may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s a thoroughly entertaining movie that’s largely stood the test of time (especially when compared to the forgettable sequel featuring  LeBron James) and cleaned up at the box office by making just over $250 million.

Ford v Ferrari: $225.5 Million

Most auto racing fans are likely familiar with the tale at the center of Ford v Ferrari, but the average moviegoer probably wasn’t acquainted with the battle that unfolded between those two teams at Le Mans in 1966 and the drama that preceded the showdown.

However, a cast led by Matt Damon and Christian Bale helped lured plenty of people to the theater to watch James Mangold’s dramatized recreation of the saga when it came out in 2019 en route to raking in more than $225 million.

Rocky: $225 Million

Rocky is really two underdog stories in one, as Sylvester Stallone was a virtual unknown before convincing the powers that be at United Artists to fork over $1 million to produce the movie he wrote and starred in.

That turned out to be a pretty good investment, as Rocky spawned one of the biggest franchises in movie history when it was released in 1976 while earning 225 more than it cost to make.

Million Dollar Baby: $216.7 Million

As you’ve probably noticed by now, boxing movies are disproportionately represented on this list, and we’ve got our first non-Rocky entry courtesy of Million Dollar Baby.

Clint Eastwood was coming off one of the most impressive outings of his directorial career with 2003’s Mystic River and proved it wasn’t a fluke when he starred as the boxing trainer who takes Hilary Swank’s character under his wing.

Million Dollar Baby was a critical darling that won four Oscars (including the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress), and also cleaned up at the box office with $216.7 million.

Creed II: $214.2 Million

Another boxing movie? Another boxing movie.

Creed II went back to the Rocky IV well by focusing on a grudge match between the son of Ivan Drago and the offspring of the man he killed in the ring.

Florian Munteanu may not have been able to create a villain as iconic as Dolph Lundgren’s character, but audiences still flocked to see a film that almost earned $215 million.