Best Sports Movies 2023

Four of the top five sports movies of the year were based on true stories, and the best of the lot saw the on-screen reunion of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Affleck’s Air, which took what could have been a rather dry corporate puff piece and filled it with taut writing and dynamic performances from a stellar cast.

#1

Air (2023)
93%

#1

Adjusted Score: 112606%

Critics Consensus: A fact-based drama that no one will dunk on, Air aims to dramatize events that changed the sports world forever -- and hits almost nothing but net.

Synopsis: From award-winning director Ben Affleck, AIR reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball... [More]

Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis

Directed By: Ben Affleck

#2

Creed III (2023)
89%

#2

Adjusted Score: 108486%

Critics Consensus: Stepping out from Rocky Balboa's iconic shadow at last, the Creed franchise reasserts its champion status thanks to star Michael B. Jordan's punchy direction and a nuanced heel turn by Jonathan Majors.

Synopsis: After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life.... [More]

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris

Directed By: Michael B. Jordan

#3

Cassandro (2023)
91%

#3

Adjusted Score: 98230%

Critics Consensus: Gael García Bernal steals hearts as the charismatic Cassandro in this feel-good biopic about a wrestler that triumphs in the macho world of Lucha Libre while embracing his true self.

Synopsis: Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, rises to international stardom after he creates the character Cassandro, the... [More]

Starring: Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Joaquín Cosio

Directed By: Roger Ross Williams

#4

The Iron Claw (2023)
89%

#4

Adjusted Score: 104521%

Critics Consensus: Powerfully acted and profoundly sad, The Iron Claw honors its fact-based story with a dramatization whose compassionate exploration of family ties is just as hard-hitting as its action in the wrestling ring.

Synopsis: The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling... [More]

Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons

Directed By: Sean Durkin

#5

Nyad (2023)
85%

#5

Adjusted Score: 93794%

Critics Consensus: Nyad is an uplifting sports biopic strictly on the merits of its story, but it's the outstanding performances from Annette Bening and Jodie Foster that really keep this picture afloat.

Synopsis: A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, NYAD recounts a riveting chapter in... [More]

Starring: Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans, Garland Scott

Directed By: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin