Plan a Halloween movie marathon that ends on time: pick the start, the hours and who is watching, and get a running order with runtimes and breaks.
Films and breaks against the clock. The line at the right is when the evening has to end.
Next: the playlist ยท party games ยท a film quiz ยท the Halloween guide
Two, usually. A four-hour window with 15-minute breaks fits a 100-minute film, a break, and a 105-minute film with about 20 minutes spare. Three films need either a five-hour window or short ones: the 25-minute Great Pumpkin and a 76-minute Nightmare Before Christmas are how you get three in without finishing at midnight.
Lightest first, scariest last: the marathon has to build. The planner sorts the chosen films by age guidance and then by scare level, so the cosy opener goes on while people are still eating and the jump scares land when everyone is settled. It also places the shortest film first when one is available.
The guidance here is the planner's own four-step scale โ all ages, 8+, 12+ and 15+ โ not a BBFC rating, so check the actual certificate before you press play. Family mode caps films at 8+, young children at all-ages, and teenagers at 12+. Anything with a 15+ guide is hidden from those settings entirely.
Fifteen minutes between films: enough for the loo, more snacks and a stretch, short enough that nobody drifts off. A five-minute break works for a double bill of shorts; twenty minutes is for a proper interval with cake. Breaks are counted in the schedule, so the finish time is real.
The spare tile shows the gap. Rather than starting a film you cannot finish, add a short: the 25-minute Great Pumpkin special or a 27-minute picture-book adaptation fills the gap without pushing past bedtime. Never start a two-hour film in the last 40 minutes of the window.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-20. Runtimes are approximate and age guidance is this tool's own, not an official classification.