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Ben Affleck directed biographical sports drama, AIR, recently premiered in theaters on April 5, 2023. It has received critical acclaim for Affleck's direction as well as a well-executed screenplay and a great performance by the cast.
The film is also believed to be a commercial success, grossing $85.1 million worldwide in box-office only, against its overall budget that was between $70-90 million. Although it did not completely recover its budget, the fact to note is that AIR was never supposed to have a theatrical release but was instead meant to be a streaming exclusive on Prime Video.
This means that the streaming giant never meant for it to recover its budget, but wanted to add it to its library of original content. Considering that AIR earned almost all of its budget in gross box-office earnings, the film is undoubtedly a commercial success, even before making its way onto Prime Video.
After almost a month from its theatrical release, AIR will be made available for streaming on Prime Video from May 12, 2023. The film derives its story from true events and chronicles the origin of Nike's legendary basketball shoeline, the Air Jordan. The cast includes prominent actors like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, and others in pivotal roles.
If you loved the Ben Affleck-directed sports drama, we've got some great movie recommendations for you.
Moneyball, Hustle, and 3 more films like AIR that should definitely be on your watchlist
1) Moneyball
Moneyball is a biographical sports dramedy from the house of Sony Pictures that released back in 2011. The film is directed by Bennett Miller with a screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, which in turn is inspired from the 2003 book of the same name by Michael Lewis.
The cast of the film features Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and Robin Wright in pivotal roles alongside a plethora of other actors in supporting roles. Moneyball premiered at the 2011 TIFF, where it received widespread critical acclaim for the screenplay and performance by the cast.
The film portrays the story of Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, who revolutionized the game by using statistics and data analysis to build a competitive team on a budget. With the help of a Yale economics graduate, Peter Brand, Beane uses sabermetrics to identify undervalued players and assembles a winning team despite a limited budget.
Just like AIR, Moneyball also follows a scout who picks out rookies and underdogs who have the potential to go on to become winners. While AIR follows the origin of Michael Jordan, Moneyball recounts the winning journey of Oakland Athletics baseball team in 2002.
2) Million Dollar Arm
Million Dollar Arm is a 2014 American biographical sports drama distributed by Walt Disney Studios. Craig Gillespie directed the film with a screenplay from Tom McCarthy. The cast of the film includes Jon Hamm, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal, and Alan Arkin in pivotal roles.
Million Dollar Arm tells the story of J.B. Bernstein, a sports agent struggling to keep his company afloat. In an attempt to find a new marketable baseball player, he devises a reality show competition in India called "Million Dollar Arm" to find talented cricket players who can be trained to become baseball pitchers.
Bernstein recruits two young men, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, who have never played baseball before, and brings them to the United States to train them for a major league tryout. Similar to AIR, Million Dollar Arm also follows a sports agent who places all his faith on unproven athletes who go on to make it big.
3) Hustle
Hustle is a sports comdedy drama from the house of Netflix that released in 2022. The film is directed by Jeremiah Zagar with a screenplay from Taylor Materne and Will Fetters.
The cast of the film inlcudes Adam Sandler, Juancho Hernangómez, Queen Latifah, Ben Foster, Robert Artfe, and others in central characters. Hustle premiered on Netflix and received positive audience and critics' feedback, with Sandler's performance taking the cake.
The film follows Stanley Sugerman, an on-the-road scout who dreams of becoming a coach one day. When he comes across Bo Cruz in Spain, a gifted basketball player, Sugerman brings him back to the States to make him a part of NBA. However, when the 76ers do not show interest in him, he takes it upon himself to train Cruz and prepare him for the big leagues.
Similar to AIR, Hustle also deals with a rookie athlete with not much to show for, who later goes on to make it big.
4) Tetris
Tetris is a recently released biographical thriller on the streaming platform, Apple TV+. The film is directed by Jon S. Baird with a screenplay from Noah Pink.
The film features an extensive cast including Taron Egerton, Sofya Lebedeva, Nikita Efremov, Ayane, Roger Allam, Ken Yamamura and others. Tetris made its debut at the 2023 South by Southwest Film Festival on March 15, before being made available on Apple TV+ on March 31, 2023.
Set in the late 1980s, the film revolves around the intense race for getting the licensing rights to the now-iconic classic puzzle game, Tetris. It follows Henk Rogers as he tries his best to acquire licensing rights and get involved in the distribution process of the game. However, all of it is a nailbiting race involving legal rights, Cold War politics, market shares and the whole business side of it.
Just like AIR, Tetris also deals with the business aspect of a game, instead of directly dealing with it.
5) Eddie the Eagle
Eddie the Eagle is a biographical sports comedy-drama from the house of 20th Century Fox that released in 2016. The cast of the film includes Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman in leading roles alongisde Christopher Walken, Iris Berben, Jim Broadbent, Edvin Endre, and others in supporting roles. The film was received warmly by critics and audiences alike, even getting a nomination at the 2017 Empire Award in the 'Best British Film' category.
Eddie the Eagle recounts the story of Michael Edwards, a British ski jumper who competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Always the underdog, it was his determination and perseverance that led Eddie to pursue his dream of becoming an Olympic athlete.
Struggling with various challenges, he relentlessly trains with the help of a former American ski jumper, Bronson Peary, and manages to qualify for the Olympics. Despite coming last in the competition, he becomes a beloved and inspiring figure, known for his heart and courage.
Although Eddie the Eagle does not procure a winning athlete, it does carry over the heart and spirit of a great sports drama, which is also inherent in AIR.
Air is an amazing film that showcases the story of how a simple basketball shoe transformed into a global brand and made history in the world of sport. Its themes of ambition, perseverance, and risk-taking are universal and resonate with audiences of all ages. The movie will be available on Prime Video for streaming from Friday, May 12.
