The perfect movie length, according to new survey
An ongoing cinematic trend in recent years has seen the running time of movies increase significantly, with directors such as Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan adopting this approach. However, a new poll has revealed how long audiences believe films should last.
While there is no one-size fits all approach to filmmaking, and ultimately, viewers understand that it depends on the subject matter. Nevertheless, the new online survey provides an intriguing insight into the general beliefs of cinema-goers, and how long they typically believe films should be.
The report has been conducted by Talker Research, who spoke to 2,000 Americans to figure out the perfect running length. They concluded a movie should last for 92 minutes, which is considerably shorter than recent blockbuster success stories such as Dune 2, Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon.
Only 50 per cent of those who participated in the survey agreed that it was justified for movies to last for over two hours. Somewhat surprisingly, only two per cent felt comfortable watching a film that had a running length over two and a half hours.
Five notable movies that have the ideal running time of 92 minutes are Dodgeball, Kung Fu Panda, Beetlejuice, Monsters Inc and Toy Story 2.
The poll also explored the phenomenon of younger generations using subtitles while watching a movie, discovering 30 per cent of Gen Z respondents always watch with the assistance of subtitles along with 23 per cent of millennials. However, for Gen X and boomers, this figure is 13 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
The growth in running times of movies has largely been down to streaming platforms, which allow users to watch in their own time and view the film over the course of multiple sittings, if they please.
Upon the release of Dune 2 earlier this year, Denis Villeneuve was scrutinised for the motion picture’s running time of 166 minutes, leading to the director to defend his decision, stating, “I trust the audience.”
Villeneuve believes that audiences are not opposed to lengthy movies these days, noting, “There is a trend. The youth love to watch long movies because if they pay, they want to see something substantial. They are craving meaningful content.”
The director also used Oppenheimer as a recent example, stating, “It is a three-hour, rated-R movie about nuclear physics that is mostly talking. But the public was young – that was the movie of the year by far for my kids.”
Scorsese also used a similar line of defence regarding Killers of the Flower Moon, which lasts a whopping 206 minutes. “People say it’s three hours, but come on,” the director said. “You can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours. Also, there are many people who watch theatre for 3.5 hours.”
He continued, “There are real actors on stage; you can’t get up and walk around. You give it that respect; give cinema some respect.”
While audiences may prefer a shorter film, as the survey suggests, if a movie is enticing enough, they’ll still head to the cinema to watch it in their droves even if it boasts an extensive running time.
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