
Lifetime worldwide gross $9m, re-releases included; about $26m in 2026 money.
Rank5,503 of 11,051In 198674 of 141
Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.
Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.
Critics83 baseAwards31 signal → +3 lift
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.
Judged directly: Lynch landmark, Frank Booth permanently iconic.
Verdict72 of 100IMDb7.7 from 235kWikipedia72k views a monthAge40 years
If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.
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.
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.