We don’t just have some free time to fill right now, we have all the free time to fill, since our only job these days is to stay inside. But it can be tough finding ways to pass hour after hour, day after day. That is unless you use all those hours to watch entire film franchises in a single day. Here are some great movie marathon binges for all genres you can do in less than 24 hours.
Note: We calculated the total run times for our all-day marathons with Binge Clock.
FANTASY
The Lord of the Rings Extended Versions
11 hours, 32 minutes
New Line Cinema
The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – 218 minutes
The Two Towers (2002) – 223 minutes
The Return of the King (2003) – 251 minutes
Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings franchise is the shortest collection on this list in terms of total movies. But when you watch the extended versions, you can wake up in Middle-earth, spend all day there, and then go to sleep right after Sauron has been defeated. They are very, very, very, long. Like, very, very.
Highs: You know what still looks great? The special effects in these movies. J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy story is timeless, so it’s not like any of the three films have truly aged. If anything, they’ve gotten better with time. Also, we’re still in awe of Andy Serkis’ iconic performance as Gollum. We could watch just him for over 11 hours.
Lows: The extended versions are… a lot. Not every added or lengthened sequence feels necessary. There are a few points where the movies start to drag a little bit. Plus, by the time you’re done watching these movies, someone you live with will be talking like Gollum. And that gets old REAL FAST. (Saying, “And my axe!” never gets old, on the other hand.)
For the Completist: If you add all three extended versions from The Hobbit trilogy—2012’s An Unexpected Journey (182 minutes), 2013’s The Desolation of Smaug (187 minutes), and 2014’s The Battle of the Five Armies (144 minutes)—this marathon would last 20 hours and five minutes. Would we do that? No. Should you? Also no.
Harry Potter
19 hours, 39 minutes
Warner Bros.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) – 152 minutes
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) – 161 minutes
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) – 142 minutes
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) – 157 minutes
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) – 138 minutes
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) – 153 minutes
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) – 146 minutes
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) – 130 minutes
Thanks to all-day basic cable marathons, the eight Harry Potter movies might be the most binged franchise in history. Kinda. Order of the Phoenix was always left out due to a rights issue, and we’re still furious about it.
Highs: Unlike a lot of franchises, the Harry Potter movies generally tend to get better and not worse. It’s also a lot of fun to see the franchise’s young stars grow from baby-faced nobodies into young adults recognizable the world over. Plus, Voldemort’s defeat makes for a really a great ending for these troubled times.
Lows: We are not giving you permission to skip Goblet of Fire. Nope, sorry, not happening. You’re going to sit through that entire film whether you like it (you won’t) or not. Otherwise you’d miss an important part of the story. You know, the part where the brilliant Dumbledore didn’t know one of his oldest friends was an impostor.
For the Completist: You can add two movies and four hours and 27 minutes to your binge by also including 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (133 minutes) and 2018’s The Crimes of Grindelwald (134 minutes). You probably shouldn’t, but you definitely can.
ACTION
Mission: Impossible
12 hours, 48 minutes
Paramount Pictures
Mission: Impossible (1996) – 110 minutes
Mission: Impossible II (2000) – 123 minutes
Mission: Impossible III (2006) – 125 minutes
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) – 132 minutes
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) – 131 minutes
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) – 147 minutes
We don’t necessarily want “heavy” movies about catastrophes, but we’re certainly up for intense ones. That’s exactly what we get from one of the best action franchises ever, Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films.
Highs: The last three films are pure joy, just absolute perfect action movies. It’s hard to think of another franchise that went from “okay” to among the “best ever” after its first three films.
Lows: There’s no way around Mission: Impossible II, the worst film in the franchise with the worst villain. Our advice: Don’t focus on the story, just focus on Tom Cruise’s hair. It’s glorious.
For the Completist: There isn’t anything else in the way of more films, but there were the two TV shows. The original show that debuted in 1966 would take seven days and three hours to watch. The 1988 reboot would “only” take one day and 11 hours.
Fast & Furious
18 hours, 11 minutes
Universal Pictures
The Fast and the Furious (2001) – 106 minutes
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) – 107 minutes
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) – 104 minutes
Fast & Furious (2009) – 107 minutes
Fast Five (2011) – 130 minutes
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) – 130 minutes
Furious 7 (2015) -137 minutes
The Fate of the Furious (2017) – 136 minutes
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) – 134 minutes
With life slowed down to a monotonous crawl, we really need some high-octane adventures. And since even during good times the Fast & Furious franchise is a wonderful escape, it’s exactly what we’re craving right now.
