Hollywood, take note: audiences are running out of patience for marathon runtimes. A new survey of 2,000 Americans found that the ideal movie length is just 88 minutes — and moviegoers’ tolerance for long sits in the dark is shrinking year over year.
The research comes from Talker Research, which polled Americans on their preferred film length and found that only 10% of respondents wanted movies running two hours or longer. An even smaller sliver — just 3% — said films should stretch past two and a half hours.
Patience Is Wearing Thin
This isn’t a one-time snapshot. Talker Research asked the same question in 2024, and back then the average ideal runtime was 92 minutes. Two years later, that number has dropped to 88 minutes, suggesting audiences are becoming less willing to commit to long theater sits as time goes on.
Age Matters — A Lot
The survey also found a clear generational divide when it comes to movie-watching patience:
- Baby Boomers: 93 minutes (the only group averaging above the two-year-old benchmark)
- Gen X: 89 minutes
- Millennials: 86 minutes
- Gen Z: 82 minutes
The trend is straightforward — the younger the viewer, the shorter their ideal movie length. Gen Z’s preference of 82 minutes is a full 11 minutes shorter than what Boomers consider ideal, and 6 minutes under this year’s overall average.
How This Summer’s Blockbusters Measure Up
With the 88-minute “ideal” as the benchmark, this summer’s slate of releases mostly blows right past it. Here’s how the season’s biggest titles compare:
| Movie | Runtime | Minutes Over “Ideal” |
|---|---|---|
| Minions & Monsters | 90 min | +2 |
| Jackass: Best and Last | 92 min | +4 |
| Toy Story 5 | 102 min | +14 |
| Supergirl | 108 min | +20 |
| Moana (live action) | 115 min | +27 |
| The Devil Wears Prada 2 | 119 min | +31 |
| Disclosure Day | 145 min | +57 |
| Spider-Man: Brand New Day | 150 min | +62 |
| The Odyssey | 172 min | +84 |
Only two notable releases land close to the sweet spot: Minions & Monsters at 90 minutes and Jackass: Best and Last at 92 minutes.
Toy Story 5 runs 102 minutes — nearly 15 minutes over the ideal, and notably longer than the original 1995 Toy Story, which clocked in at a lean 81 minutes.
On the opposite end, this summer’s biggest tentpoles are asking for serious commitment. Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day runs 145 minutes — nearly an hour past “ideal.” Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn’t far behind at 150 minutes, a full two and a half hours. And Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey tops the list at 172 minutes, nearly double the 88-minute sweet spot.
Classic Films That Already Hit the Mark
For viewers chasing that perfect 88-minute experience, they don’t need to wait for a new release. Several beloved classics already land right at the ideal runtime, including The Lion King (1994), Zombieland (2009), The Producers (1967), and Airplane! (1980).