Top 20 High School Movie Fight Scenes

“Back to the Future” (1985)
When Marty’s sent back in time to 1955, he has to make sure his parents George and Lorraine end up together at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. There’s a slight complication in that Biff has his eye on Lorraine and she’s into Marty. Despite all this Marty comes up with a plan for George to rescue Lorraine on the night of the dance. When George arrives to “save” Lorraine, he finds Biff there and she’s actually in danger. Biff tells him to leave but George stands his ground. Biff easily has George pinned but after a distraction from Lorraine, George is able to lay him out with one punch.

“First Kid” (1996)
Being the son of the President probably has its perks but it can also bring unwanted attention. That’s the issue facing Luke Davenport as he’s picked on by classmate Rob MacArthur. After an exchange of insults during lunch, the two come face to face and are quickly surrounded by fellow students eager to see a fight. Luke throws a few punches but they fail to connect. Rob hits Luke right in the mouth before the fight is broken up. Don’t feel too bad for Luke, as throughout the film he trains to be a better fighter and when the two square up at a school dance, Luke is able to deliver a KO to Rob.

“17 Again” (2009)
After being transformed back into his 17 year old self, Mike begins to learn more about his kids. He finds out that his son is being picked on by Stan, who also is the same guy who’s dating his daughter, Maggie. Understandably, this does not sit well with Mike as Stan is a jerk. In a class about sex ed, Stan makes a comment about how he’s gonna get it on with Maggie over the weekend and Mike just loses it. He tackles Stan but unfortunately for him, Stan quickly gets the upper hand and just wails on Mike. The whole thing is filmed and it goes viral. It was a valiant effort but Mike didn’t stand a chance.

“The Faculty” (1998)
The teachers are being controlled by aliens at Harrington High School. Several students have noticed some peculiarities but nothing definitive. Casey finds a weird creature in the grass and brings it to Mr. Furlong, who believes it to be some undiscovered parasite. After a closer encounter with the infected faculty, Casey and others return to Mr. Furlong’s classroom to retrieve the creature. It’s gone but Furlong soon shows up and it's not long before he tries to infect them but the students fight back. Some of the CG doesn’t hold up but it’s still freaky nonetheless to find out your teacher is an alien.

“Step Brothers” (2008)
Brennan and Dale are returning home after a series of unsuccessful job interviews. On their way back home, they come across a group of kids Dale has had trouble with previously. The kids swarm them and two are beaten pretty badly. By the end of the film, Brennan and Dale have become successful and decide to pay a visit to their school yard adversaries. This time around they proceed to absolutely wallop the kids even though they are vastly outnumbered. It’s an outlandish, over the top sequence that you can’t help laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of everything.

“Pretty in Pink” (1986)
After avoiding her for several days, Andie is finally able to track down Blane at school. She inquires about their prom plans and he sheepishly says he had asked someone else to go but forgot about it. She accuses him of lying and the real reason is he’s ashamed to be seen with her. She leaves heartbroken. When Blane leaves, he runs into Steff who further disparages Andie. Witness to all this was Duckie who reached his breaking point after Steff insulted Andie. Duckie tackles Steff to the ground and a fight ensues. It’s broken up and Duckie runs away but we totally get where he’s coming from.

“Bring It On” (2000)
The Rancho Carne Toros football team doesn’t have a stellar reputation. When they run onto the field for their home game against a rival school, there’s barely a reaction from the crowd. This is contrasted by the crowd's reaction when the Toros cheerleading team is announced where everyone goes wild. It makes sense as the cheerleaders have won five cheerleading championships while the football team can barely play. In fact, the opposing football team begins taunting the Toros and a bench clearing brawl ensues. We don’t see much of the action but if the Toros fight like they play, we didn’t miss much.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2009)
There have been some strange occurrences at Hogwarts such as Katie Bell being cursed and Ron Weasley being poisoned. Draco Malfoy has been acting rather peculiar and Harry suspects he may be involved with what happened to Katie and Ron. Harry confronts Malfoy in the bathroom and without a word Malfoy starts sending out hexes Harry’s way. The two boys duel but no one is really able to land a hit until Harry uses a spell from his potions book that sends Malfoy to the ground. He’s badly injured as a result and luckily Snape arrives to heal Malfoy.

“Dangerous Minds” (1995)
LouAnn Johnson is struggling to connect with her students as they’re from low income backgrounds and don’t see school as something valuable. Two of her students, Emilio and Raul, come across each other in the halls and have beef. As tensions between them rise, LouAnn steps in to break things up and makes the swear there’s no further animosity. After they leave Angela tells LouAnn they’re gonna fight anyway. Sure enough, in a locker room is a full on brawl. It’s a hectic scene as blows are exchanged until security arrives to intervene. Before being taken away LouAnn asks Raul why he fought. He replies that if he didn’t, he’d look weak and subject to attack himself.

“The Boy Next Door” (2015)
Noah is new to town. He quickly becomes obsessed with next door neighbor Claire and befriends her son, Kevin, as part of his manipulation tactics. At school Kevin is taunted by Jason Zimmer and when Kevin talks back, it looks like a fight is about to break out between the two. Out of nowhere Noah enters and clocks Jason and throws him to the ground. Jason’s friends promptly ditch and when the vice-principal tries to break it up, she’s shoved aside. This isn’t so much a fight as it is a one sided beatdown showing just how violent Noah can be.

