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American Graffiti

1973 · directed by George Lucas · 112 min
27,342 feet · Prominence
56th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredThe 56th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw79

Lifetime worldwide gross $140m, re-releases included; about $1.04bn in 2026 money.

Rank174 of 11,051In 19733 of 48

How Draw works

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

Praise98

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics96 baseAwards83 signal → +2 lift

Oscars5 nominated Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Film Editing
Golden Globes2 won Best Picture, Lead acting2 nominated Lead acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs1 nominated Supporting acting
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.

Legacy78

Judged directly: American Graffiti reviewed.

Verdict78 of 100IMDb7.4 from 104kWikipedia48k views a monthAge53 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryAFI 100evidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 135 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 79 praise 98 legacy 78averages 85, placing it at27,342 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

Richard Dreyfuss19,842 ftRon Howard19,027 ftPaul Le Mat18,725 ftCharles Martin Smith18,534 ftCandy Clark18,425 ftHarrison Ford17,681 ftBo Hopkins17,644 ft