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Wag the Dog

1997 · directed by Barry Levinson · 97 min
24,013 feet · Prominence
800th of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw57

$64m worldwide in 1997 — $132m in today's money.

As released$64mIn 2026 money$132mRank2,241 of 8,589In 199745 of 182

How Draw works

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

Praise83

Critics 80, awards 30. Half each, so Praise lands at 83.

Critics80 → 40Awards30 → 15

Oscars2 nominated Actor, Adapted Screenplay
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.

Legacy48

Judged directly: The title is a standing political metaphor.

Verdict48 of 100IMDb7.1 from 93kWikipedia26k views a monthAge29 years

Scored beside it · 883 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 57 praise 83 legacy 48averages 63, which places it at24,013 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

Dustin Hoffman22,536 ftRobert De Niro22,064 ft