Are films too long these days? Here's what Yahoo readers think

Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week allows you to vote and express your opinion on any of the week's hot topics. After 72 hours, the survey closes and every Friday we publish and analyze the results, giving readers the chance to see how polarizing an issue has become and whether their opinion aligns with other Yahoo UK readers.

Are films getting too long? A recent survey of American moviegoers found that the ideal movie length is 92 minutes, while only 2% of respondents were satisfied with films that run longer than 150 minutes. People have more time than ever before and attention spans are decreasing. So you can understand the desire for fast-paced 90-minute films.

In recent years, Hollywood has been trending towards longer cinematic epics with running times well beyond the two-hour mark, testing the bladders and patience of audiences worldwide.

From superhero saga to sprawling biopics, the time commitment to these films is increasing, alongside filmmakers' ever-increasing narrative ambitions.

But at what point does a longer running time affect the fun and accessibility of a film?

Yahoo UK asked our readers: “How many minutes is the ideal film length?” Here are the results:

It received 906 votes, showing that Yahoo readers were more tolerant of film length, with 152 minutes – just over two and a half hours – being the ideal film length for our readers. Classic films that run in similar time include “Inglorious Basterds” (153 min.), “Pulp Fiction” (154 min.), “Departed” (151 min.), “There Will Be Blood” (158 min.). .), “Amadeus” (160 min.) and “Zodiac” (157 min.). ) and The Dirty Dozen (150 mins), so perhaps they're on to something.

120 minutes was also a popular choice among our readers.

Yahoo News UK readers were also asked: “How important is the length of a film in your decision to watch it?”

This poll received 717 votes, with the most common vote being 8/10, indicating that many readers viewed the length of a film as an important factor in their decision to watch a film.

The average emotional strength rating across all votes was 6/10.

Our original survey article can be found here.

According to Talker Research, an online survey of 2,000 Americans found that 92 minutes is the preferred movie running time for U.S. audiences.

Fifteen percent said 120-minute films were acceptable, while only two percent supported films longer than 150 minutes.

The Guardian added context, saying that nine of the ten highest-grossing films of all time were more than two hours long, and three of those were more than three hours long: Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water and Titanic.

Read more from Yahoo UK Survey article of the week