The Mission

1986 · directed by Roland Joffé · 125 min

22,656 feet · Prominence

1,735th of 24,106 films scored

Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw49

Lifetime worldwide gross $17m, re-releases included; about $52m in 2026 money.

Rank4,183 of 11,051In 198653 of 141

How Draw works

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

Praise77

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics59 baseAwards85 signal → +18 lift

Oscars1 won Cinematography6 nominated Picture, Director, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Original Score

Golden Globes1 won Screenplay3 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting, Screenplay

BAFTAs3 won Actor, Editing, Craft and other4 nominated Best Picture, Directing, Screenplay, Craft and other

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.

Legacy42

Judged directly: Morricone's oboe outlives the film.

Verdict42 of 100IMDb7.4 from 70kWikipedia26k views a monthAge40 years

Scored beside it · 1,638 of 4,039 films judged

42Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

42The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

42The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)

42Despicable Me 3 (2017)

42Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

42Exotica (1994)

42The Mission (1986)

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 49 praise 77 legacy 42averages 56, placing it at22,656 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 De Niro19,714 ft Jeremy Irons19,523 ft Liam Neeson18,165 ft Aidan Quinn18,151 ft Ronald Pickup17,747 ft Álvaro Guerrero17,620 ft