The shortest movies from theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)highlight an interesting trend for the popular superhero franchise. Today, it’s not uncommon for superhero movies to frequently land somewhere between the two and three-hour marks. This is a notable difference compared to typical feature films, which tend to be roughly 90 minutes or so.
However, when looking at theshortest movies in the MCU lineup, it’s clear to see that these shorter superhero stories struggle in one specific way that doesn’t tend to be an issue for the longer films. And considering their fantasy roots, it makes a lot of sense.
The MCU’s 3 Shortest Movies Confirm The Challenge Of A Smaller Runtime
As mentioned above,superhero movies tend to exceed the standard runtimesby a lot. In fact, the shortest movies from the MCU still clock in at nearly two whole hours. WithThe Marvelsbeing the shortest at one hour and 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, bothThe Incredible HulkandThor: The Dark Worldinched closer to the two-hour mark with both releases having a total runtime of one hour and 52 minutes each. However,each of these titles has proven to be much more divisivethanmost releases from the MCU.
1 hour 45 minutes
63%
79%
1 hour 52 minutes
68%
69%
67%
74%
Unfortunately, this could be down to the shorter runtime, asthe movies are forced to rush to an ending, while trying to neatly tie up the narrative. And this rushed setting can lead to fans applying their own context, either improving the film, or detracting from it.
Whileeach of the above movies has suffered through a vocal negative outcryduring their release, each of these movies also has a dedicated fanbase. There are people who deeply admire these stories, and feel like they beautifully captured the characters.
The MCU’s 3 Shortest Movies Explain Why 2025’s Movies All Followed A Different Trend
Fortunately,Marvel Studios appears to be zeroing in on the sweet spotbetween making these movies too long, and making them tight enough without taking away from the narrative. This can be seen in thelatest movie releases from the MCU throughout 2025.
Captain America: Brave New Worldwas one hour and 58 minutes, whileThunderbolts*was two hours and 6 minutes, and finally,The Fantastic Four: First Stepstopped the lotwith a runtime of two hours and 10 minutes.
With superheroes, as with fantasy, it’s important to establish a whole other world. And to do this, it takes time. Without time, the results are rushed, and can lead to strong opinions being formed on either side, which isn’t the primary goal ofMarvel Studios for the future of theMCU.
