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.
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.
| Rank | Movie (Year) | Sport | Star of Movie | Adjusted Domestic Box Office (Millions) | Critic Audience Rating | Oscar Nom / Win | Cogerson Movie Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky (1976) | Boxing | Sylvester Stallone | $446.60 | 79.3% | 10 / 03 | 92.77 | |
| Rocky III (1982) | Boxing | Sylvester Stallone | $342.70 | 61.3% | 01 / 00 | 63.84 | |
| Rocky IV (1985) | Boxing | Sylvester Stallone | $292.30 | 52.0% | 00 / 00 | 61.16 | |
| Heaven Can Wait (1978) | Football | Warren Beatty | $283.40 | 77.5% | 09 / 01 | 85.12 | |
| Jerry Maguire (1996) | Football | Tom Cruise | $282.60 | 78.5% | 05 / 01 | 84.24 | |
| Waterboy, The (1998) | Football | Adam Sandler | $279.30 | 44.5% | 00 / 00 | 57.79 | |
| Blind Side, The (2009) | Football | Sandra Bullock | $276.90 | 71.5% | 02 / 01 | 75.90 | |
| Rocky II (1979) | Boxing | Sylvester Stallone | $275.30 | 71.3% | 00 / 00 | 64.97 | |
| Karate Kid Part II, The (1986) | Karate | Ralph Macchio | $251.70 | 47.5% | 01 / 00 | 57.22 | |
| Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines | Airplane Racing | Terry-Thomas | $245.20 | 70.5% | 01 / 00 | 67.77 | |
| Pride of the Yankees, The (1942) | Baseball | Gary Cooper | $225.70 | 84.0% | 11 / 01 | 85.40 | |
| Karate Kid, The (1984) | Karate | Ralph Macchio | $219.20 | 80.0% | 01 / 00 | 68.60 | |
| National Velvet (1945) | Horse Racing | Elizabeth Taylor | $212.70 | 79.5% | 05 / 02 | 72.82 | |
| League of Their Own, A (1992) | Baseball | Tom Hanks | $210.30 | 76.0% | 00 / 00 | 66.60 | |
| Longest Yard, The (2005) | Football | Adam Sandler | $200.60 | 46.5% | 00 / 00 | 54.91 | |
| Great Race, The (1965) | Car Racing | Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon | $199.80 | 74.0% | 05 / 01 | 69.86 | |
| Main Event, The (1979) | Boxing | Barbra Streisand | $187.60 | 46.0% | 00 / 00 | 53.62 | |
| Longest Yard, The (1974) | Football | Burt Reynolds | $186.80 | 76.0% | 01 / 00 | 65.81 | |
| Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) | Car Racing | Will Ferrell | $182.70 | 68.0% | 00 / 00 | 60.34 | |
| Karate Kid, The (2010) | Karate | Ralph Macchio | $181.90 | 64.0% | 00 / 00 | 58.78 | |
| Remember the Titans (2000) | Football | Denzel Washington | $174.60 | 74.0% | 00 / 00 | 62.84 | |
| Chariots of Fire (1981) | Olympics | Ben Cross | $172.10 | 79.0% | 07 / 04 | 80.97 | |
| Space Jam (1996) | Basketball | Bill Murray | $166.50 | 47.5% | 00 / 00 | 50.17 | |
| Seabiscuit (2003) | Horse Racing | Tobey Maguire | $161.60 | 75.5% | 07 / 00 | 70.88 | |
| Days of Thunder (1990) | Racing | Tom Cruise | $158.30 | 47.5% | 01 / 00 | 49.92 | |
| Grand Prix (1966) | Racing | James Garner | $154.30 | 75.5% | 03 / 03 | 61.08 | |
| Stratton Story, The (1949) | Baseball | James Stewart | $153.50 | 78.3% | 01 / 01 | 59.72 | |
| White Men Can't Jump (1992) | Basketball | Woody Harrelson | $149.40 | 70.0% | 00 / 00 | 58.75 | |
| DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004) | Dodgeball | Ben Stiller | $149.40 | 68.0% | 00 / 00 | 54.61 | |
| Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) | Baseball | Frank Sinatra | $141.30 | 75.0% | 00 / 00 | 54.51 | |
| Semi-Tough (1977) | Football | Burt Reynolds | $135.60 | 69.0% | 00 / 00 | 51.27 | |
| Cool Runnings (1993) | Olympics | John Candy | $134.80 | 70.0% | 00 / 00 | 51.46 | |
| Field of Dreams (1989) | Baseball | Kevin Costner | 131.55 | 0.82 | 36586 | 59.05 | |
| Million Dollar Baby (2004) | Boxing | Clint Eastwood | $131.50 | 87.0% | 07 / 04 | 79.15 | |
| Caddyshack (1980) | Golf | Chevy Chase & Bill Murray | $130.70 | 73.5% | 00 / 00 | 51.86 | |
| Bad News Bears, The (1976) | Baseball | Walter Matthau | $122.60 | 83.5% | 00 / 00 | 53.74 | |
| Champ, The (1932) | Boxing | Wallace Berry | $121.80 | 74.0% | 04 / 02 | 66.66 | |
| Any Given Sunday (1999) | Football | Al Pacino | $121.00 | 57.5% | 00 / 00 | 45.52 | |
| Natural, The (1984) | Baseball | Robert Redford | $116.10 | 77.5% | 04 / 00 | 56.65 | |
| Color of Money, The (1986) | Pool | Paul Newman | $114.50 | 80.0% | 04 / 01 | 57.19 | |
| Last Boy Scout (1991) | Football | Bruce Willis | $114.50 | 55.0% | 00 / 00 | 43.16 | |
| Gentleman Jim (1942) | Boxing | Errol Flynn | $109.60 | 83.5% | 00 / 00 | 51.14 | |
| Slap Shot (1977) | Hockey | Paul Newman | $108.80 | 77.5% | 00 / 00 | 48.88 | |
| Babe Ruth Story, The (1948) | Baseball | William Bendix | 107.21 | 57.5% | 00 / 00 | 41.56 | |
| Blades of Glory (2007) | Olympics | Will Ferrell | $107.20 | 47.0% | 00 / 00 | 37.89 | |
| Game Plan, The (2007) | Football | Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson | 107.18 | 45.0% | 00 / 00 | 42.65 | |
| Rookie, The (2002) | Baseball | Dennis Quaid | 105.65 | 76.0% | 00 / 00 | 49.46 | |
| Rookie of the Year (1993) | Baseball | Gary Busey | $105.60 | 46.5% | 00 / 00 | 37.39 | |
| One on One (1977) | Basketball | Robbie Benson | $104.70 | 73.0% | 00 / 00 | 46.49 | |
| Caddy, The (1953) | Golf | Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis | $103.90 | 70.5% | 00 / 00 | 45.45 | |
| Good News (1947) | Football | Peter Lawford | $103.90 | 57.5% | 01 / 00 | 41.50 | |
| Let's Do It Again (1975) | Boxing | Sidney Poitier | $103.10 | 71.0% | 00 / 00 | 45.47 | |
| Bring It On (2000) | Cheerleading | Kristen Dunst | 103.1 | 61.5% | 00 / 00 | 42.14 | |
| Major League (1989) | Baseball | Charlie Sheen | $101.50 | 77.0% | 00 / 00 | 53.16 | |
| Bull Durham (1988) | Baseball | Kevin Costner | $100.70 | 84.0% | 01 / 00 | 50.14 | |
| Angels in the Outfield (1994) | Baseball | Matthew McConaughey | $99.90 | 45.0% | 00 / 00 | 35.50 | |
| Tin Cup (1996) | Golf | Kevin Costner | $99.10 | 65.5% | 00 / 00 | 42.74 | |
| Nacho Libre (2006) | Wrestling | Jack Black | $99.10 | 48.5% | 00 / 00 | 36.79 | |
| Mighty Ducks, The (1992) | Hockey | Emilio Estevez | $99.10 | 35.5% | 00 / 00 | 36.57 | |
| Champ, The (1979) | Boxing | Jon Voight | $98.30 | 49.5% | 01 / 00 | 37.58 | |
