30 Best Movies Based on True Stories That You Have to See to Believe

This semi-autobiographical, bittersweet black and white movie tells the story of filmmaker Kenneth Branagh's own childhood growing up in the Northern Ireland capital. Set in the late 1960s, on the cusp of The Troubles, Belfast scored seven 2022 Oscars nominations, including Best Picture.

With 11 Academy Award wins, including Best Picture, and a box office tally that shattered all previous records, Titanic is the biggest film ever made about a real event. Released in 1997, it's a jaw-dropping disaster spectacle, though it remains at its heart a romance about star-crossed lovers, thanks to the off-the-charts chemistry between leads Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Where does greatness lie? According to this biopic, it begins with a man with a plan—in this case Serena and Venus Williams' determined dad, played winningly by Will Smith. While we wonder why a film about the tennis greats wouldn't focus on them, it's hard to find fault (get it?) with this seriously inspiring film.

Julia Roberts won the Best Actress Oscar, and deservedly so, for her fearless, full-throttle portrayal of the titular crusading law clerk who faces down a corrupt mega-corp poisoning a small town's water supply. As whip-smart as it is funny and poignant, this film by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's 11, Traffic) is a rousing, feel-good winner.

Like Netflix fav The Crown, this well-received film imagines what might have taken place behind-the-scenes during various real events in the lives of the British royals. Spencer tightens it's focus, however, zeroing in on the 1991 Christmas holiday and exploring what Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) might have experienced as she realized her marriage was coming to an end.

Speaking of The Crown, cast member Olivia Colman netted an Academy Award in 2019 for her portrayal of Queen Anne, an 18th-century British monarch, in The Favourite. The black comedy deftly details the love triangle between the Queen and two fellow blue bloods, played by Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.

This exhilarating period drama rights a serious wrong, telling the previously unsung story of three heroic Black women who battled racism at NASA to help send astronaut John Glenn into space. The crackerjack cast includes Tara P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role.

A sweeping romantic epic, Out of Africa, which snared seven Oscars in 1986, is the kind of movie they don't much make anymore. Based on Karen von Blixen's memoir, it stars Meryl Streep as the woman who buys a plantation in Kenya, and Robert Redford as the adventurer who loves her. Swoon.

While there are plenty of great football movies based on real life (we're looking at you, Rudy), we especially love this heart-warmer. The plot follows a homeless teen and the gridiron-loving gal who takes him in, teaching him the rules of football—and life. Stars Sandra Bullock, who won an Academy Award for her role, Kathy Bates and Tim McGraw.

Boasting not only a dazzling soundtrack but the Oscar-winning lead performance from Jennifer Hudson as well, this biopic follows the life of diva Aretha Frankin from childhood on through the triumphant recording of her blockbuster album, Amazing Grace.

Written and directed by Jerry Maguire creator Cameron Crowe and based on his experiences as teen music journalist touring with the Allman Brothers Band, this laugh-out-loud funny, surprisingly touching film features a star-making turn from Kate Hudson, and a typically brilliant performance by Frances McDormand, who almost steals the show as the budding scribe's protective mom.

Once upon a time, during WWII, the men went to battle and the women got to play ball in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A beloved comedy that can be enjoyed by every member of the family, A League of Their Own just never gets old—even if it turns 30 this year.

Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Lion follows the life of a young Indian boy after he becomes separated from his family, is adopted by an Australian couple, and, decades later, sets off to find his birth mother. If this one doesn't bring tears to your eyes, you'd best check your pulse.

Whether or not you recall what happened to the real-life Apollo 13 astronauts, this Ron Howard-helmed effort about the disastrous 1970 lunar mission is a nail-biter. Tom Hanks stars, with plenty of support from outstanding actors like Ed Harris, Bill Paxton and Gary Sinese.

A mash-up of biopic and law procedural, Mimi Leder's drama introduces us to a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she fights before the U.S. Court of Appeals in a gender discrimination case.

While we have to admit we questioned the casting of perpetually perky Reese Witherspoon, the actress ultimately won an Oscar for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. Joaquin Phoenix is equally phenomenal in this look at the turbulent life and times of the Man in Black.

Based on Jessica Bruder‘s 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, this affecting film features Frances McDormand as Fern, who moves into her van after losing her job. It's hard to say what's more stunning, the cinematography that so perfectly captures the beauty and solitude of the American West, or McDormand's powerhouse performance, which netted her a third Oscar.

Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction, as this black comedy illustrates. Margot Robbie proves she has acting chops to spare as Tonya Harding, the figure skater whose husband attacked her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. The idea was to ensure Harding's spot on the Olympic team, but whether Harding was part of the plot has never been proven.

The hills will always be alive with the sound of music, judging by the long-enduring popularity of Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical from 1965. Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it stars Julie Andrews as a governess who must escape with her charges and their father when Nazi Germany annexes Austria.

Daniel Day-Lewis racked up another Oscar win playing the Civil War-time president who gave his life guiding the country though it's most tragic, tumultuous years. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Lincoln was a worldwide hit, grossing more than $275 million.