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The Towering Inferno

1974 · directed by John Guillermin · 165 min
24,970 feet · Prominence
503rd of 15,261 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw75

$116m worldwide in 1974 — $776m in today's money.

As released$116mIn 2026 money$776mRank300 of 8,589In 19742 of 42

How Draw works

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

Praise79

Critics 69, awards 68. Half each, so Praise lands at 79.

Critics69 → 35Awards68 → 34

Oscars2 won Cinematography, Film Editing5 nominated Picture, Supporting Actor, Production Design, Original Dramatic Score, Sound
Golden Globes1 won Supporting Actor
BAFTAs1 won Actor
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.

Legacy52

Judged directly: Peak of the disaster cycle.

Verdict52 of 100IMDb7 from 52kWikipedia25k views a monthAge52 years

Scored beside it · 728 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 75 praise 79 legacy 52averages 69, which places it at24,970 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

Paul Newman22,783 ftSteve McQueen22,428 ftFaye Dunaway21,819 ft