Movies like Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion (2026)
The best movies like Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion (2026) are Munich - The Edge of War (2021), Adventures of a Mathematician (2021) and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011). If Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedF1 (2025)7.8/10 from 4,998 votes
- NewestGiant (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchRebellion (2011)Also in French
Munich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures of a Mathematician (2021)
The warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and the first computer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebellion (2011)
April 1988, Ouvéa Island, New Caledonia. 30 gendarmes are taken hostage by a group of Kanak freedom fighters. 300 soldiers are sent from France to re-establish order. 2 men confront each other: Philippe Legorjus, chief of the terrorist squad, and Alphonse Dianou, head of the kidnappers. Through their shared values, they will attempt to make discussion triumph. But, in the middle of a presidential election, when the stakes are political, order isn't always dictated by morality. A violent and troubling epic that marks the return of Mathieu Kassovitz in front and behind the camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDjango (2017)
The story of Django Reinhardt, famous guitarist and composer, and his flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStavisky... (1974)
Biarritz, 1933. Charm and talent assist small-time swindler Serge Alexandre, alias Stavisky, to bribe his way into the centre of French politics. But when his great scam involving millions is exposed, he brings the government to the verge of collapse and the country to the brink of civil war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisFanny's Journey (2016)
Fanny is a Jewish girl in a French orphanage in 1943. When she and her friends are no longer safe from the Nazis, they try to flee to Switzerland. After their guide disappears, Fanny has to take the lead and help the other kids make it over the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend (2022)
Follow the launch of Lamborghini’s career as a manufacturer of tractors, a creator of military vehicles during World War II, and the designer of Lamborghini cars, which he launched in 1963 as the high-end sports car company Automobili Lamborghini.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Chains, No Masters (2024)
1759, Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean. The island is controlled by French settlers and the deported slave population live in fear while toiling in the sugar cane plantations. Unlike her disillusioned father Massamba, 16-year-old Mati refuses to keep her head down and accept her fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Colors of Fire (2022)
February 1927. The funeral of Marcel Péricourt, the most powerful banker in Paris. His daughter Madeleine must take the helm of the financial empire of which she is the heiress. But she has a son, Paul, who with an unexpected and tragic gesture will place her on the path to ruin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelfast (2021)
Buddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnited (2011)
United is based on the true story of Manchester United's legendary "Busby Babes", the youngest side ever to win the Football League and the 1958 Munich Air Crash that claimed eight of the their number. The film draws on first-hand interviews with the survivors and their families to tell the inspirational story of a team and community overcoming terrible tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShattered Glass (2003)
Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNiki (2024)
French-American artist Niki de Saint-Phalle, from the age of 23, is a model and an aspiring actor who is married and has a two year old daughter. Together, they flee the U.S. during the oppressive McCarthy era and come to France, where they experience a short-lived euphoria. Soon, distant and frightening memories begin to emerge in Niki’s mind. Her vocation as an artist will be her salvation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
A collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSarah's Key (2010)
On the night of 16 July 1942, ten year old Sarah and her parents are being arrested and transported to the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris where thousands of other jews are being sent to get deported. Sarah however managed to lock her little brother in a closet just before the police entered their apartment. Sixty years later, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist in Paris, gets the assignment to write an article about this raid, a black page in the history of France. She starts digging archives and through Sarah's file discovers a well kept secret about her own in-laws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDalida (2017)
Based on the true story of acclaimed music icon "Dalida" born in Cairo, who gained celebrity in the 50s, singing in French, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, German, Italian, playing in awarded Youssef Chahine's picture "Le Sixième Jour", and who later committed suicide in 1987 in Paris, after selling more than 130 million records worldwide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGUERRA EN EL BOX: CARLOS REUTEMANN VS ALAN JONES (2023)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
The Lotus Story Part 1 - The Creation of the Chapman Legend (2012)
