Movies getting longer is not a feeling. A researcher named Steven Follows checked the runtimes of 36,000 theatrically released films from 1980 to 2025. Average wide release length went from 106 minutes in the 1990s to 114 minutes today. Films with budgets over a hundred million dollars run even longer. Then add 20 to 30 minutes of pre-show ads and trailers that didn't used to exist.
In the 1980s, 14 percent of wide releases ran more than two hours. In the 2020s that number is 32 percent. Studios want these films to feel like events. Denis Villeneuve says younger viewers are craving it, that Gen Z grew up binging three and four hour stretches of television and that's what epic storytelling feels like to them now. Box office returns back him up. The Brutalist ran over three hours and won awards. Project A-Team ran 156 minutes and people loved it. Oppenheimer was 180 minutes.
The new Keanu Reeves film is 83 minutes long. Richard Crouse was excited about that. Shorter almost feels ambitious now.
Topics: movies getting longer, movie runtime, Steven Follows study, Gen Z cinema, streaming storytelling
GUEST: Richard Crouse | http://richardcrouse.ca
Originally aired on 2026-04-09
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Bleep! with Ana Navarro
Fear thrives in silence and confusion. Ana Navarro rejects both. Her voice is an antidote to today’s chaos. Her new podcast, Bleep! with Ana Navarro, takes on today’s most pressing issues with the voices most connected to it: decision-makers, political leaders, cultural shapers, and people on the frontlines of the story. The conversations acknowledge the emotions we all feel—despair, sadness, fear— but emerge with knowledge, perspective, and hope. The belief is simple: fearless dialogue can transform fear into courage, and courage into change. When fear dominates the headlines, this show digs deeper. Because information, debate, and conversation don’t just ease fear, they give us power to shape the future.
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.