Shakespeare in Love

1998 · directed by John Madden · 124 min

24,601 feet · Prominence

625th of 24,106 films scored

Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw72

Lifetime worldwide gross $289m, re-releases included; about $586m in 2026 money.

Rank481 of 11,051In 19989 of 198

How Draw works

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

Praise95

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics90 baseAwards99 signal → +5 lift

Oscars7 won Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Costume Design, Production Design, Original Musical or Comedy Score6 nominated Director, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound

Golden Globes3 won Best Picture, Actress, Screenplay2 nominated Supporting acting, Screenplay

BAFTAs4 won Best Picture, Actress, Supporting acting, Craft and other5 nominated Directing, Lead acting, Actor, Screenplay, Craft and other

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.

Legacy45

Judged directly: Oscar upset, largely forgotten now.

Verdict45 of 100IMDb7.1 from 240kWikipedia40k views a monthAge28 years

Scored beside it · 1,321 of 4,039 films judged

46Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

46Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

46Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

45Chicken Run (2000)

45Ordinary People (1980)

45Up in the Air (2009)

45Shakespeare in Love (1998)

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 72 praise 95 legacy 45averages 71, placing it at24,601 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.

Whose apex this is

▲ Gwyneth Paltrow ▲ Joseph Fiennes

In these careers — elevation for this film

Gwyneth Paltrow20,401 ft Joseph Fiennes19,698 ft Geoffrey Rush19,165 ft Judi Dench18,925 ft Tom Wilkinson18,517 ft Colin Firth18,464 ft Ben Affleck18,128 ft Imelda Staunton18,043 ft Rupert Everett17,655 ft Jim Carter17,649 ft Simon Callow17,643 ft