← Apex Mountain

This Is Spinal Tap

1984 · directed by Rob Reiner · 82 min
26,690 feet · Prominence
133rd of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredThe 133rd highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw42

Lifetime worldwide gross $6m, re-releases included; about $19m in 2026 money.

Rank6,054 of 11,051In 198484 of 112

How Draw works

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

Praise95

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics95 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. 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.

Legacy85

Judged directly: Invented mockumentary; 'goes to eleven' permanent idiom.

Verdict85 of 100IMDb7.9 from 154kWikipedia109k views a monthAge42 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 73 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 42 praise 95 legacy 85averages 74, placing it at26,690 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

▲ Michael McKean▲ Harry Shearer

In these careers — elevation for this film

Rob Reiner19,579 ftChristopher Guest19,455 ftMichael McKean19,403 ftHarry Shearer19,073 ftBruno Kirby17,918 ftBilly Crystal17,660 ftAnjelica Huston17,659 ftDana Carvey17,652 ftFred Willard17,630 ftPaul Benedict17,625 ft