
$14m worldwide in 1968 — $133m in today's money.
As released$14mIn 2026 money$133mRank2,231 of 8,589In 196813 of 35
Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.
Critics 68, awards 5. Half each, so Praise lands at 69.
Critics68 → 34Awards5 → 2
Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.
Judged directly: McQueen cool, chess scene, theme song.
Verdict48 of 100IMDb6.9 from 30kWikipedia21k views a monthAge58 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.