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Independence Day

1996 · directed by Roland Emmerich · 145 min
26,572 feet · Prominence
154th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Independence Day’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Shea Serrano →

How this film scores

Draw86

Lifetime worldwide gross $817m, re-releases included; about $1.72bn in 2026 money.

Rank35 of 11,051In 19961 of 191

How Draw works

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

Praise71

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics68 baseAwards20 signal → +3 lift

Oscars1 won Visual Effects1 nominated Sound
BAFTAs2 nominated Sound, Special Visual Effects
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.

Legacy80

Judged directly: Iconic 90s disaster blockbuster, quoted.

Verdict80 of 100IMDb7 from 642kWikipedia74k views a monthAge30 years

Scored beside it · 127 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 86 praise 71 legacy 80averages 79, placing it at26,572 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

Jeff Goldblum19,807 ftWill Smith19,736 ftBill Pullman19,250 ftRandy Quaid18,402 ftJudd Hirsch18,150 ftRobert Loggia18,061 ftMary McDonnell17,994 ftMargaret Colin17,902 ftHarry Connick Jr.17,658 ftMae Whitman17,656 ftVivica A. Fox17,655 ftBrent Spiner17,653 ftJames Rebhorn17,649 ftJames Duval17,648 ftLisa Jakub17,646 ft