← Apex Mountain

The Dark Crystal

1982 · directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz · 93 min
24,428 feet · Prominence
690th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw58

Lifetime worldwide gross $45m, re-releases included; about $153m in 2026 money.

Rank2,147 of 11,051In 198217 of 98

How Draw works

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

Praise72

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics72 baseAwards2 signal → +0 lift

BAFTAs1 nominated Special Visual Effects
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.

Legacy62

Judged directly: Henson landmark, deep cult, revived.

Verdict62 of 100IMDb7.1 from 76kWikipedia29k views a monthAge44 years

Scored beside it · 512 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 72 legacy 62averages 64, placing it at24,428 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

▲ Kathryn Mullen

In these careers — elevation for this film

Jim Henson19,272 ftFrank Oz18,772 ftKathryn Mullen18,193 ftDave Goelz18,012 ftSteve Whitmire17,934 ftJerry Nelson17,640 ftBillie Whitelaw17,629 ftBarry Dennen17,622 ft