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Burn After Reading

2008 · directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen · 96 min
23,105 feet · Prominence
1,345th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw63

Lifetime worldwide gross $164m, re-releases included; about $251m in 2026 money.

Rank1,379 of 11,051In 200843 of 300

How Draw works

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

Praise76

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics71 baseAwards35 signal → +5 lift

Golden Globes2 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting
BAFTAs3 nominated Actress, Supporting acting, Original 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.

Legacy42

Judged directly: Coen cult, Pitt's dancing widely memed.

Verdict42 of 100IMDb7 from 374kWikipedia54k views a monthAge18 years

Scored beside it · 1,593 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 63 praise 76 legacy 42averages 60, placing it at23,105 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

Frances McDormand19,569 ftJohn Malkovich19,287 ftBrad Pitt19,222 ftGeorge Clooney19,116 ftRichard Jenkins18,605 ftTilda Swinton18,605 ftJ.K. Simmons17,654 ftDermot Mulroney17,650 ft