← Apex Mountain

Mississippi Burning

1988 · directed by Alan Parker · 128 min
23,111 feet · Prominence
1,212nd of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw54

$35m worldwide in 1988 — $97m in today's money.

As released$35mIn 2026 money$97mRank2,760 of 8,589In 198832 of 140

How Draw works

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

Praise82

Critics 72, awards 68. Half each, so Praise lands at 82.

Critics72 → 36Awards68 → 34

Oscars1 won Cinematography6 nominated Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Film Editing, Sound
BAFTAs1 won 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.

Legacy38

Judged directly: Acclaimed then, contested and faded now.

Verdict38 of 100IMDb7.8 from 126kWikipedia42k views a monthAge38 years

Scored beside it · 1,369 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 54 praise 82 legacy 38averages 58, which places it at23,111 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

Gene Hackman22,804 ftWillem Dafoe22,120 ftFrances McDormand21,911 ft