Movies have been getting longer for a few years or so but they are especially long this year. Look at the biggest films this year and see how they are about 20-30min longer than they would be in the past.
- The Flash - 2h 24m
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - 2h 34m
- Oppenheimer - 3h
- Barbie - 1h 54m
- John Wick: Chapter 4 - 2h 49m
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - 2h 29m
And even crazier are the 2 parter movies.
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - 2h 16m
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - 2h 43m
- Dune 2 - reported way over 2h
A few years ago this was different.
- Action films like Indiana Jones, Marvel movies, John Wick and Mission Impossible used to be about 2h - 2h 15m.
- Movies closest to Barbie like Clueless and Legally Blonde were about 1h 30m.
- Biopics like Oppenheimer were longer but not 3h. Lincoln was 2h 30m.
- Animated films would be 1h 45m max.
- Lynch’s original Dune was almost 3h cut by the studio to 2h 15m.
I remember when Harry Potter Deathly Hallows got criticism for being a 2 parter. The Dark Knight Rises got push back from theaters saying it was too long and made it difficult to have a lot of showtimes. Now it feels like these long showtimes and 2 parters are the rule rather than the exception.
Do you prefer movies longer or do you think they are getting too bloated and need to be cut down?
Also what is causing this trend of long films? I think it’s streaming and binging making people more comfortable watching TV for a long time. But I see people say that attention spans are getting shorter thanks to the internet so I don’t really know.
I’ve noticed that over the years without actually making a list like that. I don’t know why the trend is moving to longer movies, I could guess. Maybe film makers are trying to give people more for their money with the high cost of theater tickets. Or maybe it’s because more people watch from home where length is less of an issue. You don’t have to watch a film in one sitting.
Keep in mind when movies are made there’s a lot of footage that ends up on the cutting room floor. I’ve noticed these longer movies are more liberal with the editing. They have a good amount of footage that simply doesn’t need to be there. Could be they’re including less relevant scenes due to more relaxed requirements from producers.
I’ve always thought you could take a six hour mini-series and boil it down to a two hour movie. It’s all a matter of editing and most of the time less is more.
Oh, the first time I saw a two part theatre release was Matrix 2. That made me so angry because they left it hanging like a serial TV episode. I went to the theatre for that one and paid the premium. I was really mad I paid my nickel and was left hanging like that. I still watched the the third release, but at home following the second one. By the time the third was out and came to DVD, I didn’t remember the second. It was basically a five hour movie.