Movies like Air (2023)
The best movies like Air (2023) are High Flying Bird (2019), Blue Chips (1994) and Shooting Stars (2023). If Air hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFord v Ferrari (2019)8.0/10 from 9,476 votes
- NewestMexico 86 (2026)Released 2026
High Flying Bird (2019)
When an NBA lockout sidelines his big rookie client, an agent hatches a bold plan to save their careers -- and disrupt the league's power structure.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShooting Stars (2023)
The inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James's breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHustle (2022)
After discovering a once-in-a-lifetime player with a rocky past abroad, a down on his luck basketball scout takes it upon himself to bring the phenom to the States without his team's approval. Against the odds, they have one final shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCoach Carter (2005)
Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals (2010)
An exploration of the fierce rivalry between NBA superstars Larry Bird and Magic Johnson during their decade of dominance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Glory Road (2006)
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoneyball (2011)
The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Seconds (2017)
The story is set at the 1972 Munich Olympics where the U.S. team lost the basketball championship for the first time in 36 years. The final moments of the final game have become one of the most controversial events in Olympic history. With play tied, the score table horn sounded during a second free throw attempt that put the U.S. ahead by one. But the Soviets claimed they had called for a time out before the basket and confusion ensued. The clock was set back by three seconds twice in a row and the Russians finally prevailed at the very last. The U.S. protested, but a jury decided in the USSR’s favor and Team USA voted unanimously to refuse its silver medals. The Soviet players have been treated as heroes at home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexico 86 (2026)
When a last-minute chance to host the 1986 World Cup appears, a cunning Mexican bureaucrat, armed with nothing but guts and audacity, cons his way through FIFA to beat the United States, but in a country of power games, every victory has a price.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiracle (2004)
When college coach Herb Brooks is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe: the heavily-favored Soviet team.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKing Richard (2021)
The story of how Richard Williams served as a coach to his daughters Venus and Serena, who will soon become two of the most legendary tennis players in history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig George Foreman (2023)
Fueled by an impoverished childhood, George Foreman channeled his anger into becoming an Olympic Gold medalist and World Heavyweight Champion, followed by a near-death experience that took him from the boxing ring to the pulpit. But when he sees his community struggling spiritually and financially, Foreman returns to the ring and makes history by reclaiming his title, becoming the oldest and most improbable World Heavyweight Boxing Champion ever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFord v Ferrari (2019)
American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBattle of the Sexes (2017)
The true story of the 1973 tennis match between world number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like this42 (2013)
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first Black man to play in Major League Baseball facing unabashed racism from the public, the press and other players.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdidas Vs. Puma: The Brother's Feud (2016)
Two brothers start a sportswear company in the 1920s, hoping to make the best shoes in the world. Their relationship deteriorates until they become bitter rivals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRush (2013)
In the 1970s, a rivalry propels race car drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt to fame and glory — until a horrible accident threatens to end it all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Front Runner (2018)
Gary Hart, former Senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and idealism makes him popular with young voters, leaving him with a seemingly clear path to the White House. All that comes crashing down when allegations of an extramarital affair surface in the media, forcing the candidate to address a scandal that threatens to derail his campaign and personal life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisHoosiers (1986)
Failed college coach Norman Dale gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to coach a high school basketball team in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter, a notorious alcoholic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInvincible (2006)
Inspired by the true story of Vince Papale, a man with nothing to lose who ignored the staggering odds and made his dream come true. When the coach of Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time – no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNational Champions (2021)
A star quarterback ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHurricane Season (2010)
Based on true events amid the wreckage and chaos dealt by Hurricane Katrina; one basketball coach in Marrero, Louisiana just will not give up. Coach Al Collins, gathers other players from hard-hit schools and builds a team actually worthy enough to go to the state playoffs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoogie (2021)
Alfred “Boogie” Chin is a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must find a way to navigate a new girlfriend, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Founder (2016)
The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSteve Jobs (2015)
Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe American Dream (2026)
No one would have bet on Jérémy, stuck behind the counter of a video store, or on Bouna, who cleans airports. With no money, no connections, and painfully poor English, who could have predicted they’d one day become big-name agents in the NBA? What they lack in experience, they will make up for in audacity, while remaining true to their one credo, doing business with a human touch. Scouting raw talent while improvising their way up, they’ll fake it until they make it – chasing their American Dream and landing multi-million-dollar deals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Air?
The closest matches to Air are High Flying Bird (2019), Blue Chips (1994) and Shooting Stars (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Air?
People who watched Air most often go on to High Flying Bird (2019), Blue Chips (1994) and Shooting Stars (2023).
What is the highest-rated movie like Air?
Ford v Ferrari (2019), rated 8.0/10 by 9,476 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Air?
Mexico 86 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Air?
Yes: High Flying Bird (2019), Blue Chips (1994) and Shooting Stars (2023).
How are movies similar to Air chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Air, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.