Movies like Challengers (2024)
The best movies like Challengers (2024) are Fair Play (2023), Petulia (1968) and Making Love (1982). If Challengers hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGone Girl (2014)7.9/10 from 20,651 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
Fair Play (2023)
An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel not only their recent engagement but their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPetulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaking Love (1982)
A perfect typical LA couple find their happily-ever-after life broken when the husband confronts his long-repressed attraction for other men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloser (2004)
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNotes on a Scandal (2006)
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRevolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule must figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love…or each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Children (2006)
The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFifty Shades of Grey (2015)
When college senior Anastasia Steele steps in for her sick roommate to interview prominent businessman Christian Grey for their campus paper, little does she realize the path her life will take. Christian, as enigmatic as he is rich and powerful, finds himself strangely drawn to Ana, and she to him. Though sexually inexperienced, Ana plunges headlong into an affair -- and learns that Christian's true sexual proclivities push the boundaries of pain and pleasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Deep Blue Sea (2011)
The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisDeep Water (2022)
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this...And Justice for All (1979)
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is forced to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial under the threat of being disbarred.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDream Lover (1994)
Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.
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 thisFoxcatcher (2014)
The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisGone Girl (2014)
With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSleuth (2007)
Locked in a high-tech English manor, bound in a deadly duel of wits, Andrew Wyke and Milo Tindle come together as English gentlemen to discuss the matter of Wyke's wife: the woman both are sleeping with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarty Supreme (2025)
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNine 1/2 Weeks (1986)
An erotic story about a woman, the assistant of an art gallery, who gets involved in an impersonal affair with a man. She barely knows about his life, only about the sex games they play, so the relationship begins to get complicated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNuovo Olimpo (2023)
In 1970s Rome, a casual encounter between Enea and Pietro at a movie theater turns into an unforgettable romance — until destiny pulls them apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWild Awakening (2016)
Toni and Emma are brother and sister who owns a stable farm. Ramon and his son, Aaron works for them. Toni is openly gay and loves to party, Emma has a crush on Aaron who is a closeted gay who is afraid that his father might find out, but his father also has a secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Card Zero (2023)
Before disappearing in the Mojave Desert, Robbie Zagorac captured love, life and heartbreak in a video diary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
A Flash Of Passion (2025)
A deliciously dramtic telenovela short film. The 7th Tickle Gang film produced for a 48-hour film festival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Prom Party Massacre (2025)
A gay high school student throws a swinging prom party in the hopes of finally wooing the football captain - but when popular kids start turning up dead, the partygoers discover a slasher killer amongst the student body!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Stick It (2006)
Haley is a naturally gifted athlete but, with her social behavior, the teen seems intent on squandering her abilities. After a final brush with the law, a judge sentences her to an elite gymnastics academy run by a legendary, hard-nosed coach. Once there, Haley's rebellious attitude wins her both friends and enemies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGet Over It (2001)
When Berke Landers, a popular high school basketball star, gets dumped by his life-long girlfriend, Allison, he soon begins to lose it. But with the help of his best friend Felix's sister Kelly, he follows his ex into the school's spring musical. Thus ensues a love triangle loosely based upon Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", where Berke is only to find himself getting over Allison and beginning to fall for Kelly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisJoriku (2020)
Former Olympic candidate Kaneda Musashi has been appointed coach of the women's track and field club at Tsukimi University. Meanwhile, Misaki Tono, the 100 meters ace there, is in a slump because she can't sprint due to her chest being too big…! With competition against a rival college just around the corner, can Musashi, a virgin track and field head, win the hearts of the female college students!?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Threesome (2014)
Som, an ordinary young woman who works as a movie make-up artist. Her longtime live-in boyfriend Rang is also in the business. But the handsome musclebound prop guy – always wearing tight, biceps-baring vest T-shirts – captures many adoring eyes, like that slutty actress, but also his straight-acting gay boss and just about anyone else with a pulse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Challengers?
The closest matches to Challengers are Fair Play (2023), Petulia (1968) and Making Love (1982). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Challengers?
Start with Fair Play (2023), the closest match to Challengers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Challengers?
Gone Girl (2014), rated 7.9/10 by 20,651 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Challengers?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Challengers?
Yes: Fair Play (2023), Petulia (1968) and Making Love (1982).
How are movies similar to Challengers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Challengers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.