Filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott like their long runtimes. However, a new study revealed the ideal movie runtime for moviegoers.
Talker Research (formerly OnePoll U.S.) conducted a poll of over 2,000 American adults. The poll found that the “perfect” runtime for them is 92 minutes. 15% of voters said that they were okay with films going over two hours long. Furthermore, only 2% said that films should be over two-and-a-half hours long.
The poll also revealed that voters felt like they’ve watched two movies over the past 60 days that they “felt were too long.” 23% “reluctantly” sat through three or more movies that fit the same criteria.
Additionally, the poll revealed findings about subtitles. 15% say the debate over having subtitles on the screen is a “hotly debated topic” in their house. 77% don’t find it to be an issue.
16% of voters “always” use subtitles, whilst 33% of the entire group “never” use them.
Breaking it down further into age groups, the poll revealed that 33% of Gen Z respondents “always” watch movies with subtitles. 23% of millennials also say the same. Gen X and Boomers made up a smaller percentage of this group, with just 13% of Gen X and 12% of boomers agreeing with this stance.
What this means for movies
What is most interesting about the development is looking at the runtimes for recent and upcoming films. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will make history as the longest film in the reboot series at 146 minutes.
The aforementioned Martin Scorsese is known for his long films. Killers of the Flower Moon, his latest film, is 206 minutes long. His last two films, Silence and The Irishman were 161 minutes and 209 minutes long, respectively.
Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, House of Gucci, and Napoleon were all long. They were 153, 158, and 157 minutes long, respectively.
However, the animation genre is generally shorter. Perhaps the filmmakers are aware of the “ideal” movie runtime. Or they know that children have a shorter attention span and they need to get right to the point.
There are plenty of upcoming releases that fit the mold of what the poll suggests. The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, is 115 minutes long. John Krasinski’s If will be released on May 17 and is 104 minutes long.
However, there are some longer films coming up on the horizon. George Miller’s Mad Max prequel spin-off, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, is 148 minutes long. The film stars Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy. Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s film Hit Man will be 113 minutes long, which is longer than the ideal length per the poll.
Disney and Pixar will release Inside Out 2 this summer on June 14. A runtime hasn’t yet been revealed. However, the first film, which was released in 2015, had a runtime of 95 minutes. That’s just over the sweet spot that the poll named. We’ll see if that bodes well for the film or not.
