For a film setting out to top a $1 billion box office haul and scores of stellar reviews, Sam Mendes’ Spectre was always going to be one of the undisputed heavyweights this fall season. However, according to British cinema listings, the spy thriller could be one of the biggest releases of the year – so big, in fact, that it could become the longest James Bond film in history.
While neither MGM nor Sony – nor the British Board of Film Classification, for that matter – have posted an official running time for Spectre, Vue has claimed that the sequel is an eye-watering 160 minutes in length, while Empire Cinemas posted listings that peg the movie at 155 minutes not including trailers or pre-film adverts.
Prior to this, 2006’s Casino Royale holds the title as the longest Bond film in the franchise’s long and prestigious history at 144 minutes, with Skyfall just shy of the mark at 143 minutes. Delving further into the archive and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is also a bum-numbing experience at 136 minutes, though it’s worth noting that James Bond films have traditionally gotten longer through time – Quantum of Solace is the exception to this at 106 minutes.
Circling back to Spectre, though, it’s worth taking today’s report with a grain of salt until either Sony or MGM officially announce the film’s running time. Both parties may be drumming up the fast-approaching November release date, though there’s every chance Sam Mendes and the editing team will shave off a few minor scenes in order to bring down that aforementioned figure.
Sam Mendes’ Spectre will arrive in all of its bum-numbing glory when Sony and MGM’s spy thriller launches on November 6.
In Spectre, a cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE. Sam Mendes returns to direct SPECTRE, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as 007 for the fourth time. SPECTRE is produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, from a script by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.
