On June 14, 1894, two boxers, Mike Leonard and Jack Cushing, stepped into a small ring that had been set up on the grounds of Thomas Edison's laboratories in West Orange, N.J., and began trading blows.

At that moment, the sports movie was born.

Just outside the ring, Edison's latest invention -- a kinetograph, the first motion-picture camera -- was recording the fight, which lasted "six slashing rounds," according to a poster that later promoted the contest. That August, the film premiered in lower Manhattan in New York. Patrons had two options: Pay 5 cents to watch a single round -- or 25 cents for the entire fight.

Whether the "Leonard-Cushing Fight," as the film came to be titled, turned a profit is uncertain. But Edison clearly had the right idea. Sports movies have gone on to become some of the most successful films -- both critically (three have won best-picture Oscars) and commercially -- in Hollywood history.

Here's a look at some of the biggest earners of all time, with background courtesy of IMDb and North American box-office receipts, adjusted for inflation, from Box Office Mojo:

Auto racing: 'F1'

Year released: 2025

Box office: $189.6 million

The plot is a Hollywood cliché. Brad Pitt is a grizzled racing driver burdened by his past who helps lead a struggling Formula One team to glory. But the film redeems itself with spectacular racing footage, a winning performance from Pitt (who did his own driving at speeds up to 180 mph) and its you-are-in-the-cockpit-of-a-real-racing-car sound effects. Nominated for four Oscars, including best picture -- and won for best sound.

Baseball: 'A League of Their Own'

Year released: 1992

Box office: $242.8 million

Director Penny Marshall's affectionate look at a women's professional baseball league during World War II. The ensemble cast includes Geena Davis, Madonna, and Tom Hanks as the hard-to-please manager of the Rockford Peaches. Hanks gets three of the best lines in movie history when he scolds a player who complains that the game is too hard. "It's supposed to be hard," Hanks says. "If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great."

Basketball: 'Space Jam'

Year released: 1996

Box office: $190.8 million

A mix of live action and animation. Bugs Bunny and assorted Looney Tunes characters enlist superstar Michael Jordan's help to defeat space aliens in a winner-take-all basketball game. More than 700 workers in 18 studios were involved in producing the animation. The lead role in the 2021 sequel, "Space Jam: A New Legacy," went to LeBron James.

Boxing: 'Rocky'

Year released: 1976

Box office: $515.7 million

Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay in under a week and famously refused an offer of $350,000 to sell his script, given his proviso to star in the movie himself. What Stallone regarded as the most important scene -- sharing his fears with Adrian the night before his fight with Apollo Creed -- almost wasn't shot because of budget constraints. Oscars for best picture, best director and best film editing.

Football: 'Jerry Maguire'

Year released: 1996

Box office: $317.9 million

Tom Cruise as a sports agent whose idealism clashes with the industry's cutthroat economics. Renée Zellweger has a breakout role as Cruise's earnest assistant and eventual love interest. But the film belongs to Cuba Gooding Jr. as an NFL wide receiver with a simple request: "Show me the money." Gooding took home the Academy Award for best supporting actor.

Golf: 'Caddyshack'

Year released: 1980

Box office: $138.8 million

The central plot involves a young caddie in search of a college scholarship at a snooty golf club. But the movie is remembered primarily for Bill Murray as the club's greenkeeper and his battles with a spirited gopher. The directorial debut of Harold Ramis, who would go on to make "Groundhog Day" with Murray.

Horse racing: 'Seabiscuit'

Year released: 2003

Box office: $186.9 million

Based on the book, by Laura Hillenbrand, about the racehorse that captivated the country during the Great Depression. With Jeff Bridges as the horse's benevolent owner and Tobey Maguire as a battered jockey. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture -- but failed to win any. (The competition that year: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.")

Olympics: 'Chariots of Fire'

Year released: 1981

Box office: $188 million

The real-life story of two British athletes, from disparate backgrounds, competing for gold in the sprint events at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. What became the most inspiring speech in the film was written by the actor Ian Charleson, who told the director he was unhappy with the passage in the script and asked if he could write the monologue himself. Winner of four Academy Awards, including best picture.

Chariot racing: 'Ben-Hur'

Year released: 1959

Box office: $918.7 million

Granted, a category with few films. And the race in this biblical epic starring Charlton Heston lasts only about nine minutes, or about 4% of the movie's run time. But what a nine minutes. Set on an 18-acre back lot in Rome, the scene took five weeks to shoot, involved 15,000 extras, 18 chariots (nine of which were used for rehearsals), 82 horses (36 of which appeared on screen) and cost about $4 million, or about one-quarter of the film's budget.

Write to reports@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2026 15:00 ET (19:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.