Study Finds Average Runtime of Wide Theatrical Releases Increased to 114 Minutes in 2020s

Film analyst Stephen Follows analyzed the running times of 36,431 movies released theatrically from 1980 to 2025. The study, discussed on The Town podcast, indicates that the overall average runtime has remained stable, hovering between 100 and 103 minutes since the 1980s.

In 2024, the average film runtime was 103.6 minutes. When focusing on wide theatrical releases, the average runtime was 106 minutes in the 1990s and early 2000s. By the 2020s, this figure rose to 114 minutes. The percentage of wide releases under 90 minutes decreased from 13 percent in the 1980s to 7 percent in the 2020s.

Films with budgets of $100 million or more tend to have longer runtimes. Pre-show advertising and trailers now average 20 to 30 minutes. Action films, in particular, average 128 minutes, compared to shorter durations in previous decades.

franchises illustrate the trend.

The first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, released in 1981, ran for 115 minutes. The 2023 installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, ran for 154 minutes. The initial Mission: Impossible film from 1996 lasted 110 minutes. The 2023 entry, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, ran for 170 minutes.

In the James Bond series, the 1962 film Dr. No lasted 109 minutes, while the 2021 film No Time to Die ran for 163 minutes, the longest in the franchise. Recent releases include Avatar: Fire and Ash at 197 minutes. Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the Multiverse Saga average 123 minutes.

Non-franchise films such as Project Hail Mary run for 156 minutes, while Oscar winners One Battle After Another and Oppenheimer ran for 162 and 180 minutes, respectively.

Follows noted that no single explanation accounts for the increase in runtimes. Possible factors include studios aiming to create event-like experiences and cinemas seeking to justify premium ticket prices through longer films. The study includes graphs detailing these trends.

The analysis raises questions about cinema practices, such as the potential return of intermissions for longer films. It provides data on how runtime changes affect viewing experiences, particularly with extended pre-show content.