When Torrance Shipman takes over the Rancho Carne High cheer squad in Bring It On, she expects another championship season. Instead, she discovers that her team’s routines were stolen from a rival squad, turning a school-spirit comedy into a story about competition, originality and reputation. Released in 2000, the Kirsten Dunst-led movie became one of the most recognizable entries in the cheerleading-movie genre. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
But cheerleaders have appeared on screen in far more than upbeat sports comedies. The wider genre includes a 1970s raunchy comedy, an ’80s slasher, a satirical coming-of-age film, true-crime television movies, a supernatural horror story and even a comedy about retirees forming their own squad.
Here is a fact-checked Films With Cheerleaders list, with the focus kept on films rather than television series such as Glee, Heroes and Hellcats. Entertainment Weekly’s cheerleader roundup includes both movies and TV, so those series are separated from the film selections here. (EW.com)
1. The Cheerleaders (1973)
For a look at the earliest era represented in this list, The Cheerleaders takes a very different approach from modern teen movies. The Paul Glickler-directed comedy follows high school cheerleaders whose unconventional efforts are tied to helping their football team. The film is explicitly rated R and is best understood as a raunchy 1970s comedy rather than a family-friendly sports movie. (IMDb)
2. Cheerleader Camp (1988)
Cheerleading and slasher horror meet in Cheerleader Camp. Betsy Russell stars as Alison, who attends a summer camp built around a cheerleading competition. The competition soon becomes secondary when a mysterious killer begins targeting people at the camp. The British Film Institute lists the film as a 1988 U.S. production directed by John Quinn, while Rotten Tomatoes identifies it as a horror title released that year. (BFI)
3. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader uses the image of the polished, all-American cheerleader to build a satire about sexual identity and conversion therapy. Natasha Lyonne plays Megan, a teenager whose parents send her to the fictional True Directions camp after deciding that she is gay. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1999, although its U.S. theatrical release followed in 2000, which explains why some databases emphasize different years. (ACMI)
4. Bring It On (2000)
This is the movie that brought competitive cheerleading firmly into mainstream teen comedy. Kirsten Dunst stars as Torrance, the newly elected captain of the Toros, who learns that the squad’s championship routines were copied from the Clovers, led by Gabrielle Union’s Isis. Torrance must help create an original routine while the two teams prepare for competition. Universal confirms the film’s 2000 release and its central conflict over stolen choreography. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
5. Sugar & Spice (2001)
What happens when a cheerleading squad tries to solve a financial crisis through crime? That is the setup for Sugar & Spice. Marley Shelton, Marla Sokoloff, Melissa George, Mena Suvari and Rachel Blanchard star as members of a cheer squad that turns to bank robbery after team member Diane faces an unexpected pregnancy. Released by New Line Cinema in January 2001, the film blends teen comedy with a crime-caper premise. (Rotten Tomatoes)
6. Bring It On Again (2004)
The Bring It On formula continued with Bring It On Again, which introduced a completely new group of characters. Anne Judson-Yager and Bree Turner lead the cast as college cheerleaders caught in a battle over who controls their new squad. Universal lists the release year as 2004 and describes the story around a new cheerleading team facing a winner-takes-all competition. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
7. Man of the House (2005)
Tommy Lee Jones is at the center of one of the more unusual entries on this list. In Man of the House, his Texas Ranger character goes undercover as an assistant coach after five college cheerleaders witness the murder of a drug-bust informant. Sony’s official synopsis places the ranger inside the students’ living arrangement as he attempts to protect them while maintaining his cover. (Sony Pictures)
8. Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
Hayden Panettiere leads the third Bring It On film, playing Britney Allen, a popular student whose life changes after she transfers schools. She joins the new cheer squad and eventually finds herself competing against her former team. Universal identifies the movie as a 2006 teen comedy, and its story once again revolves around rivalry and a major cheer competition. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
9. Fired Up! (2009)
In Fired Up!, two high school football players believe cheer camp will be an easy escape from football training. Shawn Colfax and Nick Brady head to camp intending to spend the summer around hundreds of cheerleaders, only to become increasingly involved in the sport itself. Sony Pictures describes the story as a comedy centered on the two players and the camp’s final competition. (Sony Pictures)
10. Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Cheerleading takes a supernatural turn in Jennifer’s Body. Megan Fox plays Jennifer Check, a popular cheerleader who becomes possessed by a demon and begins preying on boys in her Minnesota town. Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama, the R-rated horror-comedy was released on September 18, 2009. (20th Century Studios)
11. Poms (2019)
Not every cheerleader movie is about high school. Poms shifts the action to a retirement community, where Diane Keaton’s Martha and her new friend Sheryl, played by Jacki Weaver, form a cheerleading squad with fellow residents. STX describes the film as a comedy about pursuing a dream later in life, making it one of the more unusual variations on the familiar cheerleading formula. (Poms Movie)
12. Bring It On: Cheer or Die (2022)
The most recent film in this core Bring It On series changes the tone dramatically. In Cheer or Die, a squad secretly practices inside an abandoned school on Halloween weekend, only to discover that someone is hunting them. Apple TV lists it as a 2022 horror/sports movie, while Universal’s current seven-film collection confirms that it is part of the franchise. (Apple TV)
Made-for-TV Cheerleader Films
Several titles from the Entertainment Weekly list are films made for television rather than theatrical releases. The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993), starring Holly Hunter, dramatizes the real-life case of Wanda Holloway. A Friend to Die For, also known as Death of a Cheerleader (1994), was inspired by the murder of Kirsten Costas and starred Kellie Martin and Tori Spelling. Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal (2008), meanwhile, was a Lifetime drama based on events involving five cheerleaders at McKinney North High School. (Wikipedia)
The history of films with cheerleaders is much broader than the familiar Bring It On template. Across several decades, filmmakers have used cheerleading as the setting for teen rivalry, satire, crime, romance, horror and even second-chance stories. That range is what makes a cheerleader movie list useful: the familiar uniforms and competitions may connect these titles, but the stories themselves can be surprisingly different.
Sources:
- https://ew.com/gallery/cheerleader-movies-and-tv-shows
- https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/bring-it-on
- https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/firedup
- https://www.pomsmovie.com/synopsis/
- https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/81838482-b3df-5fbd-a406-a9b01a67740d/cheerleader-camp
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sugar_and_spice
