The Exorcist

1973 · directed by William Friedkin · 122 min

28,310 feet · Prominence

8th of 15,261 films scored

The Rewatchables‘The Exorcist’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan

How this film scores

Draw95

$441m worldwide in 1973 — $3.28bn in today's money.

As released$441mIn 2026 money$3.28bnRank4 of 8,589In 19731 of 43

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

Critics 81, awards 92. Half each, so Praise lands at 89.

Critics81 → 40Awards92 → 46

Oscars2 won Adapted Screenplay, Sound8 nominated Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Production Design, Film Editing

Golden Globes4 won Motion Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Screenplay

BAFTAs1 nominated Sound

How Praise works

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.

Legacy88

Judged directly: Redefined horror, still the benchmark.

Verdict88 of 100IMDb8.1 from 496kWikipedia76k views a monthAge53 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score

Scored beside it · 30 of 3,430 films judged

89The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

89Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

89Annie Hall (1977)

88The Lion King (1994)

88Saving Private Ryan (1998)

88The Godfather Part II (1974)

88The Exorcist (1973)

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 95 praise 89 legacy 88averages 91, which places it at28,310 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.

In these careers — elevation for this film

No scored career runs through this film yet. The people-side engine currently covers 108careers, and this film’s cast sits outside them. Top billing: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow.