I've made this point many times before, but just updated it.
A true and consistently applied Moral Premise
Explored through a variety of World Views
Portrayed by difference characters
Struggling to accomplish an assortment of goals
made visible in a diversity of plots and subplots
Will result in audience's engagement...
...and a Successful Box Office.
That takes time....and pages
The fewer pages
the fewer world views
the fewer differences in characters
the fewer goals
the fewer plots
the less engagement
the lower the box office.
Producers and investors want shorter movies because they think they will be cheaper. They are right...along with the cheaper (smaller) return on investment.
This is NOT to say that a movie with more pages will be a better movie or one that naturally connects with the audience due to its length alone. There are many other factors, like a good story and acting.
But, this DOES say that for a movie to be successful, length, and pages, and plots, and characters, and world views are necessary....as much as good acting. It is all because the audience needs time to assimilate with the characters and identify emotionally with them. That takes time.
Here is a listing of BEST PICTURE OSCARS from 1990-2014.
(see notes below table for how numbers were calculated.)
AVERAGE SCRIPT LENGTH: 136 pages
MEDIAN (middle value): 145 pages
RANGE: 95-196 pages
The shortest film, The Artist (2011), at 95 min, was mostly a silent movie—little dialogue; it stands apart from the rest—the next shortest film being 107 pages and the longest 196 pages.
Pages = Running length via IMDB.COM minus 5 for the end credits.
MM$:WW = WW Gross Box Office via THE-NUMBERS.COM. Total gross is greater than these numbers after inclusion of Home Video, PPV, and licensing for TV etc. These numbers do not imply proportional profitability. Numbers have NOT been adjusted for inflation or ticket price variation over the years.
MM$/PG = $Millions of WW Gross per page.
Sorting this data by page number and plotting MM$/PG is shown in chart below. It reveals there are peak grosses around 113-116 pages, 130-150 pages, and above 172 pages. The chart also reveals (in the approximated dotted line) that the MM$/PG increases at a rate slightly faster than the script length, that is, on average, the longer the script the greater the MM$/PG grossed.
Consider this information when someone tells you you need to write a 95-110 page script to be accepted by Hollywood. Perhaps you do, to win a pseudo screenwriting contest. But the data above is are the results of the ultimate contest.
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Explored through a variety of World Views
Portrayed by difference characters
Struggling to accomplish an assortment of goals
made visible in a diversity of plots and subplots
Will result in audience's engagement...
...and a Successful Box Office.
That takes time....and pages
The fewer pages
the fewer world views
the fewer differences in characters
the fewer goals
the fewer plots
the less engagement
the lower the box office.
Producers and investors want shorter movies because they think they will be cheaper. They are right...along with the cheaper (smaller) return on investment.
This is NOT to say that a movie with more pages will be a better movie or one that naturally connects with the audience due to its length alone. There are many other factors, like a good story and acting.
But, this DOES say that for a movie to be successful, length, and pages, and plots, and characters, and world views are necessary....as much as good acting. It is all because the audience needs time to assimilate with the characters and identify emotionally with them. That takes time.
Here is a listing of BEST PICTURE OSCARS from 1990-2014.
(see notes below table for how numbers were calculated.)
AVERAGE SCRIPT LENGTH: 136 pages
MEDIAN (middle value): 145 pages
RANGE: 95-196 pages
The shortest film, The Artist (2011), at 95 min, was mostly a silent movie—little dialogue; it stands apart from the rest—the next shortest film being 107 pages and the longest 196 pages.
YEAR TITLE PAGES MM$:WW MM$/PG
2014 American Hustle ...........133.......249.......1.87
2013 12 Years a Slave ..........129.......181.......1.40
2012 Argo ......................115.......227.......1.97
2011 The Artist .................95.......128.......1.35
2010 The King’s Speech .........113.......432.......3.81
2009 The Hurt Locker ...........126........50.......0.40
2008 Slumdog Millionaire .......115.......385.......3.35
2007 No Country for Old Men ....117.......164.......1.40
2006 The Departed ..............146.......291.......1.99
2005 Crash .....................107.......101.......0.94
2004 Million Dollar Baby .......127.......232.......1.83
2003 LOTR: Return of the King.. 196.....1,142.......5.83
2002 Chicago ...................108.......308.......2.85
2001 A Beautiful Mind ..........130.......318.......2.45
2000 Gladiator .................150.......458.......3.05
1999 American Beauty ...........116.......356.......3.07
1998 Shakespeare in Love .......118.......279.......2.36
1997 Titanic ...................189.....2,208......11.68
1996 The English Patient .......157.......232.......1.48
1995 Braveheart ................172.......210.......1.22
1994 Forrest Gump ..............137.......680.......4.96
1993 Schindler’s List ..........192.......321.......1.67
1992 Unforgiven ................126.......159.......1.26
1991 Silence of the Lambs ......113.......276.......2.44
1990 Dances with Wolves ........175.......424.......2.42
Pages = Running length via IMDB.COM minus 5 for the end credits.
MM$:WW = WW Gross Box Office via THE-NUMBERS.COM. Total gross is greater than these numbers after inclusion of Home Video, PPV, and licensing for TV etc. These numbers do not imply proportional profitability. Numbers have NOT been adjusted for inflation or ticket price variation over the years.
MM$/PG = $Millions of WW Gross per page.
Sorting this data by page number and plotting MM$/PG is shown in chart below. It reveals there are peak grosses around 113-116 pages, 130-150 pages, and above 172 pages. The chart also reveals (in the approximated dotted line) that the MM$/PG increases at a rate slightly faster than the script length, that is, on average, the longer the script the greater the MM$/PG grossed.
 |
| Box Office Gross (WW $Millions) per Script Length for Best Picture Oscar 1990-2014. |
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