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The Natural

1984 · directed by Barry Levinson · 137 min
24,050 feet · Prominence
855th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘The Natural’ With Bill Simmons and Mallory Rubin →

How this film scores

Draw58

Lifetime worldwide gross $48m, re-releases included; about $152m in 2026 money.

Rank2,149 of 11,051In 198417 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.

Praise76

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics72 baseAwards30 signal → +4 lift

Oscars4 nominated Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Production Design, Original Score
Golden Globes1 nominated Supporting 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.

Legacy55

Judged directly: Exploding lights is permanent sports-movie imagery.

Verdict55 of 100IMDb7.4 from 57kWikipedia35k views a monthAge42 years

Scored beside it · 818 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 58 praise 76 legacy 55averages 63, placing it at24,050 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.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Robert Redford20,138 ftGlenn Close19,048 ftKim Basinger18,599 ftRobert Duvall18,498 ftWilford Brimley18,219 ftBarbara Hershey18,215 ftRobert Prosky18,049 ftRichard Farnsworth18,031 ftMichael Madsen17,649 ftJoe Don Baker17,647 ftDarren McGavin17,642 ft