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Wag the Dog

1997 · directed by Barry Levinson · 97 min
23,881 feet · Prominence
933rd of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw57

Lifetime worldwide gross $64m, re-releases included; about $132m in 2026 money.

Rank2,396 of 11,051In 199747 of 213

How Draw works

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

Praise85

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics80 baseAwards51 signal → +5 lift

Oscars2 nominated Actor, Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globes3 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs1 nominated 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.

Legacy48

Judged directly: The title is a standing political metaphor.

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

Scored beside it · 1,158 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 57 praise 85 legacy 48averages 63, placing it at23,881 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 Hoffman20,121 ftRobert De Niro19,948 ftAnne Heche18,623 ftWoody Harrelson18,202 ftDenis Leary18,007 ftWillie Nelson17,910 ftKirsten Dunst17,899 ftWilliam H. Macy17,657 ftCraig T. Nelson17,652 ftJohn Cho17,646 ft