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Lone Star

1996 · directed by John Sayles · 135 min
22,665 feet · Prominence
1,721st of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw44

Lifetime worldwide gross $13m, re-releases included; about $28m in 2026 money.

Rank5,374 of 11,051In 1996114 of 191

How Draw works

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

Praise87

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics85 baseAwards22 signal → +2 lift

Oscars1 nominated Original Screenplay
Golden Globes1 nominated Screenplay
BAFTAs1 nominated 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. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so there is little headroom for awards to claim. The score is the critics' verdict, nearly untouched.

Legacy38

Judged directly: Critically revered Sayles, culturally quiet.

Verdict38 of 100IMDb7.4 from 35kWikipedia10k views a monthAge30 years

On the listsCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 1,905 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 44 praise 87 legacy 38averages 56, placing it at22,665 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

▲ Joe Morton

In these careers — elevation for this film

Chris Cooper19,584 ftKris Kristofferson18,705 ftElizabeth Peña18,546 ftMatthew McConaughey18,351 ftJoe Morton18,316 ftClifton James18,072 ftFrances McDormand17,650 ft