Similar themes like societal difficulties and family are emphasized in many other sports movies like King Richard as a driving force for many players to succeed and defy the status quo.
Two of the best tennis players of all time are Venus and Serena Williams. Their father, Richard Williams, the narrator of the newest sports biopic King Richard, inspired them to succeed and made sacrifices for them.
It has won praise from critics and viewers alike for its gorgeous and touching narrative and Will Smith’s outstanding performance in the title character, which has generated Oscar talk.
The movie King Richard is more than a sports biography about two successful tennis players.
It is far more complex since it addresses societal concerns and emphasizes the value of humility and family.
Below is a list of movies like King Richard.
1. Battle of the Sexes (2017)
- Director: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
- Cast: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Natalie Morales, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, and Elisabeth Shue
- IMDb rating: 6.7/10
Tennis has difficulties, as do other sports, especially when female athletes are made fun of for having lesser talents than males.
Billie Jean King, a female tennis player, proved the doubters wrong when she competed against Bobby Riggs in 1973, as shown in the movie Battle of the Sexes.
In Battle of the Sexes, the social commentary of the most heated tennis match is explored while paying tribute to the renowned tennis player King.
This is one of the movies like King Richard that addresses the problems of societal discrimination and inspires one to take more action.
The way Emma Stone portrayed King was superb, right down to her attitude and physique.
2. Ali (2001)
- Director: Michael Mann
- Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, and Jada Pinkett Smith
- IMDb rating: 6.7/10
The movie “Ali,” which stars Will Smith as the known Muhammad Ali, is similar to “King Richard.”
It follows Ali’s journey as he first wins the heavyweight title, converts to Islam, and refuses to enlist in the American military to fight in Vietnam.
Following this, Ali had his boxing license, passport, and championship revoked.
The movie‘s ending shows Ali attempting to challenge Joe Frazier to a battle to win back the heavyweight title.
3. The Fighter (2010)
- Director: David O. Russell
- Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O’Keefe, Jack McGee, Melissa McMeekin, and Bianca Hunter
- IMDb rating: 7.8/10
David O. Russell’s movie The Fighter centers on Micky Ward, a boxer from a family of boxers managed by his mother and trained by his half-brother.
When he breaks his bond with them, everything devolves into a toxic family issue since it becomes the only option to pursue greatness.
The Fighter is a sports biography emphasizing family relationships, much like King Richard did.
However, the movie has the standard boxing movie cliques, and the modern plot benefits from Russell’s deft storytelling and the great Oscar-worthy performances during the Ward family’s dysfunction.
Amy Adams was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar, along with Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and others. This is undoubtedly one of the best movies like King Richard.
4. Warrior (2011)
- Director: Gavin O’Connor
- Cast: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Grillo, Kevin Dunn, Maximiliano Hernández, and Bryan Callen
- IMDb rating: 8.2/10
In Warrior, a dysfunctional family with a boxing background is followed. A former Marine team up with his father to fight in the most recent MMA competition.
The unexpected occurs when his teacher’s brother steps into the ring, and they ultimately square off in the decisive round.
Warrior is more than simply a boxing-related sports movie. Family serves as the movie’s main motivating force, and King Richard emphasizes the significance of this subject.
Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, and Joel Edgerton provide strong and moving performances to complement the movie’s amazing story of forgiveness and redemption.
5. Dangal (2016)
- Director: Nitesh Tiwari
- Cast: Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Aparshakti Khurana, Zaira Wasim, Suhani Bhatnagar, and Ritvik Sahore
- IMDb rating: 8.3/10
One of the all-time most popular Indian movies like King Richard is “Dangal.” It is based on Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters’ true story.
Phogat used to be an amateur wrestler, but he had to give up on his dreams of competing for his country and winning medals.
Years later, he discovers that his elder daughters, Geeta and Babita, have a natural aptitude for combat, and he intends to teach them to do things that he could never accomplish.
Like Richard, Phogat is a loving parent who recognizes his daughters’ exceptionalities and commits to providing them with all the tools necessary to follow their dreams.
Richard and Phogat make mistakes that hurt their daughters along the road, but they always have the best intentions.
6. Right on Track (2003)
- Director: Duwayne Dunham
- Cast: Beverley Mitchell, Brie Larson, Jon Lindstrom, Jodi Russell, Marcus Toji, Ruby Chase, Eric Jacobs, and Briana Shipley
- IMDb rating: 6.1/10
Even if women’s sports are expanding, societal barriers still exist. Right on Track, a Disney Channel original movie is based on the story of two sisters, Courtney and Erica Enders, played by Beverley Mitchell and Brie Larson, respectively.
