← Apex Mountain

Steel Magnolias

1989 · directed by Herbert Ross · 117 min
23,730 feet · Prominence
1,010th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw63

Lifetime worldwide gross $96m, re-releases included; about $255m in 2026 money.

Rank1,354 of 11,051In 198917 of 156

How Draw works

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

Praise71

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics65 baseAwards39 signal → +7 lift

Oscars1 nominated Supporting Actress
Golden Globes1 won Supporting Actress1 nominated Lead acting
BAFTAs1 nominated Supporting acting
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.

Legacy52

Judged directly: Endlessly quoted comfort classic for its audience.

Verdict52 of 100IMDb7.3 from 68kWikipedia64k views a monthAge37 years

Scored beside it · 954 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 63 praise 71 legacy 52averages 62, placing it at23,730 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

▲ Olympia Dukakis

In these careers — elevation for this film

Julia Roberts19,832 ftSally Field19,742 ftShirley MacLaine19,223 ftDolly Parton18,791 ftOlympia Dukakis18,685 ftDaryl Hannah18,628 ftSam Shepard18,082 ftTom Skerritt18,080 ftDylan McDermott17,644 ftKevin J. O'Connor17,640 ftJanine Turner17,632 ft