← Apex Mountain

The Great Debaters

2007 · directed by Denzel Washington · 126 min
22,743 feet · Prominence
1,591st of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw48

Lifetime worldwide gross $30m, re-releases included; about $48m in 2026 money.

Rank4,325 of 11,051In 2007119 of 320

How Draw works

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

Praise67

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics65 baseAwards12 signal → +2 lift

Golden Globes1 nominated Best Picture
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.

Legacy49

Not judged yet, so Legacy falls back to footprint: how many still rate it, how highly, and for how long.

IMDb7.5 from 66kWikipedia13k views a monthAge19 years

How Legacy works

Canon list membership, reach (Wikipedia traffic above IMDb votes) and time served. Every signal behind it keeps updating, which is what separates Legacy from Praise.

draw 48 praise 67 legacy 49averages 55, placing it at22,743 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

Denzel Washington19,879 ftNate Parker18,720 ftForest Whitaker18,684 ftJurnee Smollett-Bell18,442 ftKimberly Elise18,011 ftGlen Powell17,650 ftJohn Heard17,644 ft