American Beauty (1999)
Drama
84Kernel Score — Universal Acclaim, 0 reviews
The Kernel take
Universal acclaim on an unusually modest budget: American Beauty's 84 Metascore converted a $15M investment into $356M worldwide, a payday that justified the critical establishment's embrace.
Director track record: Sam Mendes
American Beauty (84) sits well above Sam Mendes's own 64.6-point average across his other 7 scored films — his best-reviewed work to date, exceeding his previous peak of Skyfall (81).
Lead track record: Kevin Spacey
American Beauty (84) sits well above Kevin Spacey's own 57.3-point average across his other 24 scored films — one of his best-reviewed works to date, though it trails his career high of L.A. Confidential (91).
Box office
Budget $15M · Box office $356.3M