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The Empire Strikes Back

1980 · directed by Irvin Kershner · 124 min
28,199 feet · Prominence
11th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredThe 11th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw83

$538m worldwide in 1980 — $1.44bn in today's money.

As released$538mIn 2026 money$1.44bnRank74 of 8,589In 19801 of 75

How Draw works

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

Praise89

Critics 88, awards 30. Half each, so Praise lands at 89.

Critics88 → 44Awards30 → 15

Oscars2 won Sound, Special Achievement Academy Award2 nominated Production Design, Original Score
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.

Legacy95

Judged directly: Greatest twist, endlessly quoted, foundational.

Verdict95 of 100IMDb8.7 from 1.5mWikipedia63k views a monthAge46 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 5 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 83 praise 89 legacy 95averages 89, which places it at28,199 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

Harrison Ford23,204 ft