Is there a type of movie better than a sports film?
It can be debated for days, hours, and even years on end. But, at the end of the day, everybody is entitled to their very own opinion.
Sports movies have long been popular and have been able to capture the attention of people around the world. Using athletics as the means to publish a story has never failed, and it continues to show success.
Football fans, make sure you’re making your Free NFL Picks if not watching The Waterboy. Whether serious or humorous, football has had so many masterpieces come out. And as we’ll allude to in the space below, the highest-grossing sports film of all time was, in fact, one about the game played on the gridiron.
Leading to the Top
Two of the Rocky films appear on the list of the top 10 highest-grossing sports movies of all. The third and fifth ones show up there, and rightfully so. Clubber Lang could hit hard, and it made for another classic in one of the greatest franchises in the history of cinema.
Just below Rocky III, you can find Seabiscuit. Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges starred in it, and it could just be the greatest horse racing film of all time.
Numbers three and four are genuinely surprising.
Though extremely popular and watched all over, for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby to be #4 on the list is a testament to the strength of a good cast and a heavy fanbase. The movie has incredible comedy and does well, even in spite of that, to paint NASCAR in a pretty light. It might have honestly been some of Will Ferrell’s best work. Seeing him and John C. Reilly together is always something the world can agree is fun.
Above it at #3, even more surprising, is the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard. Seeing Adam Sandler back in a football film, but this time as a quarterback, was always going to be a good time.
Burt Reynolds reprised his role, but this time as the coach. It was a good bridge to the fans of the original film. Chris Berman was hilarious in his cameo, showing that broadcasters can act as well as anybody else out there. There will be critics of it, though; some will say the original version from the 70s is the premier of the two. But, it grossed highly.
Just above it at #2, grossing $162 million is The Waterboy. Sandler’s other football film was part of his breakout decade when he made the switch to becoming a big-time actor, eventually leaving SNL in the past.
Henry Winkler made a great football coach, and Kathy Bates, as his mother, was hysterical.
The best part is that both of Sandler’s movies here were done by a few of the directors who do most of his movies, so both got to be done on his own terms.
And now, for #1.
The Blind Side
This shouldn’t come as the biggest surprise in the world, but we as a society collectively love a good underdog story.
One of somebody facing extreme poverty and barely making it by. Then a family comes along and gives that individual a chance to start fresh. To have a home, a unit to grow and explore with.
That’s exactly what The Blind Side was. And perhaps the greatest part of all is that the player it’s all about, Michael Oher, became a first-round NFL draft pick at the end.
Sandra Bullock did an incredible job as the mother who didn’t take anybody’s backtalk. And her husband in the film, country star Tim McGraw was equally impressive.
Several highly-ranked college football coaches made their appearances as well. A book about Michael Oher’s life also being written certainly helped make people aware of his incredible story. And Quentin Aaron’s acting was unmatched. He crushed it in the role of the lead.
Too many people do not see the Blind Side as the greatest sports movie of all time. But the numbers don’t lie. No other film ever grossed higher in its category. It might be time for a rewatch if you haven’t watched it recently. It’s truly a classic.
