The Godfather

1972 | 175 min | Drama, Crime

Friday Night Flick

Why it’s a Friday Night Flick

Critics loved it (97%), audiences adore it (8.7/10), it won 3 Oscars and it made about 41 times its budget. Make plans for this one.

Our take: The film other crime stories are measured against. Slow-burning and operatic, about family and power more than gangsters.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Have you seen it?

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

How it earned its rating

CriticsVery strong
97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 100 on Metacritic
AudiencesVery strong
8.7/10 from 24K viewers, plus 1 MMM member rating
AwardsVery strong
7 wins, 5 other nominations — won Academy Award for Best Picture; won Academy Award for Best Actor
Box office & staying powerVery strong
$245 million worldwide on a $6 million budget
Buzz & cultural impactVery strong
2.8 million Wikipedia readers in the past year