Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1977 · directed by Steven Spielberg · 137 min

27,498 feet · Prominence

48th of 24,106 films scored

The Rewatchables‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey →

How this film scores

Draw85

Lifetime worldwide gross $307m, re-releases included; about $1.67bn in 2026 money.

Rank42 of 11,051In 19772 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.

Praise94

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics91 baseAwards77 signal → +4 lift

Oscars1 won Cinematography7 nominated Director, Supporting Actress, Production Design, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Original Score, Sound

Golden Globes2 nominated Best Picture, Screenplay

BAFTAs5 nominated Best Picture, Directing, Actor, Screenplay, 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.

Legacy80

Judged directly: Five notes and Devils Tower, permanent.

Verdict80 of 100IMDb7.6 from 230kWikipedia65k views a monthAge49 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryAFI 100evidence, not an input to the score

Scored beside it · 112 of 4,039 films judged

82The Big Lebowski (1998)

82Clueless (1995)

80Toy Story 3 (2010)

80Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

80Toy Story 2 (1999)

80The Incredibles (2004)

80Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

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 85 praise 94 legacy 80averages 86, placing it at27,498 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

▲ Richard Dreyfuss

In these careers — elevation for this film

Richard Dreyfuss20,507 ft Melinda Dillon19,183 ft François Truffaut18,925 ft Teri Garr18,665 ft Bob Balaban18,090 ft Roberts Blossom17,829 ft Norman Bartold17,713 ft Lance Henriksen17,667 ft Carl Weathers17,666 ft Josef Sommer17,643 ft