Shaft

1971 · directed by Gordon Parks · 100 min

25,353 feet · Prominence

386th of 15,261 films scored

Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw54

$12m worldwide in 1971 — $99m in today's money.

As released$12mIn 2026 money$99mRank2,725 of 8,589In 197114 of 36

How Draw works

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

Praise79

Critics 77, awards 21. Half each, so Praise lands at 79.

Critics77 → 39Awards21 → 11

Oscars1 won Original Song1 nominated Original Dramatic Score

Golden Globes1 won 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.

Legacy74

Judged directly: Blaxploitation landmark, immortal Hayes theme.

Verdict74 of 100IMDb6.6 from 22kWikipedia15k views a monthAge55 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score

Scored beside it · 212 of 3,430 films judged

74The Hunger Games (2012)

74Ocean's Eleven (2001)

74Despicable Me (2010)

74Purple Rain (1984)

74Oldboy (2003)

74Shaft (1971)

72Spider-Man 2 (2004)

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 54 praise 79 legacy 74averages 69, which places it at25,353 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

No scored career runs through this film yet. The people-side engine currently covers 108careers, and this film’s cast sits outside them. Top billing: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John.