← Apex Mountain

Dog Day Afternoon

1975 · directed by Sidney Lumet · 125 min
26,433 feet · Prominence
176th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredThe 176th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw66

Lifetime worldwide gross $57m, re-releases included; about $348m in 2026 money.

Rank971 of 11,051In 19755 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.

Praise95

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics90 baseAwards92 signal → +5 lift

Oscars1 won Original Screenplay5 nominated Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Film Editing
Golden Globes5 nominated Best Picture, Lead acting, Supporting Actor, Supporting acting, Screenplay
BAFTAs2 won Actor, Craft and other3 nominated Best Picture, Directing, 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.

Legacy72

Judged directly: Dog Day Afternoon reviewed.

Verdict72 of 100IMDb8 from 286kWikipedia70k views a monthAge51 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 234 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 66 praise 95 legacy 72averages 78, placing it at26,433 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

▲ John Cazale

In these careers — elevation for this film

Al Pacino20,572 ftJohn Cazale19,508 ftChris Sarandon18,930 ftCharles Durning18,853 ftLance Henriksen17,658 ftCarol Kane17,654 ft