At 215 minutes,The Brutalistis the longest mainstream movie to come along in a while.
There are a few reasons for this recent trend in the film industry.
At a screening ofThe Wolf Manin 1941, a projectionist wouldve had to change the reel six times.
At a screening ofIt Happened One Nightin 1934, they wouldve had to change the reel nine times.
When movies were stored on film reels, those reels had to be transported to each individual theater.
These days, traditional film projection is more or less a thing of the past.
A24, Universal Pictures, Focus Features
The switch from film to digital has made it much easier to screen longer movies.
Studios responded to this conundrum by turning movies into big events.
Here are 10 movies longer than The Brutalist.
In the age of streaming, studios are repeating this strategy to get audiences out to theaters.
If Nolan wants to make his biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer three hours long, Universal will let him.
But in recent years, this old-school rule has proven to be a myth.
The number of screenings per day doesnt seem to have an effect on box office results.
These days, theatrical runs fluctuate a lot.
The longer the movie, the more a given moviegoer gets to make a day of it.
A longer runtime and a more disjointed pace can certainly hurt the rewatchability of a movie.
The longer the movie, the more a given moviegoer gets to make a day of it.
Their fate shifts after meeting a wealthy, enigmatic client.
