Picturehouse Boss Calls for Shorter Films to Boost Cinema Revenue

Binns said longer films meant that cinemas scheduled fewer screenings, affecting their income. “It means you only get one evening show,” Binns said. “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.” Picturehouse closed three of its London venues — Stratford East, Bromley and Fulham — in 2024. The actor Hugh Grant described the loss of the latter as “strangely unbearable”. He said on social media: “Let’s all sit at home and watch ‘content’ on ‘streaming’.” Leonardo DiCaprio asked this month whether going to the cinema would become a niche pursuit after a lukewarm response at the box office for his epic One Battle after Another, which was two hours and 42 minutes long. “Do people still have the appetite?” he asked. “Or will cinemas become silos like jazz bars?” Binns, who will receive her award at the Bafta film awards ceremony on February 22, said cinemas were recovering after struggling following the pandemic-induced lockdown. “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,” she said. • British cinemas threaten to disrupt Netflix’s $83bn Warner Bros deal Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said that single-screen cinemas were particularly exposed to the effects of long films. “While cinemas would never want to limit the creativity of those behind the camera, it’s true that there does seem to be a steady upward drift,” he said. “Only three of the top ten films at the UK box office last year were under two hours!” Last year cinemas posted their strongest first-half performance since 2022, boosted by releases including A Minecraft Movie, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Lilo & Stitch and Captain America: New World Order. None of the titles were longer than 125 minutes.