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The Thing

1982 · directed by John Carpenter · 109 min
25,390 feet · Prominence
380th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw51

Lifetime worldwide gross $20m, re-releases included; about $67m in 2026 money.

Rank3,657 of 11,051In 198237 of 98

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.

Critics71 baseAwards0 signal → +0 lift

No award rows on file, usually missing data rather than missing honours. Wikidata is thin for older and non-English films.

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.

Legacy78

Judged directly: Canonical; practical-effects landmark, enormous horror cult.

Verdict78 of 100IMDb8.2 from 522kWikipedia99k views a monthAge44 years

On the listsNational Film RegistrySight & Soundevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 176 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 51 praise 71 legacy 78averages 67, placing it at25,390 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

▲ David Clennon

In these careers — elevation for this film

Kurt Russell20,200 ftKeith David18,379 ftWilford Brimley18,351 ftDavid Clennon18,012 ftT.K. Carter17,909 ftRichard Masur17,634 ft