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The latest Avatar movie has a runtime of over three hours Alamy Stock Photo
The Daily Poll
Does a film’s runtime influence your decision to watch it?
Clare Binns says directors should make films ‘for the audience’.
FILMMAKERS SHOULD MAKE their movies shorter if they want them shown in cinemas, according to Picturehouse Cinemas creative director Clare Binns.
Binns made the remarks after she was named the recipient of this year’s Bafta award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. She argued that directors should prioritise making films “for the audience, not the directors”.
While none of this year’s Golden Globe Best Picture nominees exceeded the three-hour mark (the longest was One Battle After Another, which runs for two hours and 41 minutes), several recent blockbusters have gone beyond that length. These include Avatar: Fire and Ash (three hours and 17 minutes) and Killers of the Flower Moon (three hours and 26 minutes).
“There are always exceptions, but I look at a lot of films and think, ‘You could take 20 minutes out of that,’” Binns said. “There’s no need for films to be that long.”
With that, we wanted to ask: Does a film’s runtime influence your decision to watch it?
Poll Results:
Sometimes – but I can get past it for the right movie (2875)
Definitely – long movies put me off (2562)
Never – it doesn't matter to me (1285)
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