What Happened to 90 Minute Films?

It feels like every movie these days stretches to the past two hour mark. Take two movies I’m planning on seeing this month: Marvel’s Spider-man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The first comes in around 2 hours and 30 minutes, the second a staggering 2 hours and 52 minutes – just barely under three whole hours.

Long films are the norm now. If something isn’t reaching two hours it almost feels like a waste of money to go see it in theaters, especially when ticket prices have only been increasing over the years. I mean, come on, in roughly a year my local theater raised ticket prices by two dollars. Sure that doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you’re used to a decently priced ticket for so long it certainly feels like a smack in the face.

Though I love movies, long ones included, it can be a bit draining seeing two hour film after two hour film. All of the past five films I’ve seen have been over two hours or just about two hours. It’s kind of exhausting.

Recently, my sister and I were watching Captain America: Civil War after I came home from work. It’s only a part-time job, and the work isn’t very draining. Still, towards the third act, I was already asleep. The film is a staggering 2 hours and 27 minutes. Sitting through the midday on a weekend might be manageable, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable on a Tuesday night when you’re struggling to stay awake. 

These long films have made me yearn for the 90 minute ones of old: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Stand by Me, Zombieland, and The Blair Witch Project. These sorts of films were pretty popular in the 80s and 90s – probably why so many films from then are considered classics. A runtime of around 90 minutes is also typical for a lot of children’s films like Toy Story or The Lion King. The plot is easy to follow, the content is engaging, and it keeps our attention without boring us too much. 

Why can’t we return to these days of old? Wouldn’t it be even more worth studio money? After all, it’s easier to film and edit something shorter than something that’s nearly three hours long.

I have a few thoughts on the matter from theories circulating around the Internet.

The first is the prestige factor. The top five grossing films of all-time have an average runtime of just under three hours (2 hours and 54 minutes), all of them crossing the 2 hour mark. Blossoming filmmakers or those seeking to really leave their mark on the industry could see this as a sign that they need to make longer films. Even from a business standpoint it seems that people are buying into longer films. Just ignore the fact that three of those films are sequels. 

The second theory I have is the move to streaming. In the past movies would be shown on television after a certain period post-release. Films that were 90 to 120 minutes could easily fit without the already created TV timeslots. The same can’t be said for those over the 120 minute mark. Now that movies are sent to streaming services like Disney+, Prime Video, and Netflix instead, the same constraint no longer exists. It doesn’t matter if a film is 30 minutes or 300 minutes, it can be streamed without issue. 

None of that detracts from just how exhausting an over 2 hour film is. When I see a film coming to theaters that’s over 2 hours and 30 minutes I won’t lie, I’m hesitant to actually see it in theaters. Maybe part of that derives from our decaying attention spans thanks to social media, but it is true nonetheless. 

Some new releases are moving away from the two hour benchmark though. Supergirl clocks in at 1 hour and 47 minutes which is a good time in my opinion. Minions and Monsters hits the perfect 90 minute mark – a film one of my friends really enjoyed. Obsession – a box office hit – had a runtime of 1 hour and 48 minutes. Maybe with the success of that one, companies may think twice before dragging out their films.

There’s still long films I enjoy like Project Hail Mary (2 hours and 36 minutes, the uncut version being just under four hours). I’m also well aware that directors are going to continue making epic length movies. Maybe, just maybe, we can shake it up a bit more. Let’s make some live-action films that are around 90 minutes again, exploring different genres, new actors too. That’s a good investment for all of us.