Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies

Tobey Maguire in 2003’s Seabiscuit….Seabiscuit grossed over $161 million in adjusted domestic dollars.

Tobey Maguire in 2003’s Seabiscuit….Seabiscuit grossed over $161 million in adjusted domestic dollars.

Want to know the Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.  A few years ago, I got a request I got a request from HubPages’s Stevennix2001 to figure out the Top 100 Sports Movies according to my Cogerson Movie Score formula.  Well I had to research over 1,200 sports movies….but I was able to come up with a Top 100.  Along the way I actually wrote 14 sport movie pages.  Ten of those pages looked at each individual sport….for example Ranking Baseball Movies.  Three more of those pages were: Top 100 Best Reviewed Sports Movies and Top 400 Sports Movies.

The 14th Sports Movie Page I wrote was this one….Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies.  The movies are ranked by domestic adjusted box office gross.  Why use adjusted gross?  I use adjusted box office gross so it is easier to compare today’s movies with movies of the past.  The best example is 1942’s Pride of the Yankees.  Pride of the Yankees was a huge hit in the 1940s….grossing just over $8 million.  Well $8 million today would not even crack the Top 300.  But by using tickets sold we are able to figure out how much a movie would earn today.  Using adjusted gross…we see that Pride of the Yankees would have grossed over $225 million….which puts in the Top 10.

Paul Newman in 1977's Slap Shot...Slap Shot grossed over $108 million in adjusted box office gross.

