← Apex Mountain

The Silence of the Lambs

1991 · directed by Jonathan Demme · 119 min
27,649 feet · Prominence
36th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘The Silence of the Lambs’ LIVE From Broadway With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin →

How this film scores

Draw74

Lifetime worldwide gross $273m, re-releases included; about $661m in 2026 money.

Rank400 of 11,051In 19915 of 176

How Draw works

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

Praise95

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics91 baseAwards99 signal → +5 lift

Oscars5 won Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, Adapted Screenplay2 nominated Film Editing, Sound
Golden Globes1 won Actress3 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs2 won Actor, Actress5 nominated Best Picture, Directing, Screenplay, Sound, Craft and other
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.

Legacy86

Judged directly: Silence of the Lambs: enduring character and thriller footprint.

Verdict86 of 100IMDb8.6 from 1.7mWikipedia135k views a monthAge35 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryCriterion CollectionAFI 100evidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 53 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 74 praise 95 legacy 86averages 85, placing it at27,649 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

▲ Jodie Foster▲ Ted Levine

In these careers — elevation for this film

Jodie Foster20,819 ftAnthony Hopkins20,322 ftTed Levine18,611 ftScott Glenn18,599 ftFrankie Faison17,646 ftCharles Napier17,638 ft