Between films like Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, and Avatar: The Way of Water, there has been a lot of talk about how terribly long movies are getting these days. A run time over 3 hours can push some viewers to their limits. Many might think twice before investing their time in such a lengthy picture. But are movies actually getting that much longer? 

From 1930 – 2023

The Economist compiled data on film run time from over 100,000 films on IMDB. Starting in 1930, the average feature film length was approximately 1 hour and 21 minutes. By 2022, the average had risen to 1 hour and 47 minutes. 26 minutes is not a very dramatic jump, especially over a ninety-year period. 

But the Economist also looked at which of those films were the most popular (at least, according to IMDB’s rating system). Without fail, the average of the popular films of each year was significantly longer than that year’s general average. Usually about 30 minutes longer. The graph The Economist put out along with the article shows two lines, the average of all films and the average of the popular films. But they also add individual dots to represent each of the popular films, making it easy to see just how many lengthy yet beloved epics there are. 

Gone With the Wind (1939), the highest-grossing film of all time (adjusting for inflation), is a massive 3 hours and 58 minutes. Which, by the way, is 32 minutes longer than Killers of the Flower Moon. Seven Samurai (1954), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Ben-Hur (1959) all hover around the 3 hours 30 minute mark. Every decade, there are a handful of massively popular films that cross the 3-hour mark and sometimes even push it further. 

Increasing Run Times Debunked

And yet, the feeling persists, that films today are significantly longer than those of the past. So why this contradiction? If films haven’t been elongated to the monstrous lengths some claim, why does it feel that way? One answer might lie in our modern lives, filled with short bursts of information—tweets, TikToks, Instagram stories—that have recalibrated our perception of duration. In the age of instant gratification, a three-hour film might feel like an eternity.

Yet, there’s a magic that lies within these expansive stories. A longer runtime allows for deeper character development, more intricate world-building, and narrative richness that can’t always be captured in a neat 90-minute package. While some filmmakers continue to craft lengthier pictures, they do so with the hope, that audiences will embark on these longer journeys with them. And more often than not, box office numbers seem to validate their faith.

The real question, in my opinion, isn’t whether films are getting too long, but whether they’re making the most of every minute.

I’d love to hear what you think about longer run times! Love them? Hate them? Let me know!