National Champions

R

Released Dec 10, 2021

1 hr. 56 min.

Drama

TRAILER

for National Champions: Trailer 1

List

66%

58 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

Audience Score

Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) ignite a player's strike declaring they won't compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes could not be higher. Now, with only hours until kickoff, the head coach (J.K. Simmons) and various power brokers (Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, Uzo Aduba) must race against the clock to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 19

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent National Champions on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

National Champions is well-acted and timely, even if it undercuts its own effectiveness with cheesy dialogue and gimmicky plot twists.

Read Critics Reviews

Jim

A little slow at times but a great storyline. Great exposure to the big business of college football

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/24/21

Full Review

daniel m

Intriguing movie but the final scene just ends.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/21/21

Full Review

Marie78

National Championship is a very enlightening movie especially with players now being allowed to benefit from endorsements. It is eye opening to the amount of money made in college football and the strain put on their bodies. But, the movie was a tad bit too long and really could’ve been a Netflix film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/18/21

Full Review

James U

Great job reviewing issues facing college football. Very interesting.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/17/21

Full Review

Keith M

Content was very relevant and acting was outstanding.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/16/21

Full Review

William T

Brilliant, complex and real! An intelligent, thought-provoking film that wss also very engaging and entertaining.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/16/21

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Ric Roman Waugh

Director

Stephan James

LeMarcus James

J.K. Simmons

Coach James Lazor

Alexander Ludwig

Emmett Sunday

Lil Rel Howery

Coach Ronnie Dunn

Tim Blake Nelson

Rodger Cummings

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

National Champions: Movie Clip - You're the Guest of Honor

0:40

National Champions: Movie Clip - This is a Shakedown

0:47

View more videos

84%

84%

The Way Back

TRAILER

for The Way Back

57%

47%

The Hummingbird Project

TRAILER

for The Hummingbird Project

90%

100%

Unsilenced

27%

61%

The Walk

TRAILER

for The Walk

13%

%

This Is the Night

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Weekend Box Office Results: West Side Story Wins Particularly Disappointing Weekend

National Champions: Trailer 1

3:00

View more videos

View more photos

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's very intense, very present day, and I liked it a lot.

Dec 24, 2021

Full Review

Adam Mullins-Khatib

Chicago Reader

While not a perfect film, National Champions does express the discourse around an important issue in a compelling way.

Dec 18, 2021

Full Review

Brian Lowry

CNN.com

The message is still worth contemplating, but lacking a better vehicle to convey it, feels more deserving of analysis on sports pages than the entertainment space.

Dec 11, 2021

Full Review

M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

National Champions is far from a perfect movie, but it’s one hell of an entertaining one.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 21, 2022

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

615 Film

Even when maybe it’s one twist too far, it’s still a deeply compelling expose on the hypocrisy of the NCAA and the danger of the “warrior” mentality that makes college athletes second-class citizens in their own sports.

Jun 15, 2022

Full Review

Julian Roman

MovieWeb

National Champions treads preachy, but makes an overall compelling argument against a skewed college athletics system.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 4, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) ignite a player's strike declaring they won't compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes could not be higher. Now, with only hours until kickoff, the head coach (J.K. Simmons) and various power brokers (Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, Uzo Aduba) must race against the clock to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.

Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Executive Producer: Russell Wilson, Jonathan Fuhrman, Matthew Helderman, Christian Mercuri, Adam Mervis
Screenwriter: Adam Mervis
Distributor: STX Films
Production Co: Thunder Road Pictures, BondIt Media Capital, Game1, Capstone Group, New Legend Entertainment
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Sexual References)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 10, 2021, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 28, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $455.5K

Most Popular at Home Now