Movies like The United (2012)
The best movies like The United (2012) are 12 Mighty Orphans (2021), We Are Marshall (2006) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2018). If The United hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The United
Quick picks
- Highest rated12 Mighty Orphans (2021)7.2/10 from 260 votes
- NewestSidelined: The QB and Me (2025)Released 2025
12 Mighty Orphans (2021)
Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Are Marshall (2006)
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2018)
Over the course of 12 years, and three stages of life, Sidney Hall falls in love, writes the book of a generation and then disappears without a trace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSidelined: The QB and Me (2025)
Dallas, a burdened but headstrong dancer, is determined to get into the best dance school in the country—her late mother’s alma mater. However, that dream is suddenly derailed when the cheeky yet secretly grieving football star, Drayton, crashes into her life with a unique story of his own. Will the two of them be able to grow into their dreams together, or will their dreams be sidelined?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Joan Wilder is thrust back into a world of murder, chases, foreign intrigue... and love. This time out she's duped by a duplicitous Arab dignitary who brings her to the Middle East, ostensibly to write a book about his life. Of course, he's up to no good, and Joan is just another pawn in his wicked game. But Jack Colton and his sidekick Ralph show up to help our intrepid heroine save the day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFriday Night Lights (2004)
A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArabian Adventure (1979)
An evil caliph offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to a prince if he can complete a perilous quest for a magical rose. Helped by a young boy and a magic carpet, Prince Hasan has to overcome genies, fire-breathing monsters, and treacherous swamps to reach his prize and claim the hand of the Princess Zuleira.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Replacements (2000)
Maverick old-guard coach Jimmy McGinty is hired in the wake of a players' strike to help the Washington Sentinels advance to the playoffs. But that impossible dream hinges on whether his replacements can hunker down and do the job. So, McGinty dusts off his secret dossier of ex-players who never got a chance (or screwed up the one they were given) and knits together a bad-dream team of guys who just may give the Sentinels their title shot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAny Given Sunday (1999)
A star quarterback gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the aging coach to reevaluate his game plans and life. A new co-owner/president adds to the pressure of winning. The new owner must prove herself in a male dominated world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen the Game Stands Tall (2014)
A young coach turns a losing high school football program around to go undefeated for 12 consecutive seasons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMean Machine (2001)
Disgraced ex-England football captain, Danny 'Mean Machine' Meehan, is thrown in jail for assaulting two police officers. He keeps his head down and has the opportunity to forget everything and change the lives of the prisoners. When these prisoners have the chance to put one over the evil guards during a prison football match, Danny takes the lead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost Command (1966)
After being freed from a Vietnamese war prison, French Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy is sent to help quell resistance forces in Algeria. With the help of the Capt. Esclavier, who has grown weary of war, and Capt. Boisfeuras, who lives for it, Raspeguy attempts to convert a rugged band of soldiers into a formidable fighting unit, with the promise of marrying a beautiful countess if he's made a general.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegionnaire (1998)
Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thief of Bagdad (1940)
When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mummy (1999)
Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell stumbles upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst of a battle to claim the area in 1920s Egypt. It has been over three thousand years since former High Priest Imhotep suffered a fate worse than death as a punishment for a forbidden love—along with a curse that guarantees eternal doom upon the world if he is ever awoken.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTouchback (2011)
A former high-school football star loses his shot at a college scholarship due to a devastating gridiron injury, but gets a second chance at living his dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinal Score (2018)
When a stadium is seized by a group of heavily armed criminals during a major sporting event, an ex-soldier must use all his military skills to save both the daughter of a fallen comrade and the huge crowd unaware of the danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marine 3: Homefront (2013)
A Marine must do whatever it takes to save his kidnapped sister and stop a terrorist attack masterminded by a radical militia group.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The United?
The closest matches to The United are 12 Mighty Orphans (2021), We Are Marshall (2006) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The United?
Start with 12 Mighty Orphans (2021), the closest match to The United.
What is the highest-rated movie like The United?
12 Mighty Orphans (2021), rated 7.2/10 by 260 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The United?
Sidelined: The QB and Me (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The United?
Yes: 12 Mighty Orphans (2021), We Are Marshall (2006) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2018).
How are movies similar to The United chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The United, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.