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The Fortune Cookie

1966 · directed by Billy Wilder · 125 min
22,370 feet · Prominence
1,562nd of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw51

$7m worldwide in 1966 — $69m in today's money.

As released$7mIn 2026 money$69mRank3,252 of 8,589In 196614 of 29

How Draw works

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

Praise84

Critics 80, awards 43. Half each, so Praise lands at 84.

Critics80 → 40Awards43 → 22

Oscars1 won Supporting Actor3 nominated Original Screenplay, Black-and-White, Black and White
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.

Legacy28

Judged directly: First Lemmon-Matthau pairing, faded.

Verdict28 of 100IMDb7.2 from 16kWikipedia5k views a monthAge60 years

Scored beside it · 2,039 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 51 praise 84 legacy 28averages 54, which places it at22,370 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: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, Judi West.