If there is one fact that’s true about cinema in 2023, it’s that movies are definitely getting longer. Releases like Beau Is AfraidI, the soon-to-be-released Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon are pushing their runtimes to the limit. While the subject matter might justify this for certain movies, you’ll notice that even films providing popcorn entertainment are running so long that it makes you wonder if a little more time in the editing room might have done them some good.

Roger Ebert once said, “No good movie is too long, and no bad movie is short enough.” If a film holds your attention and doesn’t appear to drag, the runtime is rarely a factor. It’s all about engaging the audience and keeping them glued to their seats so enthralled that they forget about how long the film actually is.

That being said, this used to feel a bit more special. Every movie wasn’t clocking in at two and a half hours or more. The sweet spot for a lot of films was anywhere between 90 and 120 minutes, and it also depends on the genre. Most moviegoers don’t want a comedy or horror film that pushes the two-hour mark because the jokes begin to get stale, and the scares become repetitive.

It’s all a bit subjective, but if it’s typically much shorter than that, viewers might feel they’re not getting their money’s worth (let’s face it, going to the movies is pricey) but if they go on much longer, viewers might begin to get restless. When going to the movies, most brains are trained to expect two hours unless you’re going to see something based on Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. You expect a long runtime for some but not for everything.

Long Movie Runtimes Have Been a Growing Trend For Over a Year
20th Century Studios

Going back a bit into 2022, movies were seeing astronomical runtimes. Avatar: The Way of Water clocked in at 192 minutes, Babylon took old Hollywood debauchery to 188 minutes, and The Batman gave audiences superhero noir at 176 minutes. When questioning if any of these runtimes are justified, you have to consider if these films needed to take the time to build a world that consumes you and breaks you from your current state of reality.

The visual beauty of The Way of Water could justify its 192 minutes as a sweet escape into a world of wonder that is beyond our imagination. When it comes to Babylon, it could be argued that Damien Chazelle’s tale of outrageous excess could’ve trimmed a bit of fat and been more accessible to the audience. Budgeted at $78 million, could a shorter runtime have allowed the film to make more than a mere $15.3 million at the domestic box office?

The Batman is also in an interesting position. On the one hand, it’s a comic book movie adaptation, but on the other hand, it was made as a more grounded noir thriller. It was more than a comic book film, and given its $770.9 million global take, the runtime really wasn’t an issue for most of the audience that saw it.

Related: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer: What to Expect, Based On the True Story

Prestige films in 2023 are going all in on their runtimes, with most of them helmed by directors that cut what’s necessary but won’t simply do it to make the movie shorter. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is right around the corner and is said to be around 180 minutes. The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb likely can’t be told in 90 or 120 minutes without shortchanging the story. In this case, a 180-minute runtime might be justified.

A similar argument might not be able to be made for something like Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid, released earlier this year. That film is just shy of Oppenheimer’s runtime at 179 minutes, and some reviews of the film would suggest there was no need for it to be long. It’s certainly Aster’s vision, and A24 gave the director total control to make the film he wanted to make, but for a movie like this, one that pushes the patience of the viewer, a runtime this long can feel almost punishing.

Fans of Aster’s will be right at home for 179 minutes, but casual viewers might find themselves checking the time or taking several bathroom breaks.

Related: The Real Story Behind Killers of the Flower Moon, Explained

Martin Scorsese is taking on the novel Killers of the Flower Moon, a book that unravels over 352 pages. The film has a reported runtime of 206 minutes which is an investment for any moviegoer. Most cinephiles won’t care about this.

It’s Scorsese once again teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. It’s also based on a book that readers say has a lot of nuances that can’t just be ignored. With that runtime, Scorsese has likely covered all of his bases, so he will please fans of the book and fans of his talent as a filmmaker. For those that don’t want to endure the runtime, the film will eventually be available on Apple TV+ to pause as frequently as you see fit.

Even Popcorn Entertainment Is Running a Bit Long

We’re now in a period where almost EVERY film feels long at this point. Even mindless popcorn entertainment. Did Fast X really need to be 130 minutes? At a certain point, all the action starts to look the same. Many of the superhero movies this year are also clocking in with big runtimes.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (139 minutes), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (140 minutes), and The Flash (135 minutes) have all pushed the limits of their length. In the case of Across the Spider-Verse, it’s the longest animated film ever produced by an American studio. No one would ever dream of making an animated film that long in the past. Given its robust box office take, audiences don’t seem to care, so it’s another example of sometimes the runtime is appropriate, but for some other projects, it’s just not the move.

With more long films on the horizon, this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part 1 will have us watching Tom Cruise doing death-defying stunts for 163 minutes, and audiences, for the most part, will be thrilled by the notion.

There is something to look out for if this trend is to continue. Moviegoers are becoming more particular about how they spend their time. It might become less and less likely they can spend a casual 160 minutes in the theater, which could ultimately hurt the box office in the long run.

If a long runtime is justifiable for the story, go for it. If edits aren’t being made just to flex the ego of a filmmaker, maybe someone should come in and keep them in check a bit. Perhaps it could be time to return to when epic runtimes felt like an event rather than the norm.