Brad Lewison, Mark Wahlberg, and Elijah DeBell, Paul Walter Hauser, are a mismatched duo tasked with presenting a provocative new condom to Brazil’s Travel Ministry in hopes it becomes the official World Cup sponsor. Their invention, cheekily named The Testicle Sentinel, is a product that literally aims to cover the basics in a bold, satirical way. The pitch takes place before a room of executives where the ambitious plan seems to be on the fast track until an ecstatic celebration erupts chaos: Senhor Santos loses control, and the fallout costs all three of them their posts. The team watches in disbelief as The Testicle Sentinel—soon renamed Balls Up—falls behind a rival bid, effectively ending their shot at glory.
Left unemployed and nursing blame, the partners drift apart as months pass. Fortune, however, intervenes in an amusing twist: they are sent to Brazil with free tickets to the World Cup final, a promise that recalls the old deal Santos had made. Reluctantly, they reunite for one last shot at redemption. As the final match unfolds, the mood shifts from lighthearted competition to real danger. Elijah, frustrated by the rival sponsor’s mascot, storms onto the field in a moment of impulsive fury, and Brad chases after him. In the ensuing chaos, Elijah’s reckless run leads to a fateful misstep that blocks Brazil’s attempt to tie the game, altering the course of the final and sealing their fate.
Detention and a legal scramble follow, with Antonia Costa stepping in as their public attorney. Yet the two men reject her help, choosing to face the consequences rather than let anyone else shoulder their burden. Their stubborn stubbornness collides with political and military forces, culminating in a high-stakes encounter with Brazilian Defense Minister Cristos. He offers them a path home, but only if they accept punishment. The pair refuse to concede, and the consequences push them into a perilous journey that leads them into the grip of a ruthless cartel.
Captured and transported to a lavish drug cartel compound, they meet the enigmatic Pavio Curto Bundchen, whose bets on the World Cup are as grand as his appetite for risk. Rather than being punished, they become unwitting players in Curto’s scheme as he sees a bigger opportunity in their Balls Up concept to ferry drugs more efficiently. When a rival cartel stages a brutal assault, Curto is killed, and Brad and Elijah escape amid a chaotic escape that sends them fleeing into the jungle in a drug-filled truck that eventually crashes.
The jungle becomes a brutal test of endurance. A massive black caiman swallows the test condoms packed with drugs and dies, forcing the duo to improvise for survival by using scarce resources, including eating the caiman’s flesh to regain strength. Their situation grows bleaker as environmentalists—fierce in their mission to stop poaching—spot them and publicly condemn their actions after video footage reveals the feast. They manage to slip away once more by commandeering a boat and pushing off down the Amazon.
The following morning brings a stark shift in fate: their boat is intercepted by a Brazilian gunboat commanded by Cristos, who offers jail time as a way out of the country’s mounting fury. The two men refuse the offer, and Cristos ultimately leaves them to face the wilderness and the next obstacle at Iguazu Falls. They survive the treacherous descent, only to come face to face with Isadora, a spy posing as Isadora, who is aligned with the Argentinian government and has been orchestrating their rescue for some time. The twist reveals a larger rescue operation in motion, and the pair are welcomed as heroes in Argentina.
With their rivalry forgotten and their friendship renewed, Brad and Elijah finally get their chance to pitch Ball Up again. This time, the stars align, the odds tilt in their favor, and the unlikely duo—through stubbornness, perseverance, and a healthy dose of chaos—sees their product reach the World Cup market in a way they never imagined. The journey transforms them from quarrelsome partners into a capable team that can weather headlines, danger, and the unpredictable whims of a global spectacle, proving that even the most improbable ideas can find a footing when backed by grit and a stubborn belief in each other.
