← Apex Mountain

Back to the Future

1985 · directed by Robert Zemeckis · 116 min
28,154 feet · Prominence
11th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Back to the Future’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan

How this film scores

Draw81

Lifetime worldwide gross $381m, re-releases included; about $1.17bn in 2026 money.

Rank131 of 11,051In 19851 of 123

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise93

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics91 baseAwards57 signal → +3 lift

Oscars1 won Sound Editing2 nominated Original Screenplay, Sound
Golden Globes3 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs3 nominated Best Picture, Screenplay, Craft and other
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy92

Judged directly: DeLorean, hoverboard, endlessly referenced.

Verdict92 of 100IMDb8.5 from 1.5mWikipedia123k views a monthAge41 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 13 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

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.

draw 81 praise 93 legacy 92averages 89, placing it at28,154 ft
How the three become one number

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.

Whose apex this is

▲ Michael J. Fox▲ Lea Thompson

In these careers — elevation for this film

Michael J. Fox20,287 ftChristopher Lloyd20,045 ftLea Thompson19,169 ftCrispin Glover18,922 ftThomas F. Wilson18,284 ftBilly Zane17,672 ftEric Stoltz17,671 ftFrances Lee McCain17,639 ftGeorge Buck Flower17,633 ft