When Pedro Almodóvar's thought-provoking drama, "The Room Next Door," premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, it wasn't just the film that captured headlines from "People" to "The Independent" — it was the length of the standing ovation that followed. A staggering 17.5 minutes, the longest ever recorded at the festival, left attendees in awe. Surely, this warm reception heralded Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton's film as a shoe-in for Oscar glory in 2025, didn't it? Not quite.
While festival-goers at prestigious European events like Cannes and Venice have recently turned the timing and breathless reporting of ovation lengths into a social media-driven pastime, their real-world significance has always been somewhat murky. Intrigued, "The Hollywood Reporter" (THR) delved into the numbers, crunching the data of some of the biggest (and not-so-big) applause-garnering films of recent years. The results were enlightening.
It becomes evident that comparing the enthusiasm of festival crowds with the tastes of thousands of Academy voters yields shaky correlations. However, some patterns do emerge. Truncated clapping — anything under 10 minutes — brings mixed results. Sometimes, a film can soar to Best Picture, like "The Shape of Water" did in 2018 after its seven-minute ovation. Sometimes, a film fails to even get off the ground (sorry, "Ad Astra").
At the other extreme, films that receive ridiculously sustained ovations (14 minutes or longer) surprisingly almost never convert that euphoria into Oscar nominations. Often, such prolonged applause stems from external factors, such as the audience at Cannes supporting Michael Moore's anti-George W. Bush stance during the premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11" in 2004.
So, what's the sweet spot for clapping? It lies somewhere between the 11- and 13-minute mark. This duration is just enough to convey sincere appreciation from fans without descending into overt, reflexive adoration. This is the range where notable nominees like "Inglourious Basterds," "Elvis," and the Best Picture-winning "The Artist" landed. If you're aiming for festival success, this is the length you want your ovation to hit.
THR analyzed how nominations correlate with movies receiving different average applause lengths, using a sample size of 25 of the biggest festival premieres in recent years. This story first appeared in a November stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
