← Apex Mountain

Barton Fink

1991 · directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen · 117 min
23,164 feet · Prominence
1,307th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw40

Lifetime worldwide gross $6m, re-releases included; about $15m in 2026 money.

Rank6,441 of 11,051In 1991103 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.

Praise82

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics80 baseAwards26 signal → +3 lift

Oscars3 nominated Supporting Actor, Costume Design, Production Design
Golden Globes1 nominated 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.

Legacy48

Judged directly: Coen cult, Palme sweep, cinephile staple.

Verdict48 of 100IMDb7.6 from 133kWikipedia22k views a monthAge35 years

Scored beside it · 1,212 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 40 praise 82 legacy 48averages 57, placing it at23,164 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

▲ John Turturro▲ Michael Lerner

In these careers — elevation for this film

John Turturro19,761 ftJohn Goodman19,599 ftMichael Lerner18,503 ftJudy Davis18,373 ftJohn Mahoney18,142 ftSteve Buscemi18,101 ftTony Shalhoub18,074 ftFrances McDormand17,650 ftWilliam H. Macy17,649 ft