Forrest Gump

1994 · directed by Robert Zemeckis · 142 min

27,674 feet · Prominence

32nd of 24,106 films scored

The Rewatchables‘Forrest Gump’ Live From D.C. With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin →

How this film scores

Draw84

Lifetime worldwide gross $677m, re-releases included; about $1.51bn in 2026 money.

Rank66 of 11,051In 19942 of 178

How Draw works

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

Praise89

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics78 baseAwards99 signal → +11 lift

Oscars6 won Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Visual Effects7 nominated Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Production Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound, Sound Editing

Golden Globes4 won Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay2 nominated Supporting acting, Screenplay

BAFTAs1 won Craft and other6 nominated Best Picture, Directing, Lead acting, Supporting acting, 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.

Legacy86

Judged directly: Enormously quoted, but its standing has slipped.

Verdict86 of 100IMDb8.8 from 2.5mWikipedia122k views a monthAge32 years

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

Scored beside it · 52 of 4,039 films judged

87The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

87One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

87Parasite (2019)

86The Breakfast Club (1985)

86Fight Club (1999)

86Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

86Forrest Gump (1994)

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 84 praise 89 legacy 86averages 86, placing it at27,674 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

▲ Tom Hanks ▲ Gary Sinise

In these careers — elevation for this film

Tom Hanks21,769 ft Gary Sinise20,215 ft Robin Wright19,581 ft Sally Field19,039 ft Haley Joel Osment17,899 ft Kurt Russell17,681 ft Dick Cavett17,629 ft