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Whale Rider

2003 · directed by Niki Caro · 101 min · PG-13
22,698 feet · Prominence
1,667th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw52

Lifetime worldwide gross $41m, re-releases included; about $74m in 2026 money.

Rank3,473 of 11,051In 200398 of 227

How Draw works

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

Praise87

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics86 baseAwards20 signal → +1 lift

Oscars1 nominated Actress
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. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so there is little headroom for awards to claim. The score is the critics' verdict, nearly untouched.

Legacy35

Judged directly: Indigenous cinema milestone, quiet since.

Verdict35 of 100IMDb7.5 from 44kWikipedia14k views a monthAge23 years

Scored beside it · 2,063 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 52 praise 87 legacy 35averages 58, placing it at22,698 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.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Keisha Castle-Hughes19,884 ftCliff Curtis18,155 ftRachel House17,885 ft