RUNNING FROM OCTOBER 1, 2025 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2026

The thrill of victory! The agony of defeat! Welcome to the wide world of sports cinema!

I’ve been wanting to create a challenge for awhile now and there seemed to be an opening for a focused challenge in this genre. I’m not particularly athletic, nor am I an avid sports fan, but there is just something about sport on film that really captures my attention.

Join me on a year long challenge, starting the same month as the NHL and NBA seasons open, to explore sport on film. The idea, based on many great challenges that have come before, is to watch 52 sports-related films, shorts, documentaries, or even limited series, based on the prompts below. Try to choose films that actually use sports as a plot point, rather than just as a character description. You can watch them in any order, at any pace, and rewatches are allowed.

In the Notes for this list I have added some clarifications and helpful links to lists compiled by members of the Letterboxd community for each category.

Or you can peruse this massive list to get some ideas!
Sports – by tarokhnstuff

If you decide to take up the challenge, comment with a link to your list and tag your reviews with sportscinema26 or scc26 so we can all keep track of what you’re watching.
Let the games begin!

Categories*
*There's bound be a lot of overlap in categories so make them fit where it suits you.

1. Ice Hockey (I'm Canadian, so I have to honor my roots!)
2. Baseball
3. Basketball
4. Soccer
5. American Football
6. Tennis
7. Boxing
8. Running
9. Golf
10. Summer Olympics
11. Winter Olympics
12. Auto Racing
13. Motorcycle Racing & Motocross
14. Cycling
15. Swimming & Diving
16. Surfing
17. Skiing & Snowboarding
18. Skateboarding & Rollerskating
19. Combat Sports
20. Amateur Wrestling (Not Pro-Wrestling)
21. Figure Skating
22. Cheerleading
23. Horse Racing
24. Pool & Billiards
25. Biopic
26. Documentary
27. Comedy
28. Animated
29. Short Film
30. Underdogs
31. Women in Sports*
*There are plenty of sports movies about women in other categories, too. Just making sure you get at least one!
32. Kids
33. Animal Athletes
34. Starring an athlete
35. 1920s
36. 1930s
37. 1940s
38. 1950s
39. 1960s
40. 1970s
41. 1980s
42. 1990s
43. 2000s
44. 2010s
45. 2020s
46. Rated 4.0 or higher
47. Rated 2.5 or lower
48. Wildcard*
49. Wildcard
50. Wildcard
51. Wildcard
52. Wildcard
*There are a lot of sports that don't have enough films to warrant their own category, so explore those here. The Notes for number 48 should take you to some interesting places.
Or use the Wildcard slots to watch another film from a category you really like.