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Nightmare Alley

2021 · directed by Guillermo del Toro · 151 min
23,627 feet · Prominence
1,067th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw48

Lifetime worldwide gross $40m, re-releases included; about $48m in 2026 money.

Rank4,320 of 11,051In 202156 of 226

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

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics75 baseAwards35 signal → +4 lift

Oscars4 nominated Picture, Cinematography, Costume Design, Production Design
BAFTAs1 nominated Craft and other
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.

Legacy52

Judged directly: Criterion, del Toro; 34th pct traffic.

Verdict52 of 100IMDb7 from 177kWikipedia41k views a monthAge5 years

On the listsCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 961 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 48 praise 79 legacy 52averages 60, placing it at23,627 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

Bradley Cooper19,957 ftCate Blanchett19,214 ftRooney Mara18,566 ftToni Collette18,460 ftWillem Dafoe18,392 ftRichard Jenkins18,201 ftRon Perlman17,954 ftMary Steenburgen17,847 ftDavid Strathairn17,646 ftClifton Collins Jr.17,638 ftHolt McCallany17,638 ftStephen McHattie17,638 ftTim Blake Nelson17,637 ft