Defining Genre
THE SPORT
THE UNDERDOG, FILMED
The genre that earns the third-act montage. Where training, loss, and victory get the same lens and the cheer is engineered.
Peak 2010s
1,305
Films Catalogued
67.5
Avg Master Score
6.5
Avg IMDb
2010s
Peak Decade
JOHN G. AVILDSEN
Top Director
Of which 24 won at least one Oscar
The Defining Three
ESSENTIAL VIEWING
Top-ranked by master score. If you only saw three films from this decade, these are the three.
Filter the List
1,305/1,305 films
Master Score
Awards
Showing 60 of 1,305
01
Hoop Dreams
1994 · Steve James · 1 nom
91.5
02The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
2007 · Seth Gordon
90.7
03The Alpinist
2021 · Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen
90.3
04Hustle
2022 · Jeremiah Zagar
90.0
05The Wrestler
2008 · Darren Aronofsky · 2 noms
90.0
06Senna
2010 · Asif Kapadia
89.4
07Minding the Gap
2018 · Bing Liu · 1 nom
89.3
08Chak De! India
2007 · Shimit Amin
89.1
09The Crash Reel
2013 · Lucy Walker
87.8
10Million Dollar Baby
2004 · Clint Eastwood · 4 Oscars
87.8
11Sarpatta Parambarai
2021 · Pa. Ranjith
87.6
12Meru
2015 · Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
87.6
13The Endless Summer
1966 · Bruce Brown
87.2
14Creed
2015 · Ryan Coogler · 1 nom
87.1
15Gundi: Legend of Love
2024 · Dimitar Dimitrov
86.8
16Rocky
1976 · John G. Avildsen · 3 Oscars
86.8
17The Damned United
2009 · Tom Hooper
86.8
18Murderball
2005 · Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro · 1 nom
86.8
19Jersey
2019 · Gowtam Tinnanuri
86.7
20Rocky II
1979 · Sylvester Stallone
86.7
21Children of Heaven
1997 · Majid Majidi · 1 nom
86.6
22Bull Durham
1988 · Ron Shelton · 1 nom
86.5
23Night and the City
1950 · Jules Dassin
86.4
24Facing Nolan
2022 · Bradley Jackson
86.3
25At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
2019 · Erin Lee Carr
86.2
26Dogtown and Z-Boys
2001 · Stacy Peralta
86.2
27Kids Return
1996 · Takeshi Kitano
86.1
28McFarland, USA
2015 · Niki Caro
86.1
29Major League
1989 · David S. Ward
85.7
30Ghoomer
2023 · R Balki
85.6
31Fat City
1972 · John Huston · 1 nom
85.5
32The Swimmers
2022 · Sally El Hosaini
85.4
33Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
2013 · Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
85.4
34Jhund
2022 · Nagraj Manjule
85.1
35Irudhi Suttru
2016 · Sudha Kongara
85.0
36Chariots of Fire
1981 · Hugh Hudson · 4 Oscars
85.0
37Caddyshack
1980 · Harold Ramis
85.0
38The Art of Flight
2011 · Curt Morgan
84.9
39The Set-Up
1949 · Robert Wise
84.9
40The Harder They Fall
1956 · Mark Robson · 1 nom
84.9
41Next Goal Wins
2014 · Mike Brett, Steve Jamison
84.9
42Lubber Pandhu
2024 · Tamizharasan Pachamuthu
84.8
4314 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
2021 · Torquil Jones
84.7
44Bigger Stronger Faster*
2008 · Chris Bell
84.7
45Requiem for a Heavyweight
1962 · Ralph Nelson
84.7
46Color of Victory
2024 · Abdullah Oguz, Bekir Dadas
84.6
47Creed III
2023 · Michael B. Jordan
84.5
48Sachin - A Billion Dreams
2017 · James Erskine
84.5
49The Deepest Breath
2023 · Laura McGann
84.4
50Overcomer
2019 · Alex Kendrick
84.4
51Kaun Pravin Tambe?
2022 · Jayprad Desai
84.3
52Slap Shot
1977 · George Roy Hill
84.3
53Deep Water
2006 · Louise Osmond, Jerry Rothwell
84.3
54The Other Dream Team
2012 · Marius A. Markevicius
84.3
55The Game Changers
2018 · Louie Psihoyos
84.3
56Kai Po Che
2013 · Abhishek Kapoor
84.1
57Diego Maradona
2019 · Asif Kapadia
84.0
58Sky Hook
2000 · Ljubisa Samardzic
83.9
59M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story
2016 · Neeraj Pandey
83.9
60Brother
2010 · Marcel Rasquin
83.9
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