Paul Newman in 1977’s Slap Shot

Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies by the type of sport
  • Sort Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies by the star of the movie
  • Sort Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies by adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort by how Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies received.
  • Sort Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies by Cogerson Movie Score.  Cogerson Movie Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
RankMovie (Year)SportStar of MovieAdjusted Domestic Box Office (Millions)Critic Audience RatingOscar Nom / WinCogerson Movie Score
Rocky (1976)BoxingSylvester Stallone$446.6079.3%10 / 0392.77
Rocky III (1982)BoxingSylvester Stallone$342.7061.3%01 / 0063.84
Rocky IV (1985)BoxingSylvester Stallone$292.3052.0%00 / 0061.16
Heaven Can Wait (1978)FootballWarren Beatty$283.4077.5%09 / 0185.12
Jerry Maguire (1996)FootballTom Cruise$282.6078.5%05 / 0184.24
Waterboy, The (1998)FootballAdam Sandler$279.3044.5%00 / 0057.79
Blind Side, The (2009)FootballSandra Bullock$276.9071.5%02 / 0175.90
Rocky II (1979)BoxingSylvester Stallone$275.3071.3%00 / 0064.97
Karate Kid Part II, The (1986)KarateRalph Macchio$251.7047.5%01 / 0057.22
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesAirplane RacingTerry-Thomas$245.2070.5%01 / 0067.77
Pride of the Yankees, The (1942)BaseballGary Cooper$225.7084.0%11 / 0185.40
Karate Kid, The (1984)KarateRalph Macchio$219.2080.0%01 / 0068.60
National Velvet (1945)Horse RacingElizabeth Taylor$212.7079.5%05 / 0272.82
League of Their Own, A (1992)BaseballTom Hanks$210.3076.0%00 / 0066.60
Longest Yard, The (2005)FootballAdam Sandler$200.6046.5%00 / 0054.91
Great Race, The (1965)Car RacingTony Curtis & Jack Lemmon$199.8074.0%05 / 0169.86
Main Event, The (1979)BoxingBarbra Streisand$187.6046.0%00 / 0053.62
Longest Yard, The (1974)FootballBurt Reynolds$186.8076.0%01 / 0065.81
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)Car RacingWill Ferrell$182.7068.0%00 / 0060.34
Karate Kid, The (2010)KarateRalph Macchio$181.9064.0%00 / 0058.78
Remember the Titans (2000)FootballDenzel Washington$174.6074.0%00 / 0062.84
Chariots of Fire (1981)OlympicsBen Cross$172.1079.0%07 / 0480.97
Space Jam (1996)BasketballBill Murray$166.5047.5%00 / 0050.17
Seabiscuit (2003)Horse RacingTobey Maguire$161.6075.5%07 / 0070.88
Days of Thunder (1990)RacingTom Cruise$158.3047.5%01 / 0049.92
Grand Prix (1966)RacingJames Garner$154.3075.5%03 / 0361.08
Stratton Story, The (1949)BaseballJames Stewart$153.5078.3%01 / 0159.72
White Men Can't Jump (1992)BasketballWoody Harrelson$149.4070.0%00 / 0058.75
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004)DodgeballBen Stiller$149.4068.0%00 / 0054.61
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)BaseballFrank Sinatra$141.3075.0%00 / 0054.51
Semi-Tough (1977)FootballBurt Reynolds$135.6069.0%00 / 0051.27
Cool Runnings (1993)OlympicsJohn Candy$134.8070.0%00 / 0051.46
Field of Dreams (1989)BaseballKevin Costner131.550.823658659.05
Million Dollar Baby (2004)BoxingClint Eastwood$131.5087.0%07 / 0479.15
Caddyshack (1980)GolfChevy Chase & Bill Murray$130.7073.5%00 / 0051.86
Bad News Bears, The (1976)BaseballWalter Matthau$122.6083.5%00 / 0053.74
Champ, The (1932)BoxingWallace Berry$121.8074.0%04 / 0266.66
Any Given Sunday (1999)FootballAl Pacino$121.0057.5%00 / 0045.52
Natural, The (1984)BaseballRobert Redford$116.1077.5%04 / 0056.65
Color of Money, The (1986)PoolPaul Newman$114.5080.0%04 / 0157.19
Last Boy Scout (1991)FootballBruce Willis$114.5055.0%00 / 0043.16
Gentleman Jim (1942)BoxingErrol Flynn$109.6083.5%00 / 0051.14
Slap Shot (1977)HockeyPaul Newman$108.8077.5%00 / 0048.88
Babe Ruth Story, The (1948)BaseballWilliam Bendix107.2157.5%00 / 0041.56
Blades of Glory (2007)OlympicsWill Ferrell$107.2047.0%00 / 0037.89
Game Plan, The (2007)FootballDwayne "The Rock" Johnson107.1845.0%00 / 0042.65
Rookie, The (2002)BaseballDennis Quaid105.6576.0%00 / 0049.46
Rookie of the Year (1993)BaseballGary Busey$105.6046.5%00 / 0037.39
One on One (1977)BasketballRobbie Benson$104.7073.0%00 / 0046.49
Caddy, The (1953)GolfDean Martin & Jerry Lewis$103.9070.5%00 / 0045.45
Good News (1947)FootballPeter Lawford$103.9057.5%01 / 0041.50
Let's Do It Again (1975)BoxingSidney Poitier$103.1071.0%00 / 0045.47
Bring It On (2000)CheerleadingKristen Dunst103.161.5%00 / 0042.14
Major League (1989)BaseballCharlie Sheen$101.5077.0%00 / 0053.16
Bull Durham (1988)BaseballKevin Costner$100.7084.0%01 / 0050.14
Angels in the Outfield (1994)BaseballMatthew McConaughey$99.9045.0%00 / 0035.50
Tin Cup (1996)GolfKevin Costner$99.1065.5%00 / 0042.74
Nacho Libre (2006)WrestlingJack Black$99.1048.5%00 / 0036.79
Mighty Ducks, The (1992)HockeyEmilio Estevez$99.1035.5%00 / 0036.57
Champ, The (1979)BoxingJon Voight$98.3049.5%01 / 0037.58
Fighter, The (2010)BoxingChristian Bale$96.6087.3%07 / 0265.01
42 (2013)BaseballHarrisonFord$95.0076.0%00 / 0050.37
Hustler, The (1961)PoolPaul Newman$91.8088.5%09 / 0263.34
D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)HockeyEmilio Estevez$90.9033.0%00 / 0034.96
Real Steel (2011)BoxingHugh Jackman$87.7067.0%01 / 0045.65
Broadway Bill (1934)Horse RacingDirected by Frank Capra$87.7069.0%00 / 0041.69
Hidalgo (2004)Horse RacingViggio Mortensen$87.7056.5%00 / 0037.31
Champion (1949)BoxingKirk Douglas$86.9083.5%06 / 0150.60
Rocky Balboa (2006)BoxingSylvester Stallone$86.9074.5%00 / 0041.85
Coach Carter (2005)BasketballSamuel L. Jackson$85.3068.0%00 / 0043.59
Varsity Blues (1999)FootballJon Voight$85.3050.5%00 / 0034.73
Miracle (2004)Hockey/OlympicsKurt Russell$84.4077.0%00 / 0044.86
North Dallas Forty (1979)FootballNick Nolte$84.4077.0%00 / 0043.83
Ali (2001)BoxingWill Smith$83.6066.5%02 / 0039.17
Gus (1976)FootballDon Knotts$83.6053.0%00 / 0035.27
Hurricane (1999)BoxingDenzel Washington$81.2078.5%01 / 0046.50
Friday Night Lights (2004)FootballBilly Bob Thornton$80.4076.0%00 / 0042.68
Karate Kid Part III, The (1989)KarateRalph Macchio$79.6033.0%00 / 0027.47
Rollerball (1975)FuturisticJames Caan$78.8066.5%00 / 0039.04
Rocky V (1990)BoxingSylvester Stallone$78.8034.5%00 / 0028.86
Cinderalla Man (2005)BoxingRussell Crowe$78.0082.7%03 / 0045.08
Finding Forrester (2000)BasketballSean Connery$78.0073.0%00 / 0039.17
Damn Yankees! (1958)BaseballTab Hunter$77.1075.5%01 / 0044.94
It Happens Every Spring (1949)BaseballRay Milland$77.1066.0%01 / 0039.12
Moneyball (2011)BaseballBrad Pitt$77.1088.0%06 / 0061.51
Two-Minute Warning (1976)FootballCharlton Heston$76.3055.0%01 / 0035.11
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)BoxingRobert Montgomery$76.3084.0%07 / 0261.66
Teen Wolf (1985)BasketballMichael J. Fox$75.5054.5%00 / 0034.18
Father Was A Fullback (1949)FootballFred MacMurray$74.7064.0%00 / 0037.34
City for Conquest (1940)BoxingJames Cagney$73.9076.5%00 / 0041.56
Benchwarmers, The (2006)BaseballDavid Spade$73.9033.0%00 / 0026.33
Breaking Away (1979)Bike RacingJackie Earle Haley$73.1085.5%05 / 0152.04
Trouble Along The Way (1953)FootballJohn Wayne$73.0566.3%00/ 00 37.84
Raging Bull (1980)BoxingRobert DeNiro$73.0091.0%08 / 0262.97
Like Mike (2002)BasketballShad Moss$72.3051.0%00 / 0032.31
Invincible (2006)FootballMark Wahlberg$71.5070.5%00 / 0042.64
Happy Gilmore (1996)GolfAdam Sandler$71.5064.0%00 / 0038.44
Kid Galahad (1937)BoxingHumphrey Bogart$71.5064.0%00 / 0036.70
Radio (2003)FootballCuba Gooding Jr.$70.6052.0%00 / 0032.32
To Please A Lady (1950)RacingClark Gable$70.6043.5%00 / 0029.34
Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey in 2013's 42. 42 almost hit the $100 million mark.

Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey in 2013’s 42.

12 thoughts on “Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies

  1. THE MYRNA LOY OF TENNIS
    HI BIG BOY: As a former tennis fan you might be interested in the following social media article

    FORBES RICH LIST
    “Roger Federer was an unlikely beneficiary of the coronavirus pandemic as Forbes named him the world’s highest-earning sportsman in their prestigious 2020 list.

    The Swiss legend beat football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi into second and third respectively, after they saw their income hit by the coronavirus crisis.

    Roger has now taken the top spot with $106.3million income in the past 12 months – and become the first ever tennis player to take the honour.

    “The coronavirus pandemic triggered salary cuts for soccer stars Messi and Ronaldo, clearing the way for a tennis player to rank as the world’s highest-paid athlete for the first time,” said Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor at Forbes.

    “Roger Federer is the perfect pitchman for companies, resulting in an unparalleled endorsement portfolio of blue-chip brands worth $100 million a year for the tennis great.” Federer’s total net worth stand at $450 million currently

    Tennis was well represented in the list, with Novak Djokovic at 23rd with $44.6million earnings and Rafael Nadal 27th with $40million.

    The real achievement of tennis on the list, though may be that it provides the only women athletes in the top 100.

    Naomi Osaka came in at 29th with an endorsement-dominated $37.4m, and Serena Williams was 33rd with $36million.

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