It’s Showtime!

Have you ever thought about how long or how short some movies are? You might have the idea that a typical movie runs a little under two hours, but movie runtimes cover a broad range. The shortest modern feature films have run just over an hour, while the longest run three and even four hours. Have you ever thought about why there is such variability in the length of movies?

Let’s explore movie lengths or “runtimes” and the ratings that go along with the runtimes. Let’s compare the movie runtimes for rated G (General Audiences, All Ages Admitted) and rated R (Restricted, Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian) movies.^[1] Along the way, let’s gain an understanding of how variability is reflected in graphical displays and described using numerical summaries.