Movies like 42 (2013)
The best movies like 42 (2013) are Pride (2007), A League of Their Own (1992) and Sugar (2008). If 42 hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRemember the Titans (2000)7.7/10 from 3,131 votes
- NewestBottom of the 9th (2019)Released 2019
Pride (2007)
Coach Jim Ellis shocks the community and changes lives when, aided by a local janitor, he sets out to form Philadelphia's first black swim team. But the odds are against them as they battle rigid rules, racism and more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA League of Their Own (1992)
As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey. Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller spar with each other, scout Ernie Capadino and grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan on their way to fame.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSugar (2008)
Like many young men in the Dominican Republic, 19-year-old Miguel "Sugar" Santos dreams of winning a slot on an American baseball team. Indeed, his talents as a pitcher eventually land him a slot on a single-A team in Iowa, but culture shock, racism and other curveballs threaten to turn Sugar's dream sour.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMillion Dollar Arm (2014)
In a last-ditch effort to save his career, sports agent JB Bernstein dreams up a wild game plan to find Major League Baseball’s next great pitcher from a pool of cricket players in India. He soon discovers two young men who can throw a fastball but know nothing about the game of baseball. Or America. It’s an incredible and touching journey that will change them all — especially JB, who learns valuable lessons about teamwork, commitment and family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle (2004)
When college coach Herb Brooks is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe: the heavily-favored Soviet team.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Express (2008)
Follow the inspirational life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSprinter (2019)
Sprinter tells the story of Akeem Sharp who is set to be Jamaica's next big track-and-field sensation. Akeem hopes to rise in the track and field world will take him to the U.S. to reunite him with his mother who has supported the family while living as an illegal resident for over a decade. But Akeem's rising star is weighed down by turmoil at home: a volatile father, and an unruly older brother who insinuates himself into Akeem's career as a means of escaping - or perhaps enhancing - his scam artist hustle. Not only does Akeem have to prove to himself and everyone that he can succeed, but also overcome the struggles that may ultimately bring him down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
All Things Fall Apart (2011)
50 Cent stars as gifted college running back Deon in this touching drama. Deon's world turns upside down when an unexpected crisis jeopardizes his professional ambitions -- and causes him to look at himself and his life in a new way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMoneyball (2011)
The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSoul of the Game (1996)
In 1945, the world of baseball is divided between the Majors and the Negro Leagues - but the time has come for change. One team will be the first to sign a black player and only one player will be the first to take the field. The Brooklyn Dodgers want to make the deal that will make history. But the man they choose will have to be more than a great player - he has to have the charisma of a star. It soon comes down to three powerful and extraordinary players: legendary pitcher Satchel Paige; the greatest hitter in baseball Josh Gibson; and a rookie by the name of Jackie Robinson. Three player - three friends - three champions. Together they are unbeatable - but only one will cross the home plate into history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Natural (1984)
An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCobb (1994)
Al Stump is a famous sports-writer chosen by Ty Cobb to co-write his official, authorized 'autobiography' before his death. Cobb, widely feared and despised, feels misunderstood and wants to set the record straight about 'the greatest ball-player ever,' in his words.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMarshall (2017)
Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCinderella Man (2005)
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeart Like a Wheel (1983)
Shirley Muldowney is determined to be a top-fuel drag racer, although no woman has ever raced them before. Despite the high risks of this kind of racing and the burden it places on her family life, she perseveres in her dream.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Boy in Blue (1986)
Ned Hanlan was Canada's most successful sculling champion at the turn of the 20th century. This dramatization of his life begins in his youth, when the wild young man is informally adopted by a gambler who promotes Ned on the sculling circuit, betting on the boy's rowing skills solely to make money off him. Later, a ruthless businessman named Knox takes over Ned's career, but when Ned realizes how dishonest Knox is, he finds another manager. Walter is an inventor and the first honest man Ned has dealt with in his career and, under Walter's guidance, Ned rises to great success in the sculling world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Crooked Arrows (2012)
A native-American lacrosse team makes its way through a prep school league tournament.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this61* (2001)
In 1961, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees. One, Mantle, was universally loved, while the other, Maris, was universally hated. Both men started off with a bang, and both were nearing Babe Ruth's 60 home run record. Which man would reach it?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRemember the Titans (2000)
After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Biography of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player in the 20th century. Traces his career in the negro leagues and the major leagues.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Phenom (2016)
A rookie pitcher undergoes psychotherapy to overcome the yips.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBottom of the 9th (2019)
Bobby Stano had everything going for him. Fresh out of high school, he was signed to the majors, had a beautiful girlfriend, everything was looking up. That is, until he and his friends get into a fight with a neighboring gang. The confrontation results in an accidental fatality and quickly changes Bobby's life forever. He's found guilty of murder and locked in prison for the next thirteen years. When Bobby is released, he's faced with a vilified reputation, a relationship to rekindle and a new life to find.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Babe (1992)
A chronicle of Babe Ruth's phenomenal story--from his hard knock beginnings at a Baltimore orphanage, to his meteoric rise to baseball superstardom and his poignant retirement from the game. His amazing career included seven American League pennants, four World Series championships, two tempestuous marriages and a wild lifestyle that earned him numerous suspensions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEight Men Out (1988)
Buck Weaver and Hap Felsch are young idealistic players on the Chicago White Sox, a pennant-winning team owned by Charles Comiskey - a penny-pinching, hands-on manager who underpays his players and treats them with disdain. And when gamblers and hustlers discover that Comiskey's demoralized players are ripe for a money-making scheme, one by one the team members agree to throw the World Series. But when the White Sox are defeated, a couple of sports writers smell a fix and a national scandal explodes, ripping the cover off America's favorite pastime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy All American (2015)
Freddie Steinmark, an underdog on the gridiron, faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleed for This (2016)
The inspirational story of World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza, who after a near fatal car crash, which left him not knowing if he'd ever walk again, made one of sports most incredible comebacks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (2002)
Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDraft Day (2014)
At the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he's willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvincible (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: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 42?
The closest matches to 42 are Pride (2007), A League of Their Own (1992) and Sugar (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 42?
People who watched 42 most often go on to Pride (2007), A League of Their Own (1992) and Sugar (2008).
What is the highest-rated movie like 42?
Remember the Titans (2000), rated 7.7/10 by 3,131 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 42?
Bottom of the 9th (2019) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 42?
Yes: Pride (2007), A League of Their Own (1992) and Sugar (2008).
How are movies similar to 42 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 42, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.