Battle of the Sexes

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Battle of the Sexes

PG-13

Released Sep 29, 2017

2h 1m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

314 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past.

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Critics Consensus

Battle of the Sexes turns real-life events into a crowd-pleasing, well-acted dramedy that ably entertains while smartly serving up a volley of present-day parallels.

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Heather Hogan

Autostraddle

It's a sports movie, complete with breathless action sequences, overwrought crowd reactions, and a soaring score. It's a biopic about a legend. And it's one of the best lesbian films I've ever seen.

Jul 2, 2018

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

At 121 minutes, Battle of the Sexes occasionally drags, but it's the Hairy Legged Feminist-Male Chauvinist Pig showdown that we needed right now.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 1, 2017

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

The film is not unsuccessful, as it's mostly entertaining enough, and if the gender politics seem oversimplified, there are reminders of some real-life commentaries.

Nov 29, 2017

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Injecting earnest drama and profundity into the tried-and-true sports movie formula, directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton have crafted a gratifying yarn packed with contagious enthusiasm.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 16, 2024

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Brian T. Carney

Washington Blade

Andrea Riseborough is great as Billie Jean’s first girlfriend and Austin Stowall and Elisabeth Shue turn in fine performances as their conflicted spouses.

Dec 14, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Fortunately, the film never becomes a hype machine or gets caught up in the bizarre media circus around the central match. The concentration remains on the players and the emotional stakes, as well as what King's victory represents.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 17, 2022

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Julia L

A brilliant film which will stay with you.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/30/25

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Audience Member

Great Movie. I was there for the actual event- they completely Nailed the environment and Times. Emma's great in everything, Pullman was great, Steve Carell is such a fun actor to watch- always nice seeing him in anything. As easy add to any collection regardless of historical relevance. I was watching it an it ended so quickly- I enjoyed all of it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/20/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é mais ou menos, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

Full Review

Audience Member

This Movie just feels off in every way. Sure it's based on a true story and depicts what happend, but i just feel like it's looked upon in the wrong way. (Not saying I can do better, just my opinion). The male chauvinism was very clear from the getgo and was talked about every 10 minutes. I get that that's the point of the movie, however we are bound to get the message after 3 or 4 times, but 15 just feels like its forced down our throughts. The acting wasn't astonisthing, but there wasnt much to work with given the viewpoint/writing of the movie. I also think that the time period in which the movie takes place is pretty uncomfortable and not nice to look at (as i am not from that time period). But that is my problem. TLDR I feel like the director approched the movie at the wrong angle. 4/10

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/21/24

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Jeff M

Stone excels in highly enjoyable film. King's story more interesting than titular battle though it is well filmed.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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Alec B

Dayton and Faris seem to love the early 70s aesthetics more than anything else in this story, which at times comes at the cost of the characters. That said the best thing here is how inevitable King's victory always feels, which makes Riggs' antics all the more pathetic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

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Valerie Faris

Director

Jonathan Dayton

Director

Emma Stone

Billie Jean King

Steve Carell

Bobby Riggs

Andrea Riseborough

Marilyn Barnett

Natalie Morales

Rosie Casals

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Synopsis

The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past.

Director: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Producer: Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Robert Graf
Screenwriter: Simon Beaufoy
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Cloud Eight, Decibel Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Content|Partial Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.6M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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