Movies like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)
The best movies like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978) are Bad News Bears (2005), Tommy Boy (1995) and Thunderstruck (2012). If The Bad News Bears Go to Japan hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Jerk (1979)6.9/10 from 947 votes
- NewestThe Dink (2026)Released 2026
Bad News Bears (2005)
Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTommy Boy (1995)
To save the family business, two ne’er-do-well traveling salesmen hit the road with disastrously funny consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Big League (1994)
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChris Rock: Kill the Messenger (2008)
An HBO special edited from three performances from Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour: London (dark suit, dark shirt), Johannesburg (black suit, white shirt) and New York (shiny jacket). Topics include the ongoing presidential campaign, the possibility of a black president, George W. Bush, gas prices, low-paid jobs, ringtones and bottled water, sex, relationships and the correct use of the n-word
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue in the Face (1995)
A wacky group of locals visit the neighborhood cigar shop, looking for good times and finding plenty of hilarious fun. But when the greedy owner threatens to close the shop for good and turn it into a trendy vegetarian restaurant, the neighborhood proves they'll do just about anything to save their favorite hangout.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dink (2026)
Desperate to save a struggling country club and earn his father's respect, a washed-up tennis pro is compelled to break a sacred vow and do the unthinkable: play pickleball.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadioland Murders (1994)
A series of mysterious crimes threatens the existence of a new radio network.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Big Fix (1978)
Private detective Moses Wine is hired by his former college girlfriend to investigate a political smear campaign and he sets out to find out who is responsible, with deadly results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Paper Tigers (2020)
Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jerk (1979)
After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais Live 2: Politics (2004)
A year after Animals, Ricky Gervais comes back with his second stand up comedy tour: Politics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Errand Boy (1961)
Paramutual Pictures wants to know where all the money is going so they hire Morty to be their spy. Morty works for Mr. Sneak and gets a job in the mail room so that he can have access to the lot. But all that Morty ever finds is that he can cause havoc no matter what he does.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ladies Man (1961)
After his girl leaves him for someone else, Herbert gets really depressed and starts searching for a job. He finally finds one in a big house which is inhabited by many, many women. Can he live in the same home with all these females?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBest Player (2011)
After his parents decide to move to a retirement home in Florida, professional gamer Quincy “Q” Johnson (Jerry Trainor) must find a way to raise 175,000 dollars to buy his family home. After hearing about a tournament for the game “Black Hole” with a grand prize of 175,500 dollars, Quincy enters the tournament, only to be faced with a new challenge. An equally skilled gamer, named Chris Saunders “Prodigy” (Jeanette McCurdy), has become the one block in Quincy’s plan, defeating him at every turn. Quincy then teams-up with his friend Wendell (Amir Talai), to try and find ways to stop Chris from entering the tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAirborne (1993)
Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrudge Match (2013)
A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout -- 30 years after their last match.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Irritate People (1969)
A pre-Monty Python mockumentary, written by and presented by John Cleese, that provides tips on learning how to irritate people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! (2010)
When the mystery-solving musician Foxxy Love notices she and her fellow housemates can curse without being bleeped—something they've never been able to do before—she realizes their show has been canceled. Determined to get back on the air, the gang travels to Make-A-Point-Land in order to get a point (and get back on the air).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Three Stooges (2012)
Left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, three newborn knuckleheads grow up to be finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking janitors named Larry, Curly and Moe. When they learn that financial problems will soon force the only home they've ever known to close, the trio sets out to raise $830,000 in one month. Out in the world for the very first time, the three innocent bumblers become embroiled in a murder plot and find stardom on a TV reality show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisNetto (2005)
Follows the lives of an unemployed drunk and his son as they struggle to adapt to each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Looking for the 5-Hour (1974)
A lazy man wants to become a sportsman in order to have a normal 5-hour per day job. Many comical situations arise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Excess Baggage (2015)
Scott spends his days teaching at Space Defender camp, frustrated that he can't seem to find a woman with no baggage. His best friend Jake is no help, despite offering him his own brand of wisdom and truth. Scott meets Jessica who is seemingly the perfect woman - brains, beauty and a sci-fi nerd. When Scott learns the truth about Jessica's past he is forced to rethink his long held relationship rules in favor of accepting someone for who they are ... and maybe even himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Summer Storm (2004)
Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot in Textbooks 3 (2017)
The third work in the "Not in Textbooks!" series, which is a live-action movie of a popular love comedy manga by Kazuto Okada from "Sundome" starring Ayaka Morikawa from the former AKB48. It depicts the love pattern that the main character, a high school girl Aya Shirakaba and a homeroom teacher, Arihiko Tairaku, living together for a long time. One day, Okubo, a senior student who noticed Aya who is very popular in the school with excellent looks, abducts Aya. Tairaku heads to the rescue and falls into the worst situation. On the other hand, in the school there was an incident in which May Yayoi took the students hostage.... Morikawa played the role of Aya Shirakaba, Ryouma Baba played the role of Arihiko Tairaku, and May, an English teacher longing for Tairaku, was the debut performance of the rising gravure idol Anna Hongo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Baby Assassins (2021)
Two high school girls who are about to graduate also happen to be highly-skilled assassins. When the organization they work for orders them to share a room, their relationship quickly sours. But when they become targets of the yakuza, the girls realize they'll have to work together to survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot in Textbooks 5 (2019)
A school romantic comedy about the cohabitation life of a popular high school girl in a class and a Japanese language teacher who is swayed by her in the fifth in the series "Not in Textbooks!". Aya Shirakaba, a high school girl who attends Otome High School, and homeroom teacher Arihiko Tairaku lived together at the command of the leader of Yakuza, the father of Aya. One weekend, Tairaku invites a longing colleague, Yayoi Satsuki, to date, which was also Aya's birthday. Aya learns that Tairaku is going to date May. Ayaka Morikawa, who plays Aya Shirakaba, and Ryouma Baba, who plays Arihiko Tairaku, continue to star in the series, while Moemi Katayama and Anna Hongo have played the role of May, who is now gravure idol Natsuki Sena.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Tin Cup (1996)
A washed up golf pro working at a driving range tries to qualify for the US Open in order to win the heart of his succesful rival's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Waterboy (1998)
Bobby Boucher is a water boy for a struggling college football team. The coach discovers Boucher's hidden rage makes him a tackling machine whose bone-crushing power might vault his team into the playoffs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?
The closest matches to The Bad News Bears Go to Japan are Bad News Bears (2005), Tommy Boy (1995) and Thunderstruck (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?
Start with Bad News Bears (2005), the closest match to The Bad News Bears Go to Japan.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?
The Jerk (1979), rated 6.9/10 by 947 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?
The Dink (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?
Yes: Bad News Bears (2005), Tommy Boy (1995) and Thunderstruck (2012).
How are movies similar to The Bad News Bears Go to Japan chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.