Movies Like NYAD

If you liked NYAD (2023), a drama and history movie directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, 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
The Swimmers (2022)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and history
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a risky voyage, putting their hearts and their swimming skills to heroic use.
2
The Chronology of Water (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.
3
Causeway (2022)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
4
The Color of Money (1986)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and proposes a partnership. As they tour pool halls, Eddie teaches Vincent…
5
Men of Honor (2000)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his sights on becoming the Navy's first African-American master diver in…
6
Unbroken (2014)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
7
The Smashing Machine (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and history
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend…
8
The Novice (2021)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A college freshman joins her university's rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.
9
Experimenter (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and history
Yale University, 1961. Stanley Milgram designs a psychology experiment that still resonates to this day, in which people think they’re delivering painful electric shocks to an affable stranger strapped into a chair in…
10
Rocketman (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.
11
Frankie & Alice (2010)
★ 6/10Also drama
A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.
12
Valentino (1977)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and history
The untimely death of silent screen star Rudolph Valentino prompts the many women in his past to reminisce about his troubled rise to superstardom.
13
The Ron Clark Story (2006)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his…
14
Georgetown (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Ulrich Mott is an eccentric and versatile social climber with grandiose plans to affect United States foreign policy. Encouraged in his attempts by his strategically chosen (and much older) wife, the well-connected…
15
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
★ 8/10Also drama
Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help…
16
Swiped (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also history and drama
Whitney Wolfe uses extraordinary grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry.
17
Nickel Boys (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
18
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a…
19
Flow (1996)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
20
Lone Survivor (2013)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable…