
$211m worldwide in 1989 — $562m in today's money.
As released$211mIn 2026 money$562mRank504 of 8,589In 19899 of 125
Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.
Critics 90, awards 31. Half each, so Praise lands at 92.
Critics90 → 45Awards31 → 16
Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so the awards half halves it — which penalises it for the Academy's rules rather than its quality.
Judged directly: Launched Disney Renaissance, Ariel permanently iconic.
Verdict82 of 100IMDb7.6 from 310kWikipedia61k views a monthAge37 years
If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.
Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.
Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.
No scored career runs through this film yet. The people-side engine currently covers 108careers, and this film’s cast sits outside them. Top billing: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Pat Carroll, Christopher Daniel Barnes.