The Lotus Story Volume One takes viewers from the birth of the company to the rise to Grand Prix racing in the late fifties. The programme features nostalgic archive footage, interviews with Chapman’s friends and family, and drivers such as Hill, Clark, Ireland and Allison plus a look at the early careers of Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin of Cosworth. A rare interview with Chapman’s wife Hazel illustrates her immense contribution and sheds light on a man whose genius covered over three decades of GP success.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
The Lotus Story Part 2 - Time of Change (2012)
A decade on from its auspicious start the company had run into problems and by 1960 company founder Colin Chapman was increasingly aware that a reversal of fortune depended on a change of course. The result? The Lotus 18 followed by a race version designed and built in collaboration with Keith Duckworth. Not only was this the start of an association with Cosworth but also the debut of Scottish driver Jim Clark. The company was to enjoy new success in the Formula Junior Class; the Elite a role in GT racing; and a new GP car debuted at Argentina with Innes Ireland. Neville Hay recounts the events of these three intensive years in the Lotus story. All the major races and personalities of the era are featured, including Moss and Surtees at the 1960 GP de Monaco, 1960 Le Mans 24 hour, Dutch GP debut of the Lotus 25, 1962 Goodwood Easter meeting, British, German and South African GP. You also hear from major players of the era - Duckworth, Ireland, Wagstaff, Surtees, Moss, Taylor and Lovely.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Grand Prix (1966)
The most daring drivers in the world have gathered to compete for the 1966 Formula One championship. After a spectacular wreck in the first of a series of races, American wheelman Pete Aron is dropped by his sponsor. Refusing to quit, he joins a Japanese racing team. While juggling his career with a torrid love affair involving an ex-teammate's wife, Pete must also contend with Jean-Pierre Sarti, a French contestant who has previously won two world titles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lotus Story Part 3 - The Golden Years (2014)
The years from 1963 to 1968 were perhaps the truly golden years for Colin Chapman and Lotus, for this was a period when the skill and ability of the late, great, Jim Clark brought the team some of the most prized awards in motorsport. In 1963 and 1965 Lotus triumphed over BRM and Ferrari, with Clark winning the championship despite a strong challenge from Graham Hill, John Surtees, Jackie Stewart and Lorenzo Bandini, as well as Brabham and Gurney. Across the Atlantic a similar revolution was underway in Indy Car racing. Ford made its entrance at Indianapolis, where the Americans claimed a disputed win and Clark took the honours for Lotus at Milwaukee. In this compelling programme, the third volume in this exciting Lotus Story, we continue the full and fascinating history of one of Britain’s best-loved motor racing teams. We feature Clark’s battle against the surprising Brabham resurgence and the strengthening of the link between Lotus and Ford with the Mark 1 Lotus Cortina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
The Lotus Story Part 4 - The Final Chapman Years (2015)
Colin Chapman’s Team Lotus were the technological front-runners of the Seventies and Lotus enjoyed many more GP successes with racing legends Rindt, Fittipaldi, Peterson, Ickx and Andretti. Volume Four in the Lotus Story details the development of the Type 72 - the most successful GP car of all time until 1986 (when McLaren’s TAG Turbo MP4/2 took over its record), the lighter and stronger John Player Special 9, the aerodynamic Lotus 78, which showed the way ahead in producing a true ‘grounds-effect’ car and the ‘Black Beauty’ Lotus 79, a genuine classic whose innovative technology - building upon that of the Lotus 78 - totally redirected the course of all racing car design. Rindt was the 1970 World Champion, Fittipaldi 1972 Champion and Andretti lifted the crown in 1978 for Lotus and these successes brought the team a further three Constructors Championships. After this success in the Seventies, a downwards trend followed which Senna, Mansell and others could not reverse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
carlos sainz dropped.mov (2024)
An exploration of Carlos Sainz Jr’s parting of ways with Scuderia Ferrari.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rush (2013)
In the 1970s, a rivalry propels race car drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt to fame and glory — until a horrible accident threatens to end it all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWinning (1969)
Frank Capua is a rising star on the race circuit who dreams of winning the big one - the Indianapolis 500. But to get there he runs the risk of losing his wife Elora to his rival, Luther Erding, and strains the relationship with his stepson.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF1 (2025)
Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.
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 Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion?
The closest matches to Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion are Munich - The Edge of War (2021), Adventures of a Mathematician (2021) and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion?
Start with Munich - The Edge of War (2021), the closest match to Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion.
What is the highest-rated movie like Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion?
F1 (2025), rated 7.8/10 by 4,998 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion?
Giant (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion?
Yes: Rebellion (2011), Django (2017) and Stavisky... (1974).
How are movies similar to Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Villeneuve: The Rise of a Champion, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.





























