← Apex Mountain

Tropic Thunder

2008 · directed by Ben Stiller · 107 min
24,294 feet · Prominence
690th of 15,261 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Tropic Thunder’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan, and Joel Anderson

How this film scores

Draw65

$196m worldwide in 2008 — $300m in today's money.

As released$196mIn 2026 money$300mRank1,103 of 8,589In 200831 of 224

How Draw works

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

Praise78

Critics 76, awards 13. Half each, so Praise lands at 78.

Critics76 → 38Awards13 → 6

Oscars1 nominated Supporting 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.

Legacy50

Judged directly: Downey's role and the controversy still cited.

Verdict50 of 100IMDb7.1 from 485kWikipedia72k views a monthAge18 years

Scored beside it · 811 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 65 praise 78 legacy 50averages 64, which places it at24,294 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

Robert Downey Jr22,674 ftTom Cruise21,832 ftMatthew McConaughey21,822 ft