← Apex Mountain

The Godfather

1972 · directed by Francis Ford Coppola · 175 min
28,927 feet · Prominence
2nd of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘The Godfather’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan →

How this film scores

Draw87

Lifetime worldwide gross $245m, re-releases included; about $1.93bn in 2026 money.

Rank22 of 11,051In 19721 of 38

How Draw works

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

Praise99

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics99 baseAwards97 signal → +1 lift

Oscars3 won Picture, Actor, Adapted Screenplay6 nominated Director, Supporting Actor, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Dramatic Score, Sound
Golden Globes4 won Motion Picture, Actor, Screenplay, Original Score2 nominated Lead acting, Supporting acting
BAFTAs1 won Original Music2 nominated Lead acting, Supporting 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.

Legacy98

Judged directly: Endlessly referenced, permanently iconic mafia touchstone.

Verdict98 of 100IMDb9.2 from 2.2mWikipedia227k views a monthAge54 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryAFI 100Sight & Soundevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 2 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 87 praise 99 legacy 98averages 95, placing it at28,927 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

▲ Marlon Brando

In these careers — elevation for this film

Marlon Brando21,227 ftAl Pacino21,083 ftRobert Duvall20,286 ftJames Caan20,127 ftDiane Keaton19,177 ftTalia Shire18,280 ftJohn Cazale17,676 ftJohn Marley17,646 ftFranco Citti17,642 ft