Movies Like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan is a 1978 comedy film from John Berry with a MovieMagicScore of 4.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Bad News Bears and The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training.

Comedy

The Bad News Bears

1976

An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.

6.9

MagicScore

The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training

1977

A troubled, rebellious teen drives his rambunctious baseball team out to Houston where they play an exhibition game and the boy meets his estranged father, and hires him as the teams coach.

5.7

MagicScore

Bad News Bears

2005

Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.

5.8

MagicScore

The Final Season

2007

True story of Kent Stock, who in the early '90s gives up a job and ditches his wedding plans to take over as head coach of the Norway High School baseball team. Kent must win over his players and convince them and himself that he can fill their former coach's shoes and that they can go out winners. In the summer of 1991 Norway High's baseball tradition ended on a triumphant but sombre note.

5.2

MagicScore

The Sandlot

1993

During a summer of friendship and adventure, one boy becomes a part of the gang, nine boys become a team and their leader becomes a legend by confronting the terrifying mystery beyond the right field wall.

7.5

MagicScore

You Gotta Believe

2024

After dedicating the season to a teammate’s ailing father, a group of underestimated Ft. Worth youth baseball players takes its Cinderella run all the way to the 2002 Little League World Series—culminating in a record-breaking showdown that became an instant ESPN classic.

7.2

MagicScore

The Comebacks

2007

Out-of-luck coach Lambeau Fields takes a rag-tag bunch of college misfits and drives them towards the football championships. In the process, this life-long loser discovers that he is a winner after all by redeeming himself, saving his relationship with his family and friends, and finding that there is indeed, no "I" in "team"!

4.8

MagicScore

Charlie Brown's All-Stars!

1966

After their humiliating 999th defeat, Charlie Brown's whole baseball team quits on him. All seems lost...until Charlie Brown learns that his team can join the Little League and become an official team with real uniforms! But as the team's enthusiasm sparks, Charlie Brown learns that neither girls nor Snoopy would be allowed to play. Charlie Brown faces the difficult decision of breaking this horrible news to his excited team.

6.4

MagicScore

Dealin' with Idiots

2013

Faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son's youth league baseball team, Max Morris, a famous comedian, decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an attempt to find the inspiration for his next movie.

5.3

MagicScore

#10

All-Stars

2014

"All-Stars" is a hilarious commentary on the state of all youth sports today, fueled by the outrageous behavior of the desperate sports parent living vicariously through his or her child. In the vein of "Best in Show", where it's more about the dog owners than the dogs - "All-Stars" is about the adults involved in youth sports (parents, coaches, umpires, volunteers, board members, etc.) more than the kids. The end result is a funny, yet compelling spin on fast pitch softball as well as a unique state of affairs on the outlandish antics of a few crazed parents.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

The Mighty Ducks

1992

After reckless young lawyer Gordon Bombay gets arrested for drunk driving, he must coach a kids hockey team for his community service. Gordon has experience on the ice, but isn't eager to return to hockey, a point hit home by his tense dealings with his own former coach, Jack Reilly. The reluctant Gordon eventually grows to appreciate his team, which includes promising young Charlie Conway, and leads them to take on Reilly's tough players.

6.6

MagicScore

#12

Little Giants

1994

When Danny O'Shea's daughter is cut from the Peewee football team just for being a girl, he decides to form his own team, composed of other ragtag players who were also cut. Can his team really learn enough to beat the elite team, coached by his brother, a former pro player?

6.5

MagicScore

#13

D2: The Mighty Ducks

1994

After Gordon Bombay's hockey comeback is cut short he is named coach of Team USA Hockey for the Junior Goodwill Games. Bombay reunites the Mighty Ducks and introduces a few new players, however, he finds himself distracted by his newfound fame and must regather if the Ducks are to defeat tournament favourites Iceland.

6.2

MagicScore

#14

Ladybugs

1992

To climb the corporate ladder to success, a businessman agrees to coach his company's all-girl soccer team with the help of his secret weapon: his fiancee's son.

5.7

MagicScore

#15

Let's Go, Jets!

2017

Female students, including Hikari Tomonaga, from a high school cheerdance club follow strict instructions from their teacher Kaoruko Saotome. They compete at the USA Cheerdance Championship.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Win Win

2011

When down-on-his-luck part-time high school wrestling coach Mike agrees to become legal guardian to an elderly man, his ward's troubled grandson turns out to be a star grappler, sparking dreams of a big win -- until the boy's mother retrieves him.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Stick It

2006

Haley is a naturally gifted athlete but, with her social behavior, the teen seems intent on squandering her abilities. After a final brush with the law, a judge sentences her to an elite gymnastics academy run by a legendary, hard-nosed coach. Once there, Haley's rebellious attitude wins her both friends and enemies.

6.8

MagicScore

#18

The Replacements

2000

Maverick old-guard coach Jimmy McGinty is hired in the wake of a players' strike to help the Washington Sentinels advance to the playoffs. But that impossible dream hinges on whether his replacements can hunker down and do the job. So, McGinty dusts off his secret dossier of ex-players who never got a chance (or screwed up the one they were given) and knits together a bad-dream team of guys who just may give the Sentinels their title shot.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

The Winning Season

2009

A comedy centered on a has-been coach who is given a shot at redemption when he's asked to run his local high school's girls basketball team

6.3

MagicScore

#20

Wildcats

1986

High school track coach Molly McGrath knows just as much about football as anyone else on the planet. When a football coach's position becomes vacant, she applies for the job, despite snickers from fellow staff members and her former husband.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?

The top films similar to The Bad News Bears Go to Japan by MovieMagicScore are The Bad News Bears (6.9), The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (5.7), Bad News Bears (5.8). Each shares comedy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Bad News Bears Go to Japan worth watching?

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan holds a MovieMagicScore of 4.7/10 from 39 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978) is a comedy film directed by John Berry, starring Tony Curtis, Jackie Earle Haley, Tomisaburō Wakayama.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Bad News Bears Movies like The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training Movies like Bad News Bears Movies like The Final Season Movies like The Sandlot Movies like You Gotta Believe

About movies like The Bad News Bears Go to Japan

This ranked list pairs The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), a comedy film from John Berry, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tony Curtis take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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