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Hoop Dreams

1994 · directed by Steve James · 174 min
24,617 feet · Prominence
591st of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw41

$8m worldwide in 1994 — $17m in today's money.

As released$8mIn 2026 money$17mRank5,332 of 8,589In 1994104 of 155

How Draw works

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

Praise98

Critics 98, awards 5. Half each, so Praise lands at 98.

Critics98 → 49Awards5 → 2

Oscars1 nominated Film Editing
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. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so the awards half halves it — which penalises it for the Academy's rules rather than its quality.

Legacy58

Judged directly: Landmark documentary, reshaped nonfiction filmmaking.

Verdict58 of 100IMDb8.3 from 29kWikipedia11k views a monthAge32 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 570 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 41 praise 98 legacy 58averages 66, which places it at24,617 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: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Gene Pingatore, Steve James.