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Breaking Away

1979 · directed by Peter Yates · 101 min
24,074 feet · Prominence
775th of 15,261 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Breaking Away’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey

How this film scores

Draw54

$20m worldwide in 1979 — $91m in today's money.

As released$20mIn 2026 money$91mRank2,853 of 8,589In 197938 of 61

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

Critics 93, awards 63. Half each, so Praise lands at 95.

Critics93 → 47Awards63 → 31

Oscars1 won Original Screenplay4 nominated Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Original Song 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.

Legacy42

Judged directly: Cult cycling classic, fading from view.

Verdict42 of 100IMDb7.7 from 27kWikipedia17k views a monthAge47 years

Scored beside it · 1,116 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 95 legacy 42averages 64, which places it at24,074 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: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley.