← Apex Mountain

The King of Comedy

1982 · directed by Martin Scorsese · 109 min
24,585 feet · Prominence
630th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw37

Lifetime worldwide gross $3m, re-releases included; about $9m in 2026 money.

Rank7,181 of 11,051In 198284 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.

Praise85

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics81 baseAwards38 signal → +4 lift

BAFTAs1 won Original Screenplay3 nominated Direction, Actor, Editing
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.

Legacy65

Judged directly: Rupert Pupkin; Joker revived its influence.

Verdict65 of 100IMDb7.8 from 132kWikipedia24k views a monthAge44 years

Scored beside it · 428 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 37 praise 85 legacy 65averages 62, placing it at24,585 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.

Whose apex this is

▲ Sandra Bernhard

In these careers — elevation for this film

Robert De Niro19,841 ftJerry Lewis18,939 ftSandra Bernhard18,181 ftDiahnne Abbott17,771 ftMary Elizabeth Mastrantonio17,645 ftLiza Minnelli17,641 ft