“Grosse Pointe Blank” (1997)
When a cynical hitman returns to his hometown for a high school reunion, he tries to reconnect with people and places from his past. A life of murder-for-hire is pretty hard to shake though. At the reunion, Martin Blank explores the halls, and between the lockers is set upon by a rival hitman. The fight is fast and furious, the two contract killers both showing off their martial arts prowess. Hopefully the school has never seen a rumble this serious before. Fortunately, Blank is prepared for class and can finish the impromptu assignment. Remember kids, always bring a pen.

“The Warriors Gate” (2016)
Jack Bronson has it kind of rough. As if it isn’t bad enough that he and his mom might lose their house, he’s also got bullies to deal with between part-time jobs and school. Fortunately, after coming into possession of a magical artifact, he becomes a fighting expert in real life as well as just video games. After surviving a magical quest in the Unknown Kingdom, he returns home and is once more confronted by his bully, Tavis. This time he’s ready. In no time at all, he puts Tavis to the ground. Short and sweet though the scene may be, there's nothing quite like seeing a jerk put in his place and the little guy coming out on top.

“The Kissing Booth” (2018)
When Elle Evans returns to school accidentally wearing a too-short skirt, she gets more than a few looks. One kid, Tuppen, decides to take it upon himself to be “that guy” and grab her butt. Elle is horrified and Lee Flynn, her best friend, justifiably outraged. Vying hard for Douche of the Year on day one of school, Tuppen just smirks, setting Lee off. Raring to fight but outsized, Lee is backed up by older brother Noah, who jumps into the fray and proceeds to loosen some of Tuppen’s teeth. Swift comeuppance is always so satisfying.

“Moonlight” (2016)
This is one high school fight scene on our list that’s devastating, rather than satisfying. Chiron has it hard enough trying to support his drug addicted mother and avoiding bullies. The situation worsens when his main bully, Terrel, forces Chiron’s friend Kevin to fight Chrion in order to prove himself. Kevin’s betrayal carries an extra sting, since the two became physically intimate the night before. It’s heartbreaking to watch Chiron take punch after punch, refusing to fight back, as Kevin urges him to stay down. Chiron does get his revenge against Terrel, but at a high cost - getting sent to juvenile hall.

“Sky High” (2005)
Will Stronghold’s first fight against Warren Peace is certainly memorable, helping to establish both characters. But it’s Will’s final showdown with the truly villainous Royal Pain that we had to go with here. After it’s revealed that Gwen is the REAL Royal Pain, the two superpowered teens duke it out, Royal with her tech suit and Will with his superstrength. Fun and exciting, flashing back and forth between the main conflict and the separate fights of his friends, the showdown unlocks a final surprise, both for Will and the audience. Why can’t this have been our school?!

“Fist Fight” (2017)
The nice thing about growing up is being able to put all your childish feuds behind you, getting older, wiser and more mature … unless you’re these guys. After running afoul of the ill-tempered and unhinged Ron Strickland, Andy Campbell is challenged to an old school after school fight. After Campbell’s desperate attempts to avoid the fight all fail - and because there are zero responsible authorities in this universe apparently - they finally throw down in a big way, with the whole school egging them on. There’s something endlessly entertaining about seeing teachers brawling like there’s no tomorrow. Pass the popcorn.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012)
In this emotional coming of age story, Charlie makes friends with Sam and her step-brother Patrick. At a party, he discovers that Patrick is in a secret relationship with Brad, a popular athlete with a sadly homophobic and abusive father. Caught by his dad, but not ready to come out at school, Brad turns on Patrick in front of his friends. While Patrick lands the first blow, it’s not long before Brad’s jock buddies are ganging up. The escalation and emotional climax of Charlie’s intervention make this a scene that sticks with you long after the final hit.

“Mean Girls” (2004)
Cady Heron just wanted friends. After moving from Africa to Illinois, she befriends a couple of misfits before infiltrating the Plastics, a clique of popular girls. After Cady takes queen bee Regina George’s place, Regina decides that if she’s going down, so is the whole hive! She releases all the details of their notorious Burn Book, a scrapbook of rumors, half-truths, and ugly lies . . . resulting in a school-wide brawl. The scene is wild, hilarious, and chaotic, as the junior girls revert to “jungle madness” the moment their secrets are exposed and friendships tested.

“Three O’Clock High” (1987)
After an unintentionally awkward encounter with a new and highly volatile student goes wrong, meek Jerry Mitchell is challenged to a fight after school. He does everything he can to get out of the fight – planting a switchblade, flirting with a teacher, even just running away. At last, in the parking lot, he faces off against the incensed Buddy. The lead-up here is intense, only growing as others try to stop the fight. When Buddy finally pulls out a set of brass knuckles, the tension is palpable. Having avoided conflict all day, Jerry finally realizes that sometimes, the only thing to do with a bully is to stand up to him.

“Spider-Man” (2002)
Before he was a member of the Avengers, taking on intergalactic menaces, he was just a nerdy kid learning about power and responsibility. With the help of his new-found Spidey senses, Peter is able to dodge and out-maneuver hot-head Flash Thompson. This iconic scene perfectly balances the idea of who Peter was with who he’s about to become, as he surprises everyone - himself included - with superhuman speed, agility, and strength. They tried to recapture the magic in the 2012 reboot, but like Flash’s punches it just didn’t land in the same way.

What’s your favorite fight scene? Let us know in the comments!