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The Straight Story

1999 · directed by David Lynch · 112 min
22,442 feet · Prominence
1,534th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw39

$6m worldwide in 1999 — $13m in today's money.

As released$6mIn 2026 money$13mRank5,680 of 8,589In 1999128 of 170

How Draw works

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

Praise92

Critics 91, awards 30. Half each, so Praise lands at 92.

Critics91 → 45Awards30 → 15

Oscars1 nominated Actor
Golden Globes2 nominated Actor, Original Score
How Praise works

Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so the awards half halves it — which penalises it for the Academy's rules rather than its quality.

Legacy32

Judged directly: Lynch anomaly, quietly respected.

Verdict32 of 100IMDb8 from 106kWikipedia28k views a monthAge27 years

Scored beside it · 1,722 of 3,430 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 39 praise 92 legacy 32averages 54, which places it at22,442 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.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Sissy Spacek21,812 ft