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The Verdict

1982 · directed by Sidney Lumet · 129 min
23,358 feet · Prominence
1,196th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘The Verdict’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey →

How this film scores

Draw60

Lifetime worldwide gross $54m, re-releases included; about $185m in 2026 money.

Rank1,846 of 11,051In 198214 of 98

How Draw works

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

Praise89

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics83 baseAwards78 signal → +7 lift

Oscars5 nominated Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globes4 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting, Supporting acting, Screenplay
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.

Legacy38

Judged directly: Lumet and Newman respected, rarely invoked.

Verdict38 of 100IMDb7.7 from 48kWikipedia14k views a monthAge44 years

Scored beside it · 1,871 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 60 praise 89 legacy 38averages 62, placing it at23,358 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

▲ James Mason

In these careers — elevation for this film

Paul Newman20,076 ftJames Mason19,233 ftCharlotte Rampling18,528 ftJack Warden18,494 ftLindsay Crouse18,064 ftBruce Willis17,660 ftTobin Bell17,635 ft