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American Beauty

1999 · directed by Sam Mendes · 122 min
25,557 feet · Prominence
335th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw74

Lifetime worldwide gross $356m, re-releases included; about $706m in 2026 money.

Rank360 of 11,051In 19999 of 196

How Draw works

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

Praise93

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics86 baseAwards99 signal → +7 lift

Oscars5 won Picture, Director, Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography3 nominated Actress, Film Editing, Original Score
Golden Globes2 won Best Picture, Screenplay1 nominated Lead acting
BAFTAs4 won Film, Lead acting, Cinematography, Craft and other3 nominated Directing, Supporting acting, Screenplay
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.

Legacy58

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

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

Scored beside it · 597 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 74 praise 93 legacy 58averages 75, placing it at25,557 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

▲ Kevin Spacey▲ Annette Bening

In these careers — elevation for this film

Kevin Spacey20,579 ftAnnette Bening20,145 ftThora Birch19,003 ftChris Cooper18,650 ftWes Bentley18,503 ftPeter Gallagher18,007 ftAllison Janney17,977 ftJohn Cho17,655 ftScott Bakula17,646 ft