| Fighter, The (2010) | Boxing | Christian Bale | $96.60 | 87.3% | 07 / 02 | 65.01 | |
| 42 (2013) | Baseball | HarrisonFord | $95.00 | 76.0% | 00 / 00 | 50.37 | |
| Hustler, The (1961) | Pool | Paul Newman | $91.80 | 88.5% | 09 / 02 | 63.34 | |
| D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994) | Hockey | Emilio Estevez | $90.90 | 33.0% | 00 / 00 | 34.96 | |
| Real Steel (2011) | Boxing | Hugh Jackman | $87.70 | 67.0% | 01 / 00 | 45.65 | |
| Broadway Bill (1934) | Horse Racing | Directed by Frank Capra | $87.70 | 69.0% | 00 / 00 | 41.69 | |
| Hidalgo (2004) | Horse Racing | Viggio Mortensen | $87.70 | 56.5% | 00 / 00 | 37.31 | |
| Champion (1949) | Boxing | Kirk Douglas | $86.90 | 83.5% | 06 / 01 | 50.60 | |
| Rocky Balboa (2006) | Boxing | Sylvester Stallone | $86.90 | 74.5% | 00 / 00 | 41.85 | |
| Coach Carter (2005) | Basketball | Samuel L. Jackson | $85.30 | 68.0% | 00 / 00 | 43.59 | |
| Varsity Blues (1999) | Football | Jon Voight | $85.30 | 50.5% | 00 / 00 | 34.73 | |
| Miracle (2004) | Hockey/Olympics | Kurt Russell | $84.40 | 77.0% | 00 / 00 | 44.86 | |
| North Dallas Forty (1979) | Football | Nick Nolte | $84.40 | 77.0% | 00 / 00 | 43.83 | |
| Ali (2001) | Boxing | Will Smith | $83.60 | 66.5% | 02 / 00 | 39.17 | |
| Gus (1976) | Football | Don Knotts | $83.60 | 53.0% | 00 / 00 | 35.27 | |
| Hurricane (1999) | Boxing | Denzel Washington | $81.20 | 78.5% | 01 / 00 | 46.50 | |
| Friday Night Lights (2004) | Football | Billy Bob Thornton | $80.40 | 76.0% | 00 / 00 | 42.68 | |
| Karate Kid Part III, The (1989) | Karate | Ralph Macchio | $79.60 | 33.0% | 00 / 00 | 27.47 | |
| Rollerball (1975) | Futuristic | James Caan | $78.80 | 66.5% | 00 / 00 | 39.04 | |
| Rocky V (1990) | Boxing | Sylvester Stallone | $78.80 | 34.5% | 00 / 00 | 28.86 | |
| Cinderalla Man (2005) | Boxing | Russell Crowe | $78.00 | 82.7% | 03 / 00 | 45.08 | |
| Finding Forrester (2000) | Basketball | Sean Connery | $78.00 | 73.0% | 00 / 00 | 39.17 | |
| Damn Yankees! (1958) | Baseball | Tab Hunter | $77.10 | 75.5% | 01 / 00 | 44.94 | |
| It Happens Every Spring (1949) | Baseball | Ray Milland | $77.10 | 66.0% | 01 / 00 | 39.12 | |
| Moneyball (2011) | Baseball | Brad Pitt | $77.10 | 88.0% | 06 / 00 | 61.51 | |
| Two-Minute Warning (1976) | Football | Charlton Heston | $76.30 | 55.0% | 01 / 00 | 35.11 | |
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) | Boxing | Robert Montgomery | $76.30 | 84.0% | 07 / 02 | 61.66 | |
| Teen Wolf (1985) | Basketball | Michael J. Fox | $75.50 | 54.5% | 00 / 00 | 34.18 | |
| Father Was A Fullback (1949) | Football | Fred MacMurray | $74.70 | 64.0% | 00 / 00 | 37.34 | |
| City for Conquest (1940) | Boxing | James Cagney | $73.90 | 76.5% | 00 / 00 | 41.56 | |
| Benchwarmers, The (2006) | Baseball | David Spade | $73.90 | 33.0% | 00 / 00 | 26.33 | |
| Breaking Away (1979) | Bike Racing | Jackie Earle Haley | $73.10 | 85.5% | 05 / 01 | 52.04 | |
| Trouble Along The Way (1953) | Football | John Wayne | $73.05 | 66.3% | 00/ 00 | 37.84 | |
| Raging Bull (1980) | Boxing | Robert DeNiro | $73.00 | 91.0% | 08 / 02 | 62.97 | |
