Some of history’s most iconic blockbusters have been centred around a sport, from the no-nonsense ‘Rocky’ films to light-hearted comedies like ‘Dodgeball’.
Inspired by the recent release of ‘King Richard’, LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk wanted to find out the most popular sports films of all time, and how they ranked from audience ratings, to create the ultimate sporting movie list.
Utilising IMDb, LiveRugbyTickets filtered the top 50 sports films of all time by the amount of ratings/reviews they had, in order to discover the most popular. From this list, the average rating across IMDb and RottenTomatoes was calculated for each film to give it a score out of 10.
Top 10 Highest Rated Popular Sports Movies of All Time
| Rank | Movie | Average rating | Box Office Gross (£) |
| 1 | Ford V Ferrari (2019) | 8.95 | 169,131,158 |
| 2 | Dangal (2016) | 8.90 | 227,792,727 |
| 3 | Raging Bull (1980) | 8.75 | 17,551,820 |
| 4 | Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) | 8.70 | 1,293,605 |
| 5 | The Big Lebowski (1998) | 8.65 | 35,061,541 |
| 6 | Warrior (2011) | 8.65 | 17,481,461 |
| 7 | Million Dollar Baby (2004) | 8.55 | 162,572,735 |
| 8 | Remember the Titans (2000) | 8.55 | 102,578,762 |
| 9 | Cinderella Man (2005) | 8.55 | 81,404,933 |
| 10 | Rush (2013) | 8.45 | 72,737,257 |
In the first place, ‘Ford V Ferrari’ boasts an impressive rating score of 8.95. The popular racing film starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale drives its way to the hearts of the audience and burns the money straight from their wallets as it raked in £169,131,158 globally at the box office.
In the second place, the film ‘Dangal’ scores a near tie-breaking 8.9. ‘Dangal’ was one of the most successful Indian films to hit the global box office, becoming the first film from India to break the £225 million thresholds at the global box office.
In third place, ‘Raging Bull’ comes in with an audience score of 8.75. Although the title ranks highly on ratings, there is a substantial difference in the box office earnings that it accumulated. Having brought in a modest £17,551,820 you could question whether its age might be a factor. This however didn’t seem to affect the whopping £225,355,287 that ‘Rocky IV’(1985) made.
Finishing just outside the top 3 is ‘Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India’ scoring 8.7. This film has an exemplary score despite its lack of box office earnings. Only grossing £1,293,605, making it the lowest in the box office category.
