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Dangerous Liaisons

1988 · directed by Stephen Frears · 119 min
24,181 feet · Prominence
790th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw54

Lifetime worldwide gross $35m, re-releases included; about $97m in 2026 money.

Rank3,003 of 11,051In 198835 of 173

How Draw works

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

Praise90

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics83 baseAwards84 signal → +7 lift

Oscars3 won Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, Production Design4 nominated Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress, Original Score
BAFTAs2 won Actress, Screenplay3 nominated Directing, Lead acting, 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.

Legacy50

Judged directly: Reference adaptation, spawned Cruel Intentions.

Verdict50 of 100IMDb7.5 from 79kWikipedia41k views a monthAge38 years

Scored beside it · 1,032 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 54 praise 90 legacy 50averages 65, placing it at24,181 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

▲ Glenn Close▲ Michelle Pfeiffer

In these careers — elevation for this film

Glenn Close20,102 ftJohn Malkovich20,102 ftMichelle Pfeiffer20,102 ftUma Thurman18,373 ftKeanu Reeves18,161 ftSwoosie Kurtz17,868 ftMildred Natwick17,705 ft