Films that run for three hours or more are making a comeback in Indian cinemas, reversing years of efforts by filmmakers and multiplexes to keep runtimes lean and maximise screenings.
From the two-part Dhurandhar franchise and Animal to recent releases across Malayalam and Marathi cinema, filmmakers are increasingly planning longer formats as they build larger cinematic universes and immersive storytelling experiences.
OTT influence
Industry executives said the shift reflects changing audience behaviour, with viewers already accustomed to binge-watching long-form storytelling on OTT platforms, increasingly associating longer runtimes with scale and value for money.
"Filmmakers today are building larger cinematic universes, deeper character arcs, and immersive storytelling experiences meant specifically for the big screen,” Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, managing director, Miraj Entertainment Ltd, said.
The success of recent three-hour-plus club films, including Border 2, Dhurandhar 1 and 2, Pushpa 2: The Rule, Raja Shivaji, Animal, RRR, and Kalki 2898 AD, has also given confidence that audiences are willing to sit through longer runtimes if the content is engaging. In fact, many viewers now associate larger runtimes with scale and value for money in theatres, Mendiratta added.
Rahul Puri, managing director of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas said longer runtimes allow them to raise the stakes. “The trend (of lengthy films) is definitely coming back, and it can be a big deal if you can get someone to look away from their phone for three hours in today’s age,” Puri added.
Many believe the trend will continue, but mainly for large-scale theatrical spectacles, franchise films, and big-star event cinema. Audiences today are very selective about what they watch in theatres, so filmmakers are trying to offer experiences that feel grand and immersive enough to justify a cinema outing.
This trend presents both opportunities and challenges for exhibitors.
Viewers today are very content-aware and impatient with unnecessary stretching. So while longer films will continue, especially in action, fantasy, and franchise genres, engagement and pacing will remain the key factors for success.
However, the longer a film runs, the more time people spend inside the theatre, which directly translates to more food and beverage spending, Sanmesh Sapkal, director-key accounts at digital marketing agency TheSmallBigIdea said.
“The obvious challenge is that you simply can't fit as many shows into a day. But if the film is working, if people are genuinely coming in for it, the overall yield from a longer film can easily outperform a shorter one,” Sapkal added.
Ashish Misra, head of commercialization, Cinépolis India agreed the balance depends almost entirely on whether the film holds its audience. The operational reality is straightforward: a three-and-a-half-hour film accommodates fewer shows in a day.
What would be five or six shows on a standard runtime can drop to four. That has a real implication for inventory and for the pricing mix across the day, Misra pointed out.
“But when the film is engaging, the trade-off works out in favour of cinemas. Per-show occupancy tends to be higher for event films, the interval window is longer, food and beverage consumption rises through the show, and premium-format demand strengthens," he added.
The risk, if the film does not sustain attention, is that the same long runtime that would have lifted the experience instead softens repeat audience and word-of-mouth. "So it is not the duration we plan for; it is the strength of the film and its position in the release calendar,” Misra said.