Written by Edwin Francisco
The short runtime of Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage doesn’t mean it’s a terrible film; apparently, the movie is tight and briskly paced.
Insiders revealed that Venom: Let There Be Carnage sheds the superhero fat that bogged down some movies in the genre.
For example, 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 bored many critics and moviegoers with its bloat.
The sequel crashed at the box office; while not exactly a flop, it slumped at the cash registers.
For a Spider-Man movie, $202.9 million domestically wasn’t enough.
Moreover, $709 million global didn’t convince Sony for a third.
In fact, Sony threw up the white flag for Marvel Studios’ assistance.
People are expecting to make the best out of a movie experience.
It’s not cheap watching a film in the theaters.
However, we love it because the theater is such a unique environment.
Some movies need to be watched in a theater.
Films are expected to have an average length of 120 minutes (two hours), but it doesn’t have to be.
Indeed, some movies, especially horror, are shorter.
Shorter Length Of Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage Makes For A Stronger Film
Image: Sony Pictures
It just depends on how the story is built up.
To be fair, superhero movies are rarely under two hours if you think about it.
The original Superman (1978) with Christopher Reeve had a runtime of two hours, 23 minutes.
Now why all this talk about movie runtimes?
Venom: Let There Be Carnage tickets are now being sold; moreover, details are now showing up online.
AMC Theaters and Fandango posted the runtime as 90 minutes.
That is really short.
In comparison, the first Venom movie runs at 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage being a tad short is a bit of an understatement.
Let’s check out Marvel Studios’ own pictures.
The MCU’s shortest movies have a runtime of 1 hour, 52 minutes with both The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World.
This can sound disappointing.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage may be the shortest Marvel related movie to date.
But don’t let that put those expectations down.
There are a lot of good movies with short run times, too.
A short, quickly moving flick can feel like it is still worth the watch.
Shorter Length Of Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage Makes For A Stronger Film
Image: Sony Pictures
Short runtimes don’t mean it’s going to be bad.
It may only mean that it’s focused and doesn’t have excessive weight.
Think about some of the memorable movies that had a similar movie runtime.
The iconic Child’s Play (1988) only had 87 minutes.
The Chucky doll might not have a two-hour runtime, but that film was memorable enough to get a ton of sequels, a reboot, and an upcoming series.
What about the post-apocalyptic zombie comedy Zombieland (2009), which had 88 minutes?
The movie was fun and gave a nice twist to the genre.
The movie was so unforgettable that the intro was even imitated in the Marvel What If…? zombie episode.
The Venom franchise is on the horror side of Sony’s Spider-Man films.
Not every movie has to be long like Avengers: Endgame or Titanic.
Perhaps Sony has learned its lesson. Does a Venom film have to be that lengthy?
Also, note that the movie has rescheduled its release date.
Previously, the Venom sequel was set to be shown on October 15, 2021.
Sony has pushed it to an earlier schedule of October 1, 2021.
The movie is still one we highly anticipate, too.
Earlier show date is also a good thing, right?
Related: Venom Sequel Might Include More Villains Than Carnage and Shriek
