The boss of one of the UK’s leading cinema chains has called on movies to be shorter, so that they can be more attractive to audiences.
Clare Binns is the creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas, and made the comments to The Guardian after being named the recipient of this year’s BAFTA award for outstanding British contribution to cinema.
One of the most anticipated blockbusters of last year, Avatar: Fire And Ash, had a running time of three hours and 15 minutes. Other long-running titles included Marty Supreme at two hours and 29 minutes; F1: The Movie (two hours and 35 minutes); and One Battle After Another (two hours and 41 minutes); all of which would be around the three hour mark when cinema adverts and trailers are factored in.
“I talk to producers about this and say: ‘Tell the director you’re making the film for an audience, not the directors,’” Binns said. “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.”
Long runtimes also limit the number of audiences that can see them, she argues. “It means you only get one evening show. 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.”
Despite this, Binns believes cinemas are “in a much better place” than two years ago, and that their relationship with streaming services has become collaborative. “It’s been very tough for cinemas,” she said. “During COVID, everybody got used to sitting on couches and watching streaming services. But that’s changing. We’re working with the streamers to bring people in.”
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