← Apex Mountain

The Nightmare Before Christmas

1993 · directed by Henry Selick · 76 min
26,695 feet · Prominence
131st of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredThe 131st highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw59

Lifetime worldwide gross $76m, re-releases included; about $173m in 2026 money.

Rank1,941 of 11,051In 199328 of 199

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.

Critics89 baseAwards5 signal → +0 lift

Oscars1 nominated Visual Effects
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. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so there is little headroom for awards to claim. The score is the critics' verdict, nearly untouched.

Legacy82

Judged directly: Registry film; Jack Skellington is permanent.

Verdict82 of 100IMDb7.9 from 410kWikipedia0k views a monthAge33 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 103 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 59 praise 89 legacy 82averages 77, placing it at26,695 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

▲ Catherine O'Hara▲ Danny Elfman

In these careers — elevation for this film

Catherine O'Hara18,939 ftChris Sarandon18,857 ftDanny Elfman18,641 ftWilliam Hickey18,058 ftPaul Reubens18,000 ft