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The Candidate

1972 · directed by Michael Ritchie · 110 min
22,585 feet · Prominence
1,477th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw42

$3m worldwide in 1972 — $20m in today's money.

As released$3mIn 2026 money$20mRank5,191 of 8,589In 197228 of 31

How Draw works

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

Praise81

Critics 78, awards 30. Half each, so Praise lands at 81.

Critics78 → 39Awards30 → 15

Oscars1 won Original Screenplay1 nominated Sound
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.

Legacy40

Judged directly: 'What do we do now?' political shorthand.

Verdict40 of 100IMDb7 from 12kWikipedia10k views a monthAge54 years

Scored beside it · 1,292 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 42 praise 81 legacy 40averages 54, which places it at22,585 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

Robert Redford22,343 ft