| Like Mike (2002) | Basketball | Shad Moss | $72.30 | 51.0% | 00 / 00 | 32.31 | |
| Invincible (2006) | Football | Mark Wahlberg | $71.50 | 70.5% | 00 / 00 | 42.64 | |
| Happy Gilmore (1996) | Golf | Adam Sandler | $71.50 | 64.0% | 00 / 00 | 38.44 | |
| Kid Galahad (1937) | Boxing | Humphrey Bogart | $71.50 | 64.0% | 00 / 00 | 36.70 | |
| Radio (2003) | Football | Cuba Gooding Jr. | $70.60 | 52.0% | 00 / 00 | 32.32 | |
| To Please A Lady (1950) | Racing | Clark Gable | $70.60 | 43.5% | 00 / 00 | 29.34 |
My other Sports Movie Links
- Top 100 Biggest Box Office Grossing Sports Movies
- Top 100 Best Reviewed Sports Movies
- Top 400 Sports Movies
- Ranking Baseball Movies
- Ranking Basketball Movies
- Ranking Boxing Movies
- Ranking Football Movies
- Ranking Golf Movies
- Ranking Hockey Movies
- Ranking Olympics Movies
- Ranking Racing Movies
- Ranking Soccer Movies
- Ranking Other Sports Movies poker, surfing, rodeo, curling and others
CURRENT NET WORTH OF SELECTED FIM STARS, FILM DIRECTORS AND ATHLETES
Courtesy of Celebrity Net Worth
1/George Lucas $6.5 BILLION
2/Steven Spielberg $3.6 BILLION
3/Tiger Woods $740 million
4/Tom Cruise $570 million
5/Robert DeNiro $$500 million
6/LeBron James $480 million
7/Cristiano Ronaldo $460 million
8/Roger Federer $450 million
9/Lionel Messi $400 million
10/Sylvester Stallone $400 million
-/Tom Hanks $400 million
-/Barbra Streisand $400 million
13/Clint Eastwood $375 million
14/Serena Williams $200 million
-/Julia Roberts $200 million
16/Venus Williams $95 million
Hey The Great Lister……very impressive list….thanks for sharing it.
EXTRACTING THE PART OF ATHLETES’ TOTAL EARNNGS THAT RELATES JUST TO SPONSORSHIP INCOME [ie excludes prize money and other fees]
Courtesy of The Forbes Rich List:
THE TOP 3 EARNERS FROM SPONSORSHIP DEALS in PAST 12 MONTHS
1/Roger Federer/tennis-$86 million
2/Tiger Woods/Golf-$54 million
3/LeBron James/Basketball- $53 million
NOTE: Serena Williams again highest women’s earner with sponsorship deals worth $25 million
I would have thought golf’s Phil M. would be close to those top 3. Good list.
HI BRUCE: Reasonable guess as Phil is 6th on the Forbes list with endorsements of $36 million and total earnings of $48 million. However Forbes is a bit behind Footy and if the latter is right Phil might have slipped since Forbes was published, because he is not included in the Footy Top 10. Here is an exact copy of the article concerned.
“Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer has been named second in the Online Mortgage Advisor’s Footy 100 tool, which shows how much the top football stars earn as compared to athletes from other sports – including tennis, rugby, golf and basketball amongst others
The tool highlights the highest earning player from each sport, creating a list of the top paying sports in the world. As per the tool, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is the highest paid sports star in the world, with combined annual earnings of £97m/$126m.
