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Poltergeist

1982 · directed by Tobe Hooper · 114 min
25,951 feet · Prominence
255th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Poltergeist’ With Bill Simmons and Van Lathan →

How this film scores

Draw68

Lifetime worldwide gross $122m, re-releases included; about $416m in 2026 money.

Rank787 of 11,051In 19826 of 98

How Draw works

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

Praise86

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics84 baseAwards19 signal → +2 lift

Oscars3 nominated Visual Effects, Original Score, Sound Editing
BAFTAs1 won 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.

Legacy70

Judged directly: They're heeere, the clown, the curse legend.

Verdict70 of 100IMDb7.3 from 194kWikipedia51k views a monthAge44 years

Scored beside it · 297 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 68 praise 86 legacy 70averages 75, placing it at25,951 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.

Whose apex this is

▲ JoBeth Williams▲ Beatrice Straight▲ Dominique Dunne

In these careers — elevation for this film

Craig T. Nelson19,238 ftJoBeth Williams18,865 ftBeatrice Straight18,062 ftDominique Dunne17,903 ftWilliam Vail17,713 ft