The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2001 · directed by Peter Jackson · 179 min

28,215 feet · Prominence

9th of 24,106 films scored

Not coveredThe 9th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw85

Lifetime worldwide gross $871m, re-releases included; about $1.62bn in 2026 money.

Rank48 of 11,051In 20012 of 229

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.

Critics92 baseAwards93 signal → +4 lift

Oscars4 won Cinematography, Visual Effects, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score9 nominated Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Sound

Golden Globes2 nominated Best Picture, Screenplay

BAFTAs3 won Film, Direction, Craft and other3 nominated Lead acting, Adapted 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.

Legacy90

Judged directly: Redefined fantasy cinema, massive cultural footprint.

Verdict90 of 100IMDb8.9 from 2.2mWikipedia90k views a monthAge25 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryAFI 100evidence, not an input to the score

Scored beside it · 18 of 4,039 films judged

92Alien (1979)

91Schindler's List (1993)

90E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

90Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

90Apocalypse Now (1979)

90Jurassic Park (1993)

90The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

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 85 praise 95 legacy 90averages 90, placing it at28,215 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

▲ Ian McKellen

In these careers — elevation for this film

Ian McKellen20,150 ft Elijah Wood19,964 ft Viggo Mortensen19,761 ft Sean Astin19,064 ft Sean Bean18,951 ft Christopher Lee18,777 ft Ian Holm18,383 ft Liv Tyler18,150 ft Cate Blanchett17,683 ft Hugo Weaving17,679 ft Andy Serkis17,678 ft Orlando Bloom17,672 ft John Rhys-Davies17,657 ft Marton Csokas17,655 ft