Movies like Going to the Mat (2004)
The best movies like Going to the Mat (2004) are Double Teamed! (2002), An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009) and Johnny Tsunami (1999). If Going to the Mat hooked you with its tv movie and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDescendants 3 (2019)7.7/10 from 1,673 votes
- NewestClash of the Thundermans (2026)Released 2026
Double Teamed! (2002)
Heather and Heidi play volleyball for their school team, when their family decides that they need to go to a bigger school so that they will have a better chance for scholarships. But at the new school, the twins are discovered by the basketball coach. Inspired by the true story of Heather and Heidi Burge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009)
A fourth grader and her friends deal with bullying from a more popular girl in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny Tsunami (1999)
A Hawaiian teenage surfer shows off his skills when he takes to the snow slopes in Vermont.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrink! (1998)
Andy "Brink" Brinker and his in-line skating crew--Peter, Jordy, and Gabriella--who call themselves "Soul-Skaters" (which means they skate for the fun of it, and not for the money), clash with a group of sponsored skaters, Team X-Bladz--led by Val--with whom they attend high school in southern California. When Brink discovers his family is in financial trouble, he goes against the wishes of his parents and his friends and joins Team X-Bladz. Brink tries to lead a double life but will be able to pull it off?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Wrinkle in Time (2003)
Meg and Charles Wallace are aided by Calvin and three interesting women in the search for their father who disappeared during a government experiment. Their travels take them around the universe to a place unlike any other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miracle Worker (2000)
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClash of the Thundermans (2026)
When Chloe develops a destructive new superpower, the Hero League orders her to an elite boarding school for superheroes to learn control of her abilities. Faced with the prospect of sending Chloe away for years, the Thundermans split apart, with Phoebe, Barb and Billy taking her into hiding. Max, Hank, and Nora track their rogue family members, until the two factions face off against each other in a full-on battle for the Thundermans’ future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNormal (2003)
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBenji (2018)
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheaters (2000)
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 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 thisOut of My Mind (2024)
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student's untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEscape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017)
Can twelve 12-year-olds escape from the most ridiculously brilliant library ever created? Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library plunks a dozen sixth-graders into the middle of a futuristic library for a night of nonstop fun and adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 thisTalhotBlond (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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (1984)
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unbreakable Boy (2025)
When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become 'unbreakable', finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDescendants 3 (2019)
The teenagers of Disney's most infamous villains return to the Isle of the Lost to recruit a new batch of villainous offspring to join them at Auradon Prep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTJPW The 6th "Futari wa Princess" Max Heart Tournament ~ Day 2 (2026)
The 6th "Futari wa Princess" Max Heart Tournament ~ Day 2 was a professional wrestling event promoted by Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). It was held on January 25, 2026 at Ryōgoku KFC Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
WWE Payback 2017 (2017)
Payback (2017) is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for the Raw brand. It will take place on April 30, 2017 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. It will be the fifth event in the Payback chronology.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Thumbsucker (2005)
Justin Cobb, a teenager in suburban Oregon, copes with his thumb-sucking problem, romance, and his diagnosis with ADHD and subsequent experience using Ritalin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPink Guinea Pig (2014)
A student forms the Trio Detective Group to solve the Demonic Pink Guinea Pig case that is threatening the school -- and to attract a girl’s attention.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWatch Your Step (1984)
Last school days of one graduating generation. They should say goodbye to a part of life, part from their friends, and there is also uncertainty, hope, plans, wild love "for the rest of the life", and parents with their ambitions, and it would be all incomplete, if not for professors who are slowly losing their authority. Senior prom is the central place for serious and funny events in which parents, professors and pupils are involved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Wrestler (1971)
A worried father tries to end the relationship that his son Andries has with the wife of a wrestler.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Say Anything... (1989)
Average student and eternal optimist Lloyd Dobler seeks to capture the heart of Diane Court, a beautiful but unattainable valedictorian classmate. He surprises just about everyone - including himself - when she returns the sentiment. However, Diane's divorced, over-protective father soon begins to disapprove of the match, and Lloyd realises that it's going to take more than just the power of love to conquer all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Breakfast Club (1985)
Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Going to the Mat?
The closest matches to Going to the Mat are Double Teamed! (2002), An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009) and Johnny Tsunami (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Going to the Mat?
Start with Double Teamed! (2002), the closest match to Going to the Mat.
What is the highest-rated movie like Going to the Mat?
Descendants 3 (2019), rated 7.7/10 by 1,673 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Going to the Mat?
Clash of the Thundermans (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Going to the Mat?
Yes: Double Teamed! (2002), An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009) and Johnny Tsunami (1999).
How are movies similar to Going to the Mat chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Going to the Mat, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.