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Sling Blade

1996 · directed by Billy Bob Thornton · 135 min
24,242 feet · Prominence
768th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw52

Lifetime worldwide gross $34m, re-releases included; about $72m in 2026 money.

Rank3,532 of 11,051In 199663 of 191

How Draw works

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

Praise92

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics91 baseAwards42 signal → +2 lift

Oscars1 won Adapted Screenplay1 nominated Actor
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.

Legacy50

Judged directly: Thornton's voice endlessly imitated.

Verdict50 of 100IMDb8 from 104kWikipedia46k views a monthAge30 years

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 52 praise 92 legacy 50averages 65, placing it at24,242 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

▲ Dwight Yoakam

In these careers — elevation for this film

Billy Bob Thornton20,069 ftLucas Black18,709 ftJohn Ritter18,487 ftDwight Yoakam18,395 ftJ.T. Walsh17,973 ftRobert Duvall17,845 ft