E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

1982 · directed by Steven Spielberg · 115 min

28,454 feet · Prominence

5th of 15,261 films scored

The Rewatchables‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin

How this film scores

Draw88

$797m worldwide in 1982 — $2.07bn in today's money.

As released$797mIn 2026 money$2.07bnRank17 of 8,589In 19821 of 82

How Draw works

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

Praise97

Critics 96, awards 89. Half each, so Praise lands at 97.

Critics96 → 48Awards89 → 44

Oscars4 won Visual Effects, Original Score, Sound, Sound Editing5 nominated Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing

Golden Globes2 won Motion Picture, Original Score2 nominated Director, Screenplay

BAFTAs1 won Original Music6 nominated Film, Direction, Sound, Special Visual Effects, Editing, Makeup and Hair

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.

Legacy90

Judged directly: Permanent icon of childhood cinema.

Verdict90 of 100IMDb7.9 from 469kWikipedia85k views a monthAge44 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryAFI 100evidence, not an input to the score

Scored beside it · 17 of 3,430 films judged

92Toy Story (1995)

92Alien (1979)

91Schindler's List (1993)

90The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

90Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

90Jurassic Park (1993)

90E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

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 88 praise 97 legacy 90averages 92, which places it at28,454 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

No scored career runs through this film yet. The people-side engine currently covers 108careers, and this film’s cast sits outside them. Top billing: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Robert MacNaughton, Peter Coyote.