The 10 Longest Superhero Movies, Ranked By Runtime

There are certain genres that are expected to be longer than average, as gangster movies and war dramas often reach the three hour mark and are frequently regarded as epics. However, the superhero genre generally hovered around the two hour mark for the longest time, and it was considered the rule of thumb, as it meant there could be more daily showings of them in multiplexes.

Over the past decade or so, that thought has changed drastically. As superhero movies are becoming more respected in the movie industry – thanks to high caliber performances and thought provoking narratives – it isn’t just the budget and the box office intakes that have gotten bigger, but the runtimes too.

10 Captain America: Civil War (2016) – 147 Minutes

It’s amazing that it wasn’t until eight years in to the MCU’s life that there was a movie that came close to the 2.5 hour mark, as the series has become synonymous with long runtimes.

As it’s essentially an Avengers movie, Captain America: Civil War features almost every Avenger that was in Age of Ultron and even more. Therefore, the movie naturally racked up quite a long runtime. Considering it also introduces both Spider-Man and Black Panther for the very first time, 147 minutes actually seems fairly lean, and it’s quite brief when compared to the films that follow.

9 Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – 149 Minutes

As the first part of the epic finale to the Infinity Saga, Infinity War is essentially the prologue to the main event, putting all of the characters in place for the final battle.

Whether it’s the Guardians being introduced to Thor, Thor building the Stormbreaker, or Thanos retrieving all of the Infinity Stones, there’s so much setting up in Infinity War, but watching the whole process is so much fun, and it could have been even longer. The subplots here are so strong that many even consider it to be the best Avengers movie.

8 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) – 151 Minutes

Before Wonder Woman 1984 even properly starts, there’s almost a whole 30 minute prologue set in Themyscira, which follows a young Diana taking part in an athletic event. And when the film finally does flash forward to 1984, there’s so much going on, between the rise of the villains Cheetah and Max Lord, the continuation of Diana and Steve’s relationship, or the scenes showcasing the incredible set design of the time period. Unfortunately, in this instance, the runtime was one of the biggest criticisms viewers had of the movie, as many thought it felt too bloated.

7 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) – 152 Minutes

For a movie that sells itself like a boxing match, there far more crammed into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice than you’d initially expect. Between introducing Wonder Woman, setting up the Justice League, and dealing with the death of Superman, it’s sometimes hard to keep up with what’s going on in the movie. And though the biggest selling point of the movie is Batman himself, some think there should have been a solo Batman movie before BvS to help make the movie run a little smoother.

6 The Dark Knight (2008) – 152 Minutes

Following Batman Begins – a Batman movie that doesn’t actually show Batman until a good 40 minutes in – there was no denying that Christopher Nolan was going to take even more risks with the sequel, and all of them paid off big time. As is the case with most Nolan-directed movies, The Dark Knight features an extremely intricate plot, and really long, epic action sequences. The movie doesn’t feel like its length at all, as almost every scene is so engaging and iconic, from the opening bank heist to the blowing up of an entire hospital.

5 Superman Returns (2006) – 154 Minutes

It’s easy to forget that Superman Returns exists, as it’s sandwiched between the iconic Christopher Reeves movies and the Superman that’s currently a part of the DCEU. Though the movie was criticized for not developing the superhero for the modern era – as Batman Begins had done the year perior – Superman Returns did influence superhero movies in one big way.

The 2006 movie is the very first superhero film to ever be over two and a half hours, and that runtime has become increasingly popular ever since. But with the character getting yet another reboot (this time directed by JJ Abrams), it’s likely that it’ll be much shorter in length than Superman fans have become accustomed to, as Abrams’ runtimes tend to be pretty lean.

4 Watchmen (2009) – 163 Minutes

Before Zack Snyder was running the DCEU and building an ultra stylish and visually stunning movie universe, and before Watchmen became a HBO miniseries, Zack Snyder directed an epic movie adaptation of the award-winning graphic novel. Famous director Terry Gilliam once said that the comic book was unfilmable, but Snyder pulled off an incredible job in his two hour and 45-minute feature.

In that time, Snyder manages to tell a story that spans decades and considers the perspectives of several different characters, and it’s the director’s most established work. However, considering that there are so many slo-mo shots, if they were in normal speed, the movie would probably be half the length.

3 The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – 165 Minutes

Doubling down on the runtime increase between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises is a huge movie in every way. The movie had impossibly high expectations, and it lived up to most of them, but that came at the expense of audiences getting numb butts. However, Nolan used the runtime to his advantage, as no minute is wasted.

The movie sees Batman come out of retirement, it sets up Robin, it pays homage to the previous movies with appearances from Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul, it sees Batman leave Gotham and return months later, and it explains the origins of Bane and Thalia. In the end, this threequel is somehow so exhausting and so exciting at the same time.

2 Avengers: Endgame (2019) – 181 Minutes

Avengers: Endgame is the biggest movie of all time. It had the highest budget of any movie ever, features a countless number of movie stars, is the highest grossing movie ever, is the final chapter of a saga that’s ran for 11 years, and it sits at just over three hours long. It had the impossible task of wrapping up an unimaginable number of story arcs in a cohesive way as well as satisfying millions of fans, and considering how the movie pulled that off so effortlessly, it’s actually surprising that it’s only three hours long.

1 Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) – 242 Minutes

Zack Snyder’s Justice League was called The Snyder Cut while it was being produced, as it was originally planned to be the director’s cut of the 2017 movie that was drastically changed by Joss Whedon after Snyder left the project.

But the final product actually features so much new footage that was shot specifically for the new version, making it an almost entirely different beast to the theatrical version of the movie. And the 2021 version sits at just over four hours long, which is almost impossible to watch in one sitting. Luckily, the movie is split in to chapters that are between 30-45 minutes, making it perfect to watch in an episodic format.