Picturehouse Boss: Film Runtimes Are Too Long

Clare Binns, the Creative Director of Picturehouse Cinemas, has claimed that film runtimes are proving to be a problem for both audiences and cinemas in a recent interview with BAFTA.

She was speaking after it was announced that she would receive an Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema from BAFTA. It is there that she used the opportunity to appeal to directors to make shorter movies. “I talk to producers about this and say: ‘Tell the director you’re making the film for an audience, not the directors,’” she revealed. “There are always exceptions, but I look at a lot of films and think: ‘You could take 20 minutes out of that.’ There’s no need for films to be that long.”

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Binns then went on to say that longer films mean that cinemas “only get one evening show,” which would hurt the revenue of chains. “I think it’s a wake-up call to directors. If they want their films in cinemas, people have to feel comfortable about what they’re committing to“. Noticeable recent blockbusters that have pushed past the three-hour mark include Killers of the Flower Moon (206 minutes) and The Brutalist (215 minutes).

She will receive her BAFTA for her work at the Film Awards on February 22. The ceremony will be hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming with the longlists for the event published last week. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another leads the bunch with a record 16 mentions.

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Danny Humby

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Danny is a freelance media creative with a background spanning marketing, journalism and governance. From 2021 to 2024 he was Chair of the Student Radio Association and is currently a Trustee at Chichester Festival Theatre. He holds an MSc in Marketing and a BA in Film and Television from Solent University, and remains passionate about supporting young people, the arts, and charitable organisations to help broaden their reach and impact. He can be found under @popcornandpace on Instagram.

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