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The Polar Express

2004 · directed by Robert Zemeckis · 100 min
23,290 feet · Prominence
1,237th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw72

Lifetime worldwide gross $318m, re-releases included; about $556m in 2026 money.

Rank519 of 11,051In 200413 of 256

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

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics58 baseAwards10 signal → +2 lift

Oscars2 nominated Sound, Sound Editing
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.

Legacy50

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

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

Scored beside it · 1,082 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 72 praise 60 legacy 50averages 61, placing it at23,290 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

▲ Eddie Deezen▲ Nona Gaye▲ Leslie Zemeckis

In these careers — elevation for this film

Tom Hanks19,796 ftDaryl Sabara18,524 ftJosh Hutcherson18,523 ftNona Gaye17,996 ftEddie Deezen17,959 ftLeslie Zemeckis17,784 ftCharles Fleischer17,630 ftRodger Bumpass17,630 ft