An inspiring docudrama starring Jason Sudeikis is set to exit Netflix’s catalog soon. It centers on a Black athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Nazi Germany. Upon release, the film received both critical and commercial success.
Race is leaving Netflix next month
Race will be dropped from Netflix’s library on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (via What’s on Netflix).
Stephen Hopkins (director of 24 and House of Lies) helmed the film. Meanwhile, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse served as the writers. Its cast features Jason Sudeikis as Larry, Stephan James as Jesse Owens, Jeremy Irons as Avery, Carice van Houten as Leni, and William Hurt as Jeremiah, among others.
Initially, John Boyega was going to star as Jesse Owens. However, he walked away from the project to star in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (via The Daily Beast).
Set in the 1930s, Race centers on Jesse Owens as he attends Ohio State University. Despite his extraordinary talents, he faces intense racism from many white athletes. However, one person sees him for his potential—Coach Larry Snyder.
As a former Olympic athlete himself, Larry tirelessly trains Jesse to take part in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. In the face of political pressure and family responsibilities, Jesse participates in the Games and wins a record-breaking four gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics.
Released on February 19, 2016, Race received high praise from nearly everyone. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 64% Tomatometer score and a 77% Popcornmeter score. Meanwhile, CinemaScore assigned it an A rating on the A-F scale, and over 40K users gave it an average score of 7.1 out of 10 on IMDb.
Owing to all the positive reception, Race experienced an impressive run at the global box office. It reportedly cost the studio $5 million to make the film, and ended its theatrical run with $23.7 million globally.