← Apex Mountain

Smokey and the Bandit

1977 · directed by Hal Needham · 96 min
24,193 feet · Prominence
786th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw74

Lifetime worldwide gross $127m, re-releases included; about $690m in 2026 money.

Rank375 of 11,051In 19776 of 48

How Draw works

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

Praise63

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics61 baseAwards15 signal → +3 lift

Oscars1 nominated Film Editing
Golden Globes1 nominated Lead 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.

Legacy58

Judged directly: Trans Am, CB radio, Reynolds as icon.

Verdict58 of 100IMDb7 from 62kWikipedia39k views a monthAge49 years

Scored beside it · 681 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 74 praise 63 legacy 58averages 65, placing it at24,193 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

▲ Burt Reynolds▲ Jerry Reed▲ Mike Henry

In these careers — elevation for this film

Burt Reynolds20,431 ftJackie Gleason19,577 ftSally Field18,804 ftJerry Reed18,381 ftMike Henry17,833 ft