← Apex Mountain

The Tree of Life

2011 · directed by Terrence Malick · 139 min
24,484 feet · Prominence
664th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw53

Lifetime worldwide gross $55m, re-releases included; about $80m in 2026 money.

Rank3,330 of 11,051In 2011104 of 304

How Draw works

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

Praise89

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics86 baseAwards42 signal → +3 lift

Oscars3 nominated Picture, Director, Cinematography
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.

Legacy55

Judged directly: Criterion and Sight and Sound, divisive canon.

Verdict55 of 100IMDb6.8 from 192kWikipedia34k views a monthAge15 years

On the listsCriterion CollectionSight & Soundevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 778 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 53 praise 89 legacy 55averages 66, placing it at24,484 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

▲ Hunter McCracken

In these careers — elevation for this film

Brad Pitt19,964 ftJessica Chastain19,037 ftHunter McCracken18,873 ftSean Penn18,082 ftTye Sheridan17,919 ftIrene Bedard17,627 ft