Exhibition Exec: Please Make Shorter Movies

Clare Binns is the creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas in the UK, a major exhibiton exec who recently won a BAFTA award for outstanding British contribution to cinema.

She knows her stuff when it comes to cinemas, and in a recent interview with The Guardian she has urged filmmakers to develop shorter films in order to get more people to return to cinemas.

While movies with extended runtimes are not new, what has changed is how movies are consumed with the advent of streaming services. Long runtimes not only restrict the number of showings per day, but also make people more inclined to wait until streaming if a film boasts a runtime more akin to a mini-series.

Binns says she’s already discussed the subject with producers:

“I talk to producers about this and say: ‘Tell the director you’re making the film for an audience, not the directors. There’s 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. 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.”

Binns also says the industry is in a”much better place” now than even 2-3 years ago, saying they are “working with the streamers to bring people in” and people are getting used to going back out to cinemas.

Recent films that have boasted long runtimes include “Killers of the Flower Moon” at 206 minutes, “The Brutalist” at 216 minutes, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” at 195 minutes, “Babylon” at 189 minutes and “Beau Is Afraid” at 179 minutes.