Movies Like Going to the Mat

If you liked Going to the Mat (2004), a tv movie and drama movie directed by Stuart Gillard, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Double Teamed! (2002)
★ 6/10Also tv movie and drama
Heather and Heidi play volleyball for their school team, when their family decides that they need to go to a bigger school so that they will have a better chance for scholarships. But at the new school, the twins are…
2
The Miracle Worker (2000)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.
3
Clash of the Thundermans (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also tv movie and family
When Chloe develops a destructive new superpower, the Hero League orders her to an elite boarding school for superheroes to learn control of her abilities. Faced with the prospect of sending Chloe away for years, the…
4
An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and family
A fourth grader and her friends deal with bullying from a more popular girl in their class.
5
Normal (2003)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and tv movie
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
6
Cheaters (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
7
Benji (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and family
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
8
Tru Confessions (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also tv movie and family
Trudy Walker hated her life. She thought it was totally messed up until she found out about a contest that could change everything...
9
Johnny Tsunami (1999)
★ 6.1/10Also family and tv movie
A Hawaiian teenage surfer shows off his skills when he takes to the snow slopes in Vermont.
10
Out of My Mind (2024)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and family
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator…
11
Skater Girl (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and family
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
12
Flicka (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also family and drama
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets…
13
The Perfect Game (2009)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and family
Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
14
The Karate Kid (1984)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and family
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny…
15
Descendants 3 (2019)
★ 7.7/10Also family and tv movie
The teenagers of Disney's most infamous villains return to the Isle of the Lost to recruit a new batch of villainous offspring to join them at Auradon Prep.
16
Brink! (1998)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Andy "Brink" Brinker and his in-line skating crew--Peter, Jordy, and Gabriella--who call themselves "Soul-Skaters" (which means they skate for the fun of it, and not for the money), clash with a group of sponsored…
17
The Unbreakable Boy (2025)
★ 7.9/10Also family and drama
When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they…
18
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
★ 5.9/10Also family and drama
Despondent over the closing of his karate school, Cobra Kai teacher John Kreese joins a ruthless businessman and martial artist to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
19
A Second Chance: Rivals! (2019)
★ 7/10Also drama and family
As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.
20
Wonder (2017)
★ 8.1/10Also family and drama
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.