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American Beauty

1999 · directed by Sam Mendes · 122 min
25,877 feet · Prominence
270th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw74

$356m worldwide in 1999 — $706m in today's money.

As released$356mIn 2026 money$706mRank353 of 8,589In 19999 of 170

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

Critics 86, awards 95. Half each, so Praise lands at 92.

Critics86 → 43Awards95 → 47

Oscars5 won Picture, Director, Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography3 nominated Actress, Film Editing, Original Score
BAFTAs2 won Film, Cinematography
How Praise works

Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy58

Judged directly: Enormous in 1999, standing has since collapsed.

Verdict58 of 100IMDb8.3 from 1.3mWikipedia88k views a monthAge27 years

Scored beside it · 513 of 3,430 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 74 praise 92 legacy 58averages 75, which places it at25,877 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

No scored career runs through this film yet. The people-side engine currently covers 108careers, and this film’s cast sits outside them. Top billing: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley.