As theatrical distribution becomes less of a bottleneck (fewer competing adult films, theaters hungry for any wide-release), studios face weaker pressure to trim runtimes. The result is routine runtime inflation across mainstream films, including low‑stakes genre fare that historically would have been edited down.
— Runtime inflation is a visible symptom of shifting market incentives in media production and points to broader changes in attention allocation, theatrical economics, and cultural form.
Matthew Yglesias
2026.03.26
100% relevant
Example: 'Project Hail Mary' (156 minutes) and data point that wide releases now include few competing adult films and that animated kids films are the only long‑running theatrical holdovers; the author’s anecdote about his father’s 1993 release illustrates the earlier distribution discipline.
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