Movies like The Drive to Win (1981)
The best movies like The Drive to Win (1981) are The Trials of Cate McCall (2013), Fast Girls (2012) and Hands of Stone (2016). If The Drive to Win hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBeast (2026)7.5/10 from 227 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseCaught by the Tides (2024)Also in Chinese
The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaught by the Tides (2024)
Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Dog (2024)
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBruised (2021)
Jackie Justice is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after the fight, she's coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter who promises Jackie a life back in the Octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny - the son she gave up as an infant - shows up at her doorstep. A triumphant story of a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBuddha Mountain (2011)
In Chengdu, China, a retired female opera singer named Master Chang takes in a trio of young tenants into her boarding home. The tenants include a rock singer and a college student who has run away from home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack to Back, Face to Face (1994)
Wang Shuangli is Deputy Director of the local Cultural Centre, and hopes to be appointed Director. However Old Ma is brought in from the country and installed as Director. This starts a long train of events with Wang's cronies using the bureaucracy to try to oust the new director.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmerican Dreams in China (2013)
Three Chinese friends build a successful English language school to help Chinese teenagers fulfil their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Time Is It There? (2001)
A street vendor with a grim home-life forges a connection with a young woman on her way to Paris.
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 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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLighting Up the Stars (2022)
Having been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGwendolyn Green (2017)
Inspired by true events, this is the story of Gwendolyn Green, an aging widow who spends her days in solitude inside a fenced-in Palm Springs residence, as if trapped in another era. When her lack of social skills and isolation begin to suffocate her, she picks up the phone and calls 911 in search of human connection. Gwendolyn forms a special bond with the officer who answers, and finds in him the care and connection to the modern world that she craves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Die Frauen des Bauernkriegs (2025)
The film shows how strong women took up the fight against social injustice and for their own rights and how the uprising of 1525 changed people's lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
38Irgendwas (TBA)
Birgit, an experienced and passionate midwife, has to manage the pregnancies of Elisabeth and Annika, a couple who happen to be pregnant at the exact same time… quite the challenge! An offbeat and hilarious film that will change the way you look at "wise" women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tiger (2024)
As his desires grow stronger, a man's reality and obsession begin to blur.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Run Towards (2025)
When a man's life-saving treatment is suddenly interrupted, it triggers unbearable pain. To survive, he must face the dark and hidden parts of his own psyche that threaten to consume him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sniff (TBA)
Based on the life and crime solving adventures of Sarah Platts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pull (2022)
A young woman goes to a bar after school where she craves an older man's affection.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Drive to Win and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Drive to Win?
The closest matches to The Drive to Win are The Trials of Cate McCall (2013), Fast Girls (2012) and Hands of Stone (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Drive to Win?
Start with The Trials of Cate McCall (2013), the closest match to The Drive to Win.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Drive to Win?
Beast (2026), rated 7.5/10 by 227 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Drive to Win?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Drive to Win?
Yes: Caught by the Tides (2024), Black Dog (2024) and Buddha Mountain (2011).
How are movies similar to The Drive to Win chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Drive to Win, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.