Movies like Staying Up (2002)
The best movies like Staying Up (2002) are Invincible (2006), We Are Marshall (2006) and Blue Chips (1994). If Staying Up hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Staying Up
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Little World of Don Camillo (1952)7.5/10 from 323 votes
- NewestBalls Up (2026)Released 2026
Invincible (2006)
Inspired by the true story of Vince Papale, a man with nothing to lose who ignored the staggering odds and made his dream come true. When the coach of Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time – no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Are Marshall (2006)
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinal Score (2018)
When a stadium is seized by a group of heavily armed criminals during a major sporting event, an ex-soldier must use all his military skills to save both the daughter of a fallen comrade and the huge crowd unaware of the danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBalls Up (2026)
Two marketing executives go "balls out" and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Underdog (2021)
The true story of Kurt Warner, who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelieve (2013)
A young, gifted soccer player who gets into trouble for a petty crime is brought to the attention of former Manchester United coach Matt Busby, who comes out of retirement to help the boy and his teammates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack of the Net (2019)
A new student at a soccer academy is determined to beat her rival's team in the national tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInterceptor (2022)
A U.S. Army Captain uses her years of tactical training to save humanity from sixteen nuclear missiles launched at the U.S. as a violent attack threatens her remote missile interceptor station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Time for Sergeants (1958)
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beautiful Game (2024)
A group of advocates to end homelessness organize an annual tournament for homeless people to compete in a series of football matches known as The Homeless World Cup.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Air Up There (1994)
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBoudica (2023)
Inspired by events in A.D. 60, Boudica follows the eponymous Celtic warrior who rules the Iceni people alongside her husband Prasutagus. When he dies at the hands of Roman soldiers, Boudica’s kingdom is left without a male heir and the Romans seize her land and property. Driven to the edge of madness and determined to avenge her husband’s death, Boudica rallies the various tribes from the region and wages an epic war against the mighty Roman empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTowelhead (2008)
A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist, and her strict father during the Gulf War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisJungleland (2020)
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKitchen Stories (2003)
Swedish efficiency researchers come to Norway for a study of Norwegian men, to optimize their use of their kitchen. Folke Nilsson (Tomas Norström) is assigned to study the habits of Isak Bjørvik (Joachim Calmeyer). By the rules of the research institute, Folke has to sit on an umpire's chair in Isak's kitchen and observe him from there, but never talk to him. Isak stops using his kitchen and observes Folke through a hole in the ceiling instead. However, the two lonely men slowly overcome the initial post-war Norwegian-Swede distrust and become friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Van (1996)
In a working-class quarter of Dublin, 'Bimbo' Reeves gets laid off from his job and, with his redundancy payout, buys a van and sells fish and chips with his buddy, Larry. Due to Ireland's surprising success at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their business starts off well, but the relationship between the two friends soon becomes strained as Bimbo behaves more like a typical boss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaolin Soccer (2001)
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBella (2006)
An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multimillion dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Acid House (1998)
A surreal triptych adapted by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh from his acclaimed collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humor with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little World of Don Camillo (1952)
In a village of the Po valley where the earth is hard and life miserly, the priest and the communist mayor are always fighting to be the head of the community. If in secret, they admired and liked each other, politics still divided them as it is dividing the country. And when the mayor wants his "People's House"; the priest wants his "Garden City" for the poor. Division exist between the richest and the poorest, the pious and the atheists and even between lovers. But if the people are hard as the country, they are good in the bottom of there heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pink Panther (2006)
When the coach of the France football team is killed by a poisoned dart in the stadium at the end of a game, and his huge, expensive ring with the Pink Panther diamond disappears, the ambitious Chief Inspector Dreyfus assigns the worst police inspector – Jacques Clouseau – to the case.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Penalty King (2006)
Lee, a soccer player who descends into depression when he goes blind, is encouraged to take up the game again by a maverick American and the inspiration of Leeds Utd legend, Billy Bremner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Les yeux dans les Bleus (1998)
This documentary follows the French soccer team on their way to victory in the 1998 World Cup in France. Stéphane Meunier spent the whole time filming the players, the coach and some other important characters of this victory, giving us a very intimate and nice view of them, as if we were with them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Best Friend (2006)
Catherine refuses to believe that her business partner, the unlikeable François, has a best friend, so she challenges him to set up an introduction. Scrambling to find someone willing to pose as his best pal, François enlists the services of a charming taxi driver to play the part.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Staying Up?
The closest matches to Staying Up are Invincible (2006), We Are Marshall (2006) and Blue Chips (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Staying Up?
Start with Invincible (2006), the closest match to Staying Up.
What is the highest-rated movie like Staying Up?
The Little World of Don Camillo (1952), rated 7.5/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Staying Up?
Balls Up (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Staying Up?
Yes: Invincible (2006), We Are Marshall (2006) and Blue Chips (1994).
How are movies similar to Staying Up chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Staying Up, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.