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Do the Right Thing

1989 · directed by Spike Lee · 120 min
27,001 feet · Prominence
93rd of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris →

How this film scores

Draw54

Lifetime worldwide gross $37m, re-releases included; about $99m in 2026 money.

Rank2,956 of 11,051In 198938 of 156

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.

Critics93 baseAwards50 signal → +2 lift

Oscars2 nominated Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay
Golden Globes4 nominated Motion Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Screenplay
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.

Legacy85

Judged directly: All four canons; Radio Raheem still urgent.

Verdict85 of 100IMDb7.9 from 123kWikipedia51k views a monthAge37 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryCriterion CollectionAFI 100Sight & Soundevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 68 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 94 legacy 85averages 78, placing it at27,001 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

▲ Spike Lee▲ Danny Aiello

In these careers — elevation for this film

Danny Aiello20,145 ftSpike Lee19,993 ftJohn Turturro18,885 ftBill Nunn18,577 ftGiancarlo Esposito18,533 ftOssie Davis18,403 ftRuby Dee18,083 ftRichard Edson17,983 ftSamuel L. Jackson17,668 ftMartin Lawrence17,664 ftRosie Perez17,656 ftJohn Savage17,647 ftFrankie Faison17,640 ftFrank Vincent17,629 ft