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Movies like The Harder They Fall (1972)

The best movies like The Harder They Fall (1972) are Hands of Stone (2016), Jawbone (2017) and Resurrecting the Champ (2007). If The Harder They Fall hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Hands of Stone (2016)

    The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  2. Jawbone (2017)

    A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  3. Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

    Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. Jungleland (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 · both drama

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  5. Journeyman (2018)

    A boxer suffers a serious head injury during a fight, and must deal with the consequences.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. Kid Galahad (1962)

    After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. Beast (2026)

    MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

    Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Locke & Key (2011)

    Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  10. Fast Girls (2012)

    A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  11. The Cut (2025)

    A retired boxer intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer, he embarks on an intensive and illegal weight-cutting program.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  12. Winged Creatures (2009)

    A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  13. Hungry Hearts (2015)

    The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  14. Won't Back Down (2012)

    Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  15. Bobby 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 · both drama

  16. Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)

    At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  17. El Chicano (2019)

    A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. Gigi & Nate (2022)

    A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Fast Charlie (2023)

    When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. TalhotBlond (2012)

    Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  21. Pelle the Conqueror (1987)

    In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. Touching the Void (2003)

    The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Evil (2003)

    Stockholm, in the 1950s. Erik is expelled from the local school for getting into one brawl too many. To protect Erik from his violent stepfather’s reaction to his expulsion, Erik's mother arranges for Erik to spend a year at Stjärnsberg Boarding School, the only school willing to accept him. This is Erik's last chance to graduate to Upper School and he promises his mother, for his and her sake, to do all he can to stay out of trouble.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  24. Beneath the Surface (TBA)

    Beneath the Surface introduces readers to the story of the wealthy Kingsley family of Southern California. At the center of the action are the power-hungry children of an aging billionaire, who prove unprepared for a storm of deceptions and ruthless family ambition, while out on a weekend voyage.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  25. Bloody Crayons (2017)

    A group of friends goes to an island for a short film project when they are attacked by a mysterious killer after playing a game of bloody crayons.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. The Omega Man (1971)

    Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  27. The Secret Garden (1993)

    A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  28. The Night at 14th Parallel (1972)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  29. The Hunger (1983)

    Five-thousand-year-old vampire Miriam promises her lovers the gift of eternal life. When John, her cellist companion for centuries, discovers that he has suddenly begun growing old, he attempts to seek out the help of Dr. Sarah Roberts, a researcher on the mechanisms of aging.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  30. The Whale Caller (2017)

    A kelp-horn-blowing man seems to be deeply drawn to a very particular whale. This is the story of a love triangle between the titular Whale Caller, his beloved whale Sharisha, and Saluni, the village drunk who teaches him to open his heart to people again.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like The Harder They Fall and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Harder They Fall?

The closest matches to The Harder They Fall are Hands of Stone (2016), Jawbone (2017) and Resurrecting the Champ (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Harder They Fall?

Start with Hands of Stone (2016), the closest match to The Harder They Fall.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Harder They Fall?

Touching the Void (2003), rated 7.6/10 by 487 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Harder They Fall?

Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to The Harder They Fall chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Harder They Fall, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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