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Boys Don't Cry

1999 · directed by Kimberly Peirce · 118 min
23,767 feet · Prominence
993rd of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw43

Lifetime worldwide gross $12m, re-releases included; about $23m in 2026 money.

Rank5,740 of 11,051In 1999117 of 196

How Draw works

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

Praise92

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics88 baseAwards69 signal → +4 lift

Oscars1 won Actress1 nominated Supporting Actress
Golden Globes1 won Actress1 nominated Supporting acting
BAFTAs1 nominated Lead acting
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.

Legacy48

Judged directly: Landmark trans story, now contested.

Verdict48 of 100IMDb7.5 from 107kWikipedia26k views a monthAge27 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 1,165 of 4,039 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 43 praise 92 legacy 48averages 61, placing it at23,767 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

▲ Chloë Sevigny

In these careers — elevation for this film

Hilary Swank19,860 ftChloë Sevigny19,384 ftPeter Sarsgaard18,968 ft