← Apex Mountain

The Birdcage

1996 · directed by Mike Nichols · 119 min
24,028 feet · Prominence
865th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw68

Lifetime worldwide gross $185m, re-releases included; about $390m in 2026 money.

Rank860 of 11,051In 199612 of 191

How Draw works

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

Praise81

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics78 baseAwards25 signal → +3 lift

Oscars1 nominated Production Design
Golden Globes2 nominated Motion Picture, Actor
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.

Legacy48

Judged directly: Still quoted, Lane and Williams beloved.

Verdict48 of 100IMDb7.2 from 110kWikipedia53k views a monthAge30 years

Scored beside it · 1,151 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 68 praise 81 legacy 48averages 66, placing it at24,028 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

▲ Nathan Lane

In these careers — elevation for this film

Nathan Lane20,207 ftRobin Williams20,013 ftGene Hackman19,452 ftHank Azaria18,803 ftDianne Wiest18,548 ftChristine Baranski17,921 ft