The perfect movie length, according to science
When cinema first emerged as an art form, it took some time before movies became as long as they are today. The first few years of the medium saw movies run for just a few minutes long, before the 70-minute Australian film The Story of the Kelly Gang emerged in 1906, becoming the first feature-length production.
From here, filmmakers started working on longer movies, with the Italian film Quo Vadis breaking new ground in 1913, running for two hours. A few years later, the controversial yet pioneering proto-blockbuster A Birth of a Nation became the first major Hollywood film, coming in at over three hours long. Every so often, a really long film, like Abel Gance’s five-hour epic Napoleon, would emerge, but as feature films became the standard form of film consumption, the typical movie ran between 80 and 90 minutes.
However, these days, movies can be anything from a solid 90 minutes to three or more hours, with the latter category actually becoming increasingly more common. Since the dawn of the blockbuster era in the 1970s, producers have discovered that epic, big-budget, lengthy movies – ones that feel like truly immersive experiences – are the way to earn the most ticket sales.
Thus, it’s typically expected for a blockbuster to be over two hours, while smaller-budget comedies, dramas, horror movies, and less ‘in-your-face’ genres (essentially anything that isn’t a superhero movie, action, sci-fi or historical flick) is more likely to be around the 90-100 minute mark.
But what is the perfect movie length, according to science? Talker Research once conducted a poll to find out, resulting in the discovery of the ideal runtime sitting at just 92 minutes. That’s quite short, but in a world defined by short attention spans, aided by the dominance of short-form social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, it’s hardly surprising that people don’t want to be glued to a movie for more than an hour and a half.
Still, it seems as though many people don’t mind dedicating themselves to a two-and-a-half or three-hour epic, as demonstrated by the popularity of movies like Titanic, Avengers: Endgame, and The Godfather.
What are the best 92-minute-long movies?
There are many great movies out there that clock in at just 92 minutes, like the classic screwball romantic comedy His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, a hilarious and charming entry to the genre that has endured for over 85 years. If you’d prefer something more recent, how about the widely acclaimed horror film The Witch? It gave Anya Taylor-Joy her big break, and with its folk horror approach and haunting depiction of a young woman’s journey into witchcraft, it’s sure to leave you wishing it were longer.
Keeping with the horror theme, Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio, released in 2012, is another 92-minute gem with a beautiful, sometimes terrifying, soundtrack by Broadcast. The film stars Toby Jones as a sound engineer who begins to lose his grip on reality after working on a violent Giallo movie.
If you’re into psychologically complex themes, Jerzy Skowlimowksi’s Deep End is also a fantastic movie that fits the bill, while Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, an excellent dissection of masculinity, coming in at just 92 minutes.
However, if you’d prefer to watch a 92-minute movie that is much more family-friendly, look no further than Toy Story 2, the beloved children’s movie that reunited fans with beloved characters like Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