They challenge the notion that drag racing is exclusively a boy’s sport.
Right on Track is one of the movies like King Richard that focuses on gender disparity in sports like drag racing.
The Enders, like the Williams sisters, challenge public opinion by striving to disprove everyone’s assumptions.
Young children must see this Disney sports biography to understand and appreciate sports since it presents a feminist message.
7. The Blind Side (2009)
- Director: John Lee Hancock
- Cast: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, and Adriane Lenox
- IMDb rating: 7.6/10
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, by Michael Lewis, was made into a movie in 2006, and it is based on the true story of former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher.
Michael has had a difficult life throughout the movie until the Tuohy family adopts him.
Each member of his adopted family becomes his close friend, but the story’s driving force is his friendship with the matriarch Leigh Anne.
The Blind Side is one of the movies like King Richard that illustrates that it needs the vision of a kind but a severe parental figure to guide the prodigiously bright people into a life of greatness.
8. 42 (2013)
- Director: Brian Helgeland
- Cast: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Lucas Black, and André Holland
- IMDb rating: 7.5/10
Jackie Robinson joined Major League Baseball for the first time as a Black American in the mid-1940s.
Despite the racism he faced, he excelled at the game and showed remarkable bravery and ability, as seen in the 2013 movie 42.
This sports biography demonstrates the motivational path of a historical figure still spoken about today.
Jackie Robinson had to overcome racial prejudice in baseball by working twice as hard to display his incredible skills, much like the Williams sisters in King Richard.
The late Chadwick Boseman gives one of his most remarkable performances as the baseball legend in a faultless and ground-breaking performance.
9. Coach Carter (2005)
- Director: Thomas Carter
- Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri’chard, Rob Brown, Nana Gbewonyo, Antwon Tanner, Channing Tatum, and Ashanti
- IMDb rating: 7.3/10
Coach Carter, a biopic released in 2005, follows Ken Carter as he takes over as Richmond High School’s basketball coach.
He stresses the value of education as a coach and suspends his players from competition until their grades rise.
Ken Carter, like Richard Williams in King Richard, is an advocate of a strict educational philosophy.
Such a mindset is motivating since it demonstrates that life is about more than simply sports and conveys the value of working hard.
A fascinating and instructive story about sporting achievement is Coach Carter. Samuel L. Jackson gives another outstanding portrayal as one of the finest sports movie coaches.
This is undoubtedly one of the best movies like King Richard.
10. Fighting With My Family (2019)
- Director: Stephen Merchant
- Cast: Florence Pugh, Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Nick Frost, and Jack Lowden
- IMDb rating: 7.1/10
Zak and Paige, two siblings, are followed in Fighting with My Family as they audition for a WWE slot.
When Paige finds that she is the only one who got a callback, she and her brother begin to argue.
The basis of Stephen Merchant’s sports biography, similar to King Richard’s, is about identity and family support.
Even more so than the Williams sister in tennis, it radiates the same excitement and dynamic of siblings fighting to be the greatest in the WWE.
With its heartfelt humor and endearing characters, the plot makes for a watchable wrestling movie.
Florence Pugh brilliantly portrays Paige, and the other cast members are as entertaining as their real-life counterparts.
11. A League of Their Own (1992)
- Director: Penny Marshall
- Cast: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, and Bitty Schram
- IMDb rating: 7.3/10
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League inspired the dramatized narrative A League of Their Own.
A women’s league was established to replace Major League Baseball when the men were drafted into the military and the sport was suspended.
Sisters Dottie and Kit are among the recruits, coached by a grumpy Jimmy Dugan to breathe fresh life into baseball.
Even non-sports enthusiasts will like Penny Marshall’s sports comedy-drama since it is one of the most heartwarming movies.
The narrative brings back and honors an era that will permanently alter women’s sports.
Like King Richard, the movie shows Dottie and Kit’s friendly but intense sibling rivalry and a unique perspective on the rising league that is both inspiring and entertaining.
12. Borg Vs. McEnroe (2017)
- Director: Janus Metz
- Cast: Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny, Leo Borg, Marcus Mossberg, Jackson Gann, and Scott Arthur
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
Tennis rivalries may be among the most exciting sports, as can other sports.
The movie Borg vs. McEnroe depicts the fiercest tennis rivalry between Björn Borg and John McEnroe, which took place during the 1980 Wimbledon Championship both on and off the court.
The psychological cost of tennis’ high stakes is seen in Borg v. McEnroe, a subject Richard Williams raises in King Richard.
The biographical story is portrayed by director Janus Metz to emphasize the opposites of two renowned tennis players, which results in brilliant cinematography.
This is undoubtedly one of the best movies like King Richard.
