Movies like Academy Boy (2024)
The best movies like Academy Boy (2024) are Back of the Net (2019), Daddy Longlegs (2010) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970). If Academy Boy hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Academy Boy
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhere Hope Grows (2014)7.9/10 from 232 votes
- NewestMy Father's Shadow (2025)Released 2025
Back of the Net (2019)
A new student at a soccer academy is determined to beat her rival's team in the national tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Sang for My Father (1970)
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForever Strong (2008)
Hotshot rugby player Rick Penning was the star player of his Arizona high school team until a fateful brush with the law forces him to ponder the consequences of his actions in a Salt Lake City juvenile detention center.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuce (2019)
A star athlete and top student, Luce's idealized image is challenged by one of his teachers when his unsettling views on political violence come to light, putting a strain on family bonds while igniting intense debates on race and identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMost (2003)
A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvellous (2014)
Dramatisation of the true story of the life of Neil "Nello" Baldwin. Born with a mild learning disability but without the burden of social embarrassment & how his inexhaustible ability to see the good in any situation overcame any stigma society tried to label him with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Father's Shadow (2025)
Two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city's magnitude and their father's daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSafety (2020)
The story of Ray-Ray McElrathbey, a freshman football player for Clemson University, who secretly raised his younger brother on campus after his home life became too unsteady.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Music Never Stopped (2011)
Henry struggles to bond with his estranged son, Gabriel, who suffers from a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. With Gabriel unable to shed the beliefs and interests that caused their physical and emotional distance, Henry must learn to embrace his son's choices and try to connect with him through music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRudy (1993)
Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of 5 people and has set his sights upon joining the team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Santini (1979)
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDad (1989)
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Got Game (1998)
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagnolia (1999)
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrotherly Love (2015)
West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrian Banks (2019)
An All-American football player's dreams to play in the NFL are halted when he is falsely accused of rape and sent to prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere Hope Grows (2014)
Calvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raising his teenager daughter. His life is in a slow downward spiral when it is suddenly awakened and invigorated by the most unlikely person – Produce, a young-man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Champ (1931)
A broken-down alcoholic prizefighter struggles to keep custody of his adoring son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBulundi (1981)
A college professor agrees to teach the son of a gangster and becomes a pawn in a deadly game.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Taras Bulba (1962)
Ukraine, 16th century. While the Poles dominate the Cossack steppes, Andrei, son of Taras Bulba, a Cossack leader, must choose between his love for his family and his folk and his passion for a Polish woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMario (2018)
Mario is a promising young footballer in Switzerland on his way to the top, closing in on the success he and his father always dreamed of. But when the talented striker Leon joins the team, they'll get caught up between the politics of the game and the politics of love, as rumours and prejudice threaten their careers and everything they've managed to build.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDevon (2024)
A recently widowed single mother, struggling to raise her depressed son alone, finds hope when her son’s best friend asks him out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Limbs (TBA)
The wife of a footballer has only until he comes back home to escape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
JESUS IS COMING (to take the Church away) (2025)
North Carolina, 1971. When his community is ravaged by inexplicable disappearances, a reverend uncovers an extraterrestrial explanation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1975)
Goalkeeper Josef Bloch is sent off after committing a foul during an away game. This causes him to lose his bearings, and he wanders aimlessly through the city streets and spends the night with the box-office attendant of a movie theatre.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRetablo (2018)
Segundo sees silence as his only option for dealing with his father Noé’s secret. The 14-year-old lives with his parents in a village high up in the mountains. Noé is a respected artisan and Segundo’s role model. With loving eye for detail, he artfully crafts altarpieces for church and homes, and is preparing his son to follow in his footsteps. But cracks form in their tight bond.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPapeles en el viento (2015)
When El Mono dies, his three longtime friends try to recover from the loss and want to secure his little girl's future. But for Fernando, Mauricio and El Ruso this will not be easy. They decide to recover a big investment El Mono had made when he had bought a soccer player who was supposed to become a star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Academy Boy?
The closest matches to Academy Boy are Back of the Net (2019), Daddy Longlegs (2010) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Academy Boy?
Start with Back of the Net (2019), the closest match to Academy Boy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Academy Boy?
Where Hope Grows (2014), rated 7.9/10 by 232 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Academy Boy?
My Father's Shadow (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Academy Boy?
Yes: Back of the Net (2019), Daddy Longlegs (2010) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970).
How are movies similar to Academy Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Academy Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.