← Apex Mountain

The Polar Express

2004 · directed by Robert Zemeckis · 100 min
23,750 feet · Prominence
908th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw72

$318m worldwide in 2004 — $556m in today's money.

As released$318mIn 2026 money$556mRank512 of 8,589In 200413 of 209

How Draw works

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

Praise60

Critics 58, awards 10. Half each, so Praise lands at 60.

Critics58 → 29Awards10 → 5

Oscars2 nominated Sound, Sound Editing
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.

Legacy50

Judged directly: Christmas staple and uncanny-valley reference point.

Verdict50 of 100IMDb6.6 from 270kWikipedia83k views a monthAge22 years

Scored beside it · 824 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 72 praise 60 legacy 50averages 61, which places it at23,750 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

Tom Hanks22,430 ft