
$789m worldwide in 2004 — $1.38bn in today's money.
As released$789mIn 2026 money$1.38bnRank86 of 8,589In 20043 of 209
Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.
Critics 88, awards 20. Half each, so Praise lands at 89.
Critics88 → 44Awards20 → 10
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.
Judged directly: Best superhero sequel, meme-worthy.
Verdict72 of 100IMDb7.5 from 777kWikipedia57k views a monthAge22 years
If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.
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.
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.