Movies Like The Living Sandbag

If you liked The Living Sandbag (2021), a movie directed by Peter Hein, 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
Raging Bull (1980)
★ 7.9/10
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
2
Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2014)
★ 6.1/10
Vietnam vet Frank Vega now runs an East L.A. community center where he trains young boxers to survive in and out of the ring. But when his prize student falls in with the wrong crowd and turns up dead, Frank teams up…
3
Perfect Addiction (2023)
★ 6.8/10
A female boxing trainer discovers that her champion cage-fighter boyfriend has been cheating on her with her sister and decides to seek revenge by training up his arch-rival to challenge him.
4
Rocky III (1982)
★ 6.9/10
Following Rocky Balboa's intense battle with his most powerful adversary yet – the ferocious Clubber Lang – Rocky joins forces with former rival Apollo Creed in an effort to get back his fighting spirit.
5
Never Back Down: Revolt (2021)
★ 6.3/10
An amateur fighter is lured by a trafficking syndicate specializing in elite underground fighting where her brutal captor forces her to fight or face certain death.
6
A Prayer Before Dawn (2018)
★ 6.7/10
The amazing true story of Billy Moore, an English boxer incarcerated in Thailand’s most notorious prison. Thrown into a world of drugs and violence, he finds his best chance to escape is to fight his way out in prison…
7
Bloodsport (1988)
★ 7.1/10
An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.
8
The Cut (2025)
★ 5.9/10
A retired boxer intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer, he embarks on an intensive and illegal…
9
Birth of the Dragon (2017)
★ 5.8/10
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.
10
The Hurricane (1999)
★ 7.4/10
The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
11
Fat City (1972)
★ 7.1/10
The story of two men, a veteran boxer who is down and out, and a young man who is just starting his life and boxing career. Their fighting careers cross paths as their lives and fortunes head in opposite directions.
12
Birdy (1984)
★ 7.1/10
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam War. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull…
13
Jungleland (2020)
★ 6.4/10
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
14
Lion Fist (2026)
★ 7.2/10
Martial arts fighter Joe goes to prison for four years and takes his wife's blame for a drug bust. After his release, he learns that his son needs expensive surgery because of a life-threatening tumor. Joe's only…
15
Southpaw (2015)
★ 7.4/10
Billy "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his…
16
Ali (2001)
★ 6.7/10
In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public…
17
Spenser Confidential (2020)
★ 6.5/10
Spenser, a former Boston patrolman who just got out from prison, teams up with Hawk, an aspiring fighter, to unravel the truth behind the death of two police officers.
18
Kickboxer (1989)
★ 6.8/10
If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt, American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane, arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent…
19
Heaven & Earth (1993)
★ 6.6/10
In a small Vietnamese village torn apart by war, a young woman faces unimaginable horrors before deciding to escape to the city. There, she encounters a compassionate Marine who offers her hope and a chance at a new…
20
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013)
★ 6.4/10
Muhammad Ali’s historic Supreme Court battle from behind closed doors. When Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War at the height of his boxing career, his claim to conscientious objector status led to a controversial…