American movies about contests

After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.

Two teen rival babysitters, Jenny and Luci, team up to hunt down one of their kids who accidentally ran away into the big city without any supervision.

A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in order to boldly go and deliver her 500-page Star Trek script to a writing competition in Hollywood. On an adventure full of laughter and tears, Wendy follows the guiding spirit of Mr. Spock on her journey into the unknown.

Brilliant trivia whiz Paul Tarson is great at answering little questions but horrible at answering the big ones – like what’s he going to do after grad school? When his father withdraws his funding, Paul is forced to confront his future and much procrastinated dissertation deadline…until he discovers the First Annual Ann Arbor Pub Trivia Tournament.

Competing bakery owners, Faye McKenzie and Lydia Harper have been feuding for years with the Lake Shore County Harvest Festival’s annual pumpkin pie bake-off at the center of it all. The winner not only gets bragging rights and a trophy, but a substantial boost to her business, as well. This year, however, the women are passing the torch to their respective children, Casey and Sam, and when romantic sparks fly between them, this bake-off promises to be one to remember.

Five teenagers compete to win a mansion owned by entrepreneur and scientist Atticus Virtue. To win the teens must face-off against a super computer named HAVEN who controls the mansion.

A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.

Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting competition against him. McAdam wins the prize, a one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, but Dutch steals it and leaves town. McAdam follows, intent on settling his old quarrel, while the rifle keeps changing hands and touching a number of lives.

In this competition/elimination series, special effects make-up artists participate in elaborate challenges for a grand prize and the honor of being Hollywood's next great effects artist.

A disaffected Texas teen spends his 16th birthday getting high, hanging out and having casual sex.

A police officer faces a personal meltdown following a divorce and the death of his mother.

Life for a single mom in Los Angeles takes an unexpected turn when she allows three young guys to move in with her.

Self-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.

A petty car thief in a small Southern Ohio town gets involved in an underground game of life and death.

A deeply personal coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream.

A young man’s difficult entry into adulthood, who experiences the highs and lows of his first love, while dealing with the familial fallout spurred by the financial crisis of 2008.

Yearning for an evening without their kids, some friends plan a night out. But to do this, their husbands need to watch the kids. What can go wrong?

Sadie and Kevin have decided to spend a romantic weekend together at his lake house. But when an unexpected- and unfortunate- text from her best friend Jennifer to Kevin reveals a lurid love affair between the two, Sadie spirals into a hunger for revenge.

A professor creates a device that allows him and his colleague to change the course of events from the past in order to improve their current life.

Arnulfo Rubio smuggles weapons from Arizona to Mexico for a drug cartel, but he is being investigated by agent Harris. When agent Harris blows his covers, he and Arnulfo end up in a journey where he will be the hostage of this young criminal.

This Christmas, a super frozen object is going to slam into the Earth. In the middle of a small town, and very quickly, dreams of a "White Christmas" will turn into a FROZEN NIGHTMARE.

A dishonest insurance salesman's life quickly disintegrates during a Wisconsin winter when he teams up with a psychopath to steal a rare violin at the home of a reclusive farmer.

Broadway Idiot follows Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong from a punk rock concert at Madison Square Garden to the opening of his musical American Idiot on Broadway - only ten blocks away, but worlds apart. From behind the curtain share in the crazy journey of turning the mega-hit album into a punk rock musical - and ultimately see how the world of theater transformed Billie Joe.

A maniacal clown named Art terrorizes three young women and everyone else who stands in his way on Halloween night.

A dark comedic tale about love, revenge, and the fickle nature of human morality.

The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”

An inner-city high school teacher discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her most promising students and the two develop an unlikely friendship while struggling to navigate their unexpected pregnancies.

Rebellious Mickey and good-natured Gus navigate the thrills and agonies of modern relationships.

A group of friends download a Siri-like App which, at first, seems like a harmless way to get directions or a restaurant recommendation. But the sinister nature of the App soon reveals itself. The App not only knows each person’s deepest, darkest fears, but is able to manifest these fears into the real world to literally scare the kids to death.

Documentary examining what happens to some of the biggest names in the history of the adult entertainment industry after they leave the business and try and live "normal" lives.

A young woman with Asperger's tries to find her first boyfriend with a little help from her older sister.

Tommy and his older brother Eric live in the midst of vast remote forests. The death of their friend pushes them close to the edge. Eric doesn’t know how to channel his energy. All at once, nature’s vastness feels stifling.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water again, you can’t even get across the sand! BLOOD BEACH meets SPRING BREAKERS in an ace monster mash-up of smart nostalgia and up-to-the-minute visual effects. After an all-night graduation beach party, a group of hung-over students wake up under blazing sun to find their numbers somewhat depleted. An enormous alien creature has burrowed down deep and anyone foolish enough to make contact with the sand finds themselves at the mercy of a sea of flesh-eating tentacles. Will they ever be able to escape its carnivorous clutches?

Dolph Springer wakes up one morning to realize he has lost the love of his life, his dog, Paul. During his quest to get Paul (and his life) back, Dolph radically changes the lives of others -- risking his sanity all the while.

Gary, who has just married Samantha, the woman of his dreams, discovers that her six-year-old son may be the Antichrist.

The daughter of a wealthy real estate mogul falls in love with a younger man, and she is introduced to the world of BDSM. With her newly awakened sexual prowess, she is finally able to take control of her life.

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

When a group of close-knit friends assemble for the marriage of Skylar and Dan, they have no idea they will witness The Rapture and face a series of catastrophic events turning the celebration into a life-or-death struggle.

A series of mishaps threaten a recently divorced mom's attempts to make her two kids' first Christmas "without dad" perfect.

After breaking up with his longtime stage partner, a famous but jaded Vegas magician fights for relevance when a new, "hip" street magician appears on the scene.

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to his gruesome crimes in unguarded interviews, offering an unsettling view into a disturbed mind.

20 years after the dimwits set out on their first adventure, they head out in search of one of their long lost children in the hope of gaining a new kidney.

Evelyn and her oblivious son Ziggy seek out replacements for each other as Evelyn desperately tries to parent an unassuming teenager at her shelter, while Ziggy fumbles through his pursuit of a brilliant young woman at school.

For Shirin, being part of a perfect Persian family isn't easy. Acceptance eludes her from all sides: her family doesn't know she's bisexual, and her ex-girlfriend, Maxine, can't understand why she doesn't tell them. Even the six-year-old boys in her moviemaking class are too ADD to focus on her for more than a second. Following a family announcement of her brother's betrothal to a parentally approved Iranian prize catch, Shirin embarks on a private rebellion involving a series of bisexual escapades, while trying to decipher what went wrong with Maxine.

Set in Newark during the 1960s race riots between the African-American and Italian communities. The war between the cultural mobs turns especially lethal. Prequel to the TV series The Sopranos.

A radio journalist and his technician get in over their heads when they hatch a scheme to fake their own kidnapping during a rebel uprising in South America and hide out in New York instead.

Bosch embarks on the next chapter of his career and finds himself working with his one-time enemy, Honey Chandler.

Demon hunter, Jebediah Huntley teams up with an FBI agent to battle a supernatural force in the southern state of Mississippi.

Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.

Former race car driver Brent Magna (Hawke) is pitted against the clock. Desperately trying to save the life of his kidnapped wife, Brent commandeers a custom Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake, taking it and its unwitting owner (Gomez) on a high-speed race against time, at the command of the mysterious villain holding his wife hostage.