Boxer Canelo Alvarez and Federer come in second place with combined earnings of £72m/$93.5m. The list is as mentioned below –
• Football: Lionel Messi – £97m/$126m
• Boxing: Canelo Alvarez – £72m/$93.5m
• Tennis: Roger Federer – £72m/$93.5m
• NFL: Russell Wilson – £68m/$88m
• Basketball: LeBron James – £67m/$87m
• Golf: Tiger Woods – £48.5m/$63m
• Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton – £42m/$54.6m
• Baseball: Mike Trout – £38.6m/$50m
• MMA: Conor McGregor – £35m/$45.5m
• Cricket: Virat Kohli – £19m/$24.7m
EXTRACTING THE PART OF ATHLETES’ TOTAL EARNNGS THAT RELATES JUST TO SPONSORSHIP INCOME [ie excludes prize money and other fees]
Courtesy of The Forbes Rich List:
THE TOP 5 EARNERS FROM SPONSORSHIP DEALS
1/Roger Federer/tennis-$86 million
2/Tiger Woods/Golf-$54 million
3/LeBron James/Basketball- $53 million
4/Cristiano Ronaldo/football-$44 million
5/Stephen Curry/basketball-$42 million
SELECTED OTHERS
8/Lionel Messi/football-$35 million
11/Novak Djokovic/tennis-$30 million
14/Rafael Nadal/tennis-$26 million
15/Serena Williams/tennis-$25 million
28/Lewis Hamilton/motor racing – $10 million
THE “FOOTY 100 TOOL”: TOTAL EARNINGS OF TOP 10 HIGHEST EARNING SPORTING MALE ATHLETES IN PAST 12 MONTHS:
This list combines prize money/fees with earnings from sponsorship endorsements so that the figures quoted are overall earnings.
ATHLETE and SPORT/TOTAL EARNINGS in US$
1/Lionel Messi/football- $126 million
2/Roger Federer/tennis – $93.5 million
-/Canelo Alvarez/boxing-$93.5 million
4/Russell Wilson/NFL-$88 million
5/LeBron James/basketball-$87 million
6/Tiger Woods/Golf-$63 million
7/Lewis Hamilton/motorcar racing-$54.6 million
8/Mike Trout/basketball-$50 million
9/Conor McGregor/MMA-$45.5 million
10/Virat Kohli/Cricket-$24 million
NO female table available as only males compete in the major Footy leagues over here; but highest earning female athlete in the past 12 months has been Serena Williams with total earnings of $29 million.
Good information…thanks for sharing the Footy 100. Not really aware of Lewis Hamilton…but the rest I know very well.
My main personal entertainment interests are the movies and tennis. I often link-up sport AND movies as this page comprehensively does; and I do so by watching good films [in my estimation] about American basketball, football and baseball such as Gene Hackman’s Best Shot and Hoosiers; Redford’s The Natural; Hanks’ A League of their Own; Charlie Sheen/Tom Berenger’s Major League; and Robin Williams/Kurt Russell’s The Best of Times.
Movie stars net worth figures have gotten a lot of coverage on this site in recent times; and here The Great Lister turns the attention to the earnings of real life sporting athletes.
“Footy” is the nickname for football over here in my country The United Kingdom; and the “Footy 100 Tool” [see Part 2] is a publication by the footballing authorities that compares the current earnings of the top football stars with those of all other top athletes across the board. As a stats buff I have a keen interest in it just as I gather all the information that I can about movie stars wealth and earnings.
Some athletic stars do well in prize money but are lower down the endorsements pecking-order and vice versa. Part C lists the athletes who have the highest earnings from the endorsements part of their total earnings.
Hey The Great Lister….sounds like a good name for a website….you should start it up. Glad you do not avoid American sports movies….like other UMR commenters….lol. I like the nickname. Thanks again for sharing this information.
HI BRUCE
Thanks for your comments. It seems to me that NONE of them NEED all that money. I would get that Bob guy to set Joel on THE LOT OF THEM if he were still about!.