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Terms of Endearment

1983 · directed by James L. Brooks · 132 min
25,213 feet · Prominence
432nd of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw67

Lifetime worldwide gross $108m, re-releases included; about $359m in 2026 money.

Rank926 of 11,051In 19838 of 101

How Draw works

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

Praise90

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics80 baseAwards98 signal → +10 lift

Oscars5 won Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay4 nominated Production Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound
Golden Globes4 won Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor, Screenplay2 nominated Lead acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs1 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: Best Picture, faded weepie.

Verdict58 of 100IMDb7.4 from 68kWikipedia42k views a monthAge43 years

Scored beside it · 612 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 67 praise 90 legacy 58averages 72, placing it at25,213 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

▲ Debra Winger

In these careers — elevation for this film

Debra Winger20,437 ftJack Nicholson20,437 ftShirley MacLaine20,365 ftJeff Daniels18,273 ftJohn Lithgow18,117 ftDanny DeVito17,935 ftAlbert Brooks17,666 ft