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Rocky poster

Movies that feel likeRocky (1976)

Rocky Balboa is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere. But when a stroke of fate puts him in the ring with a world heavyweight champion, Rocky knows that it's his one shot at the big time — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner!

If you loved Rocky, the closest films we have are Awakenings (1990), Creed (2015) and A Short Film About Love (1988). All three share Rocky's contemplative and hopeful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is In America (2003).

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. John G. Avildsencontemplativeromantichopeful
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If Rocky hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Rocky II (1979) · Rocky III (1982) · Rocky IV (1985) · Rocky V (1990) · Rocky Balboa (2006)

Awakenings poster
Awakenings
1990 · dir. Penny Marshall
🍅 81%★ 7.8drama

A quiet, hopeful story about someone getting a shot they never expected

The difference: A medical-awakening drama, no sports or romance driving it

Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

Creed poster
Creed
2015 · dir. Ryan Coogler
🍅 95%★ 7.6dramaPrime VideoHulu

Same Philadelphia boxing world and the mentor-underdog bond at its heart

The difference: A legacy-sequel spinoff carrying someone else's story forward

The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

A Short Film About Love poster
A Short Film About Love
1988 · dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
🍅 95%★ 8.1drama · romance

A hopeful, tender romance between two people finding each other

The difference: A voyeuristic obsession story, not an underdog's public triumph

19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...

Moneyball poster
Moneyball
2011 · dir. Bennett Miller
🍅 94%★ 7.6dramaHulu

An underdog operation trying to out-hustle a system stacked against it

The difference: A front-office statistics story, no fighter's physical grit at all

The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

Breaking the Waves poster
Breaking the Waves
1996 · dir. Lars von Trier
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · romance

A tender, hopeful love story tested by forces bigger than either person

The difference: A tragic, self-sacrificing marriage drama, far bleaker than Rocky's climb

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

Swades poster
Swades
2004 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 90%★ 8.2dramaNetflix

The same mix in both: stillness, then hope

The difference: Easier on the romance than Rocky

A successful Indian scientist returns home to his village to take his nanny back to America with him, and in the process rediscovers his roots.

The Blind Side poster
The Blind Side
2009 · dir. John Lee Hancock
🍅 65%★ 7.6drama

An underdog given one shot at a life-changing sports opportunity

The difference: A family-adoption drama built around football, not boxing

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

In America poster
In America
2003 · dir. Jim Sheridan
🍅 90%★ 7.7drama

Hope carrying a family through hardship in an unfamiliar city

The difference: An immigrant grief story, no ring, no fight, no love-of-a-lifetime plot

A family of Irish immigrants adjusts to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

Like Stars on Earth poster
Like Stars on Earth
2007 · dir. Aamir Khan
🍅 93%★ 8.3drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: 31 years apart, and the 2000s show

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.

Departures poster
Departures
2008 · dir. Yojiro Takita
🍅 80%★ 8drama

A quiet, hopeful story about finding dignity in an unlikely calling

The difference: A gentle drama about an undertaker, no boxing or romance at its core

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

Mohabbatein poster
Mohabbatein
2000 · dir. Aditya Chopra
★ 7.1drama · romanceNetflix

Hopeful romance blooming against strict rules trying to keep it down

The difference: A Bollywood musical about forbidden campus love, not a boxer's climb

At a prestigious all-male university, three friends seek love outside of the school grounds; at the same time, a newly-hired music teacher seeks to befriend and loosen up the militantly strict headmaster.

Astral City: A Spiritual Journey poster
Astral City: A Spiritual Journey
2010 · dir. Wagner de Assis
★ 6.5drama

Both lean on hope more than on drama

The selfish Dr. André Luiz dies and awakes in the limbo called "Umbral". After a painful period in the gruesome swamp, he is rescued and brought in a white light to "Nosso Lar" (meaning "Our Home"). He finds a place of harmony, where people live in peace awaiting

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Rocky’s defining feeling.