Movies like Dhoni (2012)
The best movies like Dhoni (2012) are The Rookie (2002), Skater Girl (2021) and A Second Chance (2011). If Dhoni hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Perfect Game (2009)7.4/10 from 215 votes
- NewestThe Thrice-Eternal (2026)Released 2026
- In TamilMeiyazhagan (2024)Also in Tamil
The 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Second Chance (2011)
A young girl and her coach overcome adversity to make their way into the National Australian Gymnastics Squad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeiyazhagan (2024)
Twenty-two years after losing his home, Arulmozhi Varman returns to his native Thanjavur to attend his cousin's wedding. Amidst the celebrations, Arul is reintroduced to an upbeat man whom he cannot recall. With the help of the unknown man, Arul reconnects with his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka: Country Pride (2012)
Flicka and Toby help out a struggling stable owner and her teenage daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Second Chance: Rivals! (2019)
As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Perfect Game (2009)
Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoondance Alexander (2007)
Curiously named teen Moondance Alexander lives with her eccentric mother, and is faced with another uneventful summer until she discovers a lost pinto pony named Checkers. Although Moondance returns the horse to his rightful owner, the gruff and mysterious Dante Longpre, she is convinced that Checkers is a champion jumper in disguise and is determined to help him realize his full potential.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPadayappa (1999)
Padayappa, a mechanical engineer whose father gives up his property to his foster brother, and then dies of shock soon after. Neelambari initially loves Padayappa, but plans to humiliate him after his family humiliates her father. The rest of the plot deals with Padayappa overcoming all the obstacles placed by Neelambari.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFast 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoorarai Pottru (2020)
Nedumaaran Rajangam "Maara" sets out to make the common man fly and in the process takes on the world's most capital intensive industry and several enemies who stand in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHateship Loveship (2014)
A shy caretaker believes that the father of her teenage charge is falling in love with her, unaware that she is actually the victim of the girl's prank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAsuran (2019)
A family from the underprivileged class is on the run after the teenaged son kills a rich man from the upper caste. Can the pacifist father be able to save his hot-blooded son?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoal! (2005)
Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer... However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that—a dream. Until one day an extraordinary turn of events has him trying out for Premiership club Newcastle United.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thrice-Eternal (2026)
The Mexico City Youth Blind Football Team heads to Aguascalientes for the 2025 CONADE National Para Games, determined to capture a coveted third consecutive title.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Stick It (2006)
Haley is a naturally gifted athlete but, with her social behavior, the teen seems intent on squandering her abilities. After a final brush with the law, a judge sentences her to an elite gymnastics academy run by a legendary, hard-nosed coach. Once there, Haley's rebellious attitude wins her both friends and enemies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGridiron Gang (2006)
Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHead of State (2003)
When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, the Democratic party unexpectedly picks a Washington, D.C. alderman as his replacement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTwo for the Money (2005)
A former college athlete joins forces with a sports consultant to handicap football games for high-rolling gamblers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Crime (1999)
Boozer, skirt chaser, careless father. You could create your own list of reporter Steve Everett's faults but there's no time. A San Quentin Death Row prisoner is slated to die at midnight – a man Everett has suddenly realized is innocent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Football Factory (2004)
The Football Factory is more than just a study of the English obsession with football violence, it's about men looking for armies to join, wars to fight and places to belong. A forgotten culture of Anglo Saxon males fed up with being told they're not good enough and using their fists as a drug they describe as being more potent than sex and drugs put together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Men Can't Jump (1992)
Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKicking & Screaming (2005)
Phil Weston has been unathletic his entire life. In college he failed at every sport that he tried out for. It looks like his 10-year old son, Sam, is following in his footsteps. But when Phil's hyper-competitive dad benches Sam, Phil decides to transfer his son to a new team which needs a coach. Phil steps in to be the temporary coach and immediately begins to butt heads with his dad over this new competition in their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dhoni?
The closest matches to Dhoni are The Rookie (2002), Skater Girl (2021) and A Second Chance (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dhoni?
Start with The Rookie (2002), the closest match to Dhoni.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dhoni?
The Perfect Game (2009), rated 7.4/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dhoni?
The Thrice-Eternal (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Dhoni?
Yes: Meiyazhagan (2024), Padayappa (1999) and Soorarai Pottru (2020).
How are movies similar to Dhoni chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dhoni, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.