How long do movies stay in theaters? Is this something that you have been searching for? If yes, then you have reached the right place.
With movie buffs across the world, people always keep searching for how long a movie stays in theaters. They can go to watch the same movie more than two times. If you are someone who likes going to the movies a lot or has been planning to go to the theaters to watch a particular movie for a while but has not been getting the time to, you must be wondering for how long the movie will stay in the theaters.
Keep reading this article till the end to learn more…
Quick Answer: How Long Do Movies Stay In Theaters?
First things first, let me cut straight to the point and tell you the answer to how long movies do stay in theaters. So here I go!
Well, it might be great to know exactly how many days a particular movie will stay in the theaters. But that is unfortunately not the way the world of theaters works.
According to a report published by CNBC, “Two weeks is the bare minimum for most agreements, and some movie deals may require three weeks.”
On the other hand, according to Hollywood, “A movie can stay in theaters for as little as a few weeks and several months. It all depends on what other movies are coming out, the popularity of the film, and the availability of theaters at a particular location.”
So, yeah, we do not really know for how long a particular movie will stay in the theaters. But what we do know is the fact that there are a number of factors that affect the runtime of the movie.
Factors That Affect The Runtime Of A Movie In Theaters
Several factors can affect the runtime of a movie. A variety of factors influence the theater’s decision to retain a film on its schedule. Location is also very important. For instance, a movie may be very popular in the US yet perform poorly abroad. As a result, US theaters will likely keep it on their schedules for longer.
Some of the major factors that dictate the runtime of a movie and decide how long it will run at the theaters are as follows:
1. Popularity
The first one on this list is popularity. If the movie is not popular, it will not run for a long time. On the other hand, if the movie is popular and has been doing well, it will automatically stay at the theaters for a much longer time. You might have seen people talk about the box office numbers when discussing how a movie has performed. Well, depending on the performance of a particular movie at the box office, the runtime at the theaters also changes.
Again, according to CNBC, “some movies run a long time simply because they’re popular with customers and profitable for both the theaters and the distributors.”
2. Competition
The next one is a major factor— the competition. If there is something that you need to keep in mind, it is the fact that when a movie faces stiff competition, it will not stay in the theaters for a long time. If two movies (A and B) run simultaneously, the movie that performs better and is well received by the people will run longer. And that brings us to the third point, the Timing.
3. Time Of Release
This one plays an equally important part in deciding how long do movies stay in theaters. Consider that there are two movies (A and B) running at the same time. If movie A has your favorite actor or actress, will you ever choose movie B over A? That is the reason why a lot of producers take the timing of the release into consideration while they prepare for the release of the movie.
4. Theater Prices
The prices of movies at theaters have constantly been increasing. This has also played a very important part in deciding the runtime of a movie in theaters. As the prices have been rising significantly, there are a lesser number of audiences who are willing to go to the theaters to watch movies. This affects the number of days for which a movie will run at the theaters.
5. Genre And Technology
The genre of the movie that is playing in the theater is also something that decides the number of days for which the movie will run. Movies that use technologies like 3D often run a long time at the theaters. One reason for that to happen is that the same experience would not be achieved if that movie was watched at home. Action movies also stay a much longer time at the theaters.
6. Reaction Of The Audience
Last but definitely not least, we have the audience’s reception of the particular movie. This one is again a bit related to the first point, popularity. Movies that are well received by the audience will perform better at the theaters. The better the movie’s performance, the longer it will stay. People generally search a bit about the movies and read the reviews before deciding to hit the theaters. So if the movie is well received, it will automatically stay longer.
7. Motion Picture Association of America Ratings
A movie’s content is rated thoroughly by the Motion Picture Association of America, and the rating has an effect on how long the film plays in theaters.
- G: These movies are for general audiences of all ages.
- PG: This stands for Parental Guidance. This means that some parts of the movie are not recommended for children who are underage.
- PG-13: These are very similar to PG. In these movies, the nature of parental guidance is increased.
- R: Th R stands for ‘Restricted.’ In these movies, children under the age of 17 must have parental guidance while watching them.
- NC-17: These are the movies that no one under the age of 17 can watch.
Even if many of us enjoy a little bit of blood and gore in our movies, upgrading a PG-13 film to a R rating drastically reduces the number of viewers. Typically, a narrower target audience results in lower ticket sales. In an effort to boost box office profits, many executives work to raise ratings, which may result in some sequences being removed or edited.
Reasons: Why Do Movies Stay In Theaters For So Long?
Theaters are organizations that run on movies and the money that they earn from selling the tickets. While many theaters will not opt to run a movie for more than a week, it often depends on the film’s performance.
The better the movies perform, the bigger the cut the theaters make from showing them. While a flop movie might not even stay at the theaters for one and a half weeks, a blockbuster might even stay there for a little more than a month.
CNBC states that “theaters traditionally get a bigger cut of movie revenues the more weeks they run a film, some movie deals have moved towards flat rates (around 50 percent of the money goes to the theater). So as revenues wane after the first week, theaters have less incentive to keep the movie. Distributors, however, would like to keep movies in theaters as long as possible.”
Wrapping It Up!
Movies generally stay at the theaters for an average runtime of two weeks. However, this is not a fixed time. There are a number of factors that affect the runtime of a movie in theaters. Some of the major factors are popularity and the reception of the audience.
In case you were searching for the answer to how long do movies stay in theaters, I hope that you got the answer that you were looking for from this blog. If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know by commenting in the box at the bottom of the page.
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