Movies like Ruth (2018)
The best movies like Ruth (2018) are Goal II: Living the Dream (2007), Believe (2013) and Fast Girls (2012). If Ruth hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)7.3/10 from 1,174 votes
- NewestThe Son of a Thousand Men (2025)Released 2025
Goal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBelieve (2013)
A young, gifted soccer player who gets into trouble for a petty crime is brought to the attention of former Manchester United coach Matt Busby, who comes out of retirement to help the boy and his teammates.
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 thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)
The life story of Brazilian football legend, Pele.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisResurrecting the Champ (2007)
Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJungleland (2020)
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
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 Son of a Thousand Men (2025)
In a small village, a lonely fisherman yearning for a son is drawn to an ethereal light that links him to others and their long-buried secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKid Galahad (1962)
After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack 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 thisAmateur (2018)
14-year-old basketball phenom Terron Forte has to navigate the under-the-table world of amateur athletics when he is recruited to an elite NCAA prep school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTreadmill (TBA)
'Treadmill' is a short film drama set in a busy sportswear store in central London. Atlas, is a 30 years old sales advisor who has been working in the same position for quite a long time. His manager Harvey constantly humiliates his staff in front of clients, he is overly demanding and controlling, creating an abusive work environment. Eventually, Atlas will plot a way to get his manager fired but his lust for power will transform him into his much hated enemy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Acid House (1998)
A surreal triptych adapted by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh from his acclaimed collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humor with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this66/67 - Fairplay war gestern (2009)
For six young men, who could hardly be more different from one another, the fan club of the Eintracht Braunschweig football club is the center of their life and their friendship. 66/67 is the name of their club as well as the year in which Eintracht Braunschweig won the German Championship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Redbelt (2008)
Martial artist Mike Terry lives by a strict code of no competitions, for he feels that such contests weaken fighters. After saving a famous action star from a brutal attack, Mike takes a job in the film industry. He soon finds his personal beliefs and integrity on the line as circumstances force him to participate in a prize fight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpeed Kills (2018)
Speedboat racing champion and multimillionaire Ben Aronoff leads a double life that lands him in trouble with the law and drug lords.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBella (2006)
An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multimillion dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Princess (2005)
With the help of her coach, her mom, and the boy who drives the Zamboni, nothing can stop Casey Carlyle from realizing her dream to be a champion figure skater.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoxless Pair (2008)
The film tells the story of the friendship between Johann and Ludwig as they strive for the ultimate “buddy” relationship. Going beyond, well beyond, what would be considered good and healthy, the pair attempt to become the ideal twins, driving their relationship based on their partnership in competitive rowing (coxless pairs) to the ultimate, to perfect harmony in mind, word, thought and deed. But their symbiotic relationship is thrown out of balance: Ludwig strives to tighten the bonds ever closer, but Johann discovers happiness in the form of love for Ludwig’s sister, Vera. But because Ludwig hates her, the couple keep their relationship secret. But secrets have a way of coming out and Ludwig is wounded to the core. As the finals of the rowing competition draw closer, Ludwig has already set his sights on a greater goal: to preserve their friendship forever, no longer in life but in death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story (2005)
Ben Crane believes that a severely injured racehorse deserves another chance. He and his daughter Cale adopt the mare and save it from being sacrificed by the owner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Aggressives (2005)
Soyo, a quiet high school student, discovers inline skating. Mesmerized by the elaborate skating skills of Mogi, a member of the group, Soyo joins their team. Soyo's life is gradually consumed by the world of inline skating.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Ruth and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ruth?
The closest matches to Ruth are Goal II: Living the Dream (2007), Believe (2013) and Fast Girls (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ruth?
Start with Goal II: Living the Dream (2007), the closest match to Ruth.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ruth?
Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016), rated 7.3/10 by 1,174 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ruth?
The Son of a Thousand Men (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Ruth chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ruth, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.