Highs: Fast 5. The best part about this franchise is how it went from entertaining to an absolute juggernaut of the genre. The later you get into this marathon, the more you’re going to enjoy it.
Lows: 2 Fast 2 Furious is the only true stinker in the bunch. But unfortunately what’s worse is that we all know when we sit down to watch the entire franchise we’re going to have to deal with the sad passing of Paul Walker. It still sucks and always will.
For the Completist: There’s a six-minute short from 2003, The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious. In 2009, Vin Diesel wrote and directed a 20-minute Fast short, Los Bandoleros. And there’s the animated Netflix series Fast & Furious Spy Racers. It had eight episodes totaling 186 minutes. All combined that’s another three hours and 32 minutes. Maybe don’t end with the cartoon though.
SCI-FI
Star Wars Skywalker Saga
20 hours, 32 minutes
Lucasfilm
A New Hope (1977) – 121 minutes
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – 124 minutes
Return of the Jedi (1983) – 132 minutes
The Phantom Menace (1999) – 133 minutes
Attack of the Clones (2002) – 142 minutes
Revenge of the Sith (2005) – 140 minutes
The Force Awakens (2015) – 135 minutes
The Last Jedi (2017) – 150 minutes
The Rise of Skywalker (2019) – 155 minutes
Uh, if you aren’t sold on Star Wars by now…
Highs: The original trilogy is still a beast. We’re never going to get tired of watching it. Ewan McGregor’s young Obi-Wan Kenobi means even the prequels have something going for them. And the sequels gave us some of our all-time favorite characters, plus The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Lows: The prequels are worse than you remember. It’s not all Jar Jar’s fault, either. Anakin’s “sand” speech was the worst thing he ever did, and we say that knowing Darth Vader killed a lot of people. And let’s not even get into, “The dead speak!”
For the Completist: For theatrical releases, add 133 minutes for 2016’s Rogue One, 135 minutes for 2018’s Solo, and 98 minutes for the animated Clone Wars movie. On the TV side, you have 1984’s The Ewok Adventure, which is 97 minutes, and 1985’s Ewoks: The Battle for Endor at another 94 minutes. Star Wars: Holiday Special from 1979 is 98 minutes. And at that point time has lost all meaning, so throw in The Mandalorian too for 326 more minutes in the galaxy far, far away. Total runtime of every Star Wars movie plus Mando comes to 36 hours and 53 minutes, after which time you will totally agree with Palpatine’s outlook on life.
Jurassic Park
Ten hours, one minute
Universal Pictures
Jurassic Park (1993) – 127 minutes
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) – 129 minutes
Jurassic Park III (2001) – 93 minutes
Jurassic World (2015) – 124 minutes
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) – 128 minutes
You know what’s still cool and always will be? Dinosaurs. Also, big budget films with incredible special effects and big name actors. The Jurassic movies have all of those things in abundance.
Highs: The original film remains one of the greatest blockbusters ever made. And The Lost World is still an excellent sequel. There’s also tons of great action sequences in the two Jurassic World movies. And you know what’s still freaking awesome? Dinosaur fights.
Lows: You might find yourself preferring to be eaten by a dinosaur during the absolutely ludicrous Jurassic Park III. It’s really, really bad. If you think some of the dialogue in the Jurassic World films are clunky at times, the third film makes them look like Shakespeare.
For the Completist: Colin Trevorrow released a ten-minute short, “Battle at Big Rock,” in 2019, but that’s really it. You could also read the novels and comic books, or play one of the ten million Jurassic Park games they’ve released. It would take roughly ten years.
SPORTS
Rocky
14 hours, 55 minutes
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rocky (1976) – 119 minutes
Rocky II (1979) – 119 minutes
Rocky III (1982) – 100 minutes
Rocky IV (1985) – 90 minutes
Rocky V (1990) – 104 minutes
Rocky Balboa (2006) – 100 minutes
Creed (2015) – 133 minutes
Creed II (2018) – 130 minutes
At this moment we could definitely use a life-affirming feel-good story about an underdog who overcomes the odds and makes something of himself. Rocky has been lifting our spirits for over 40 years, and now he’s going to help us fill an entire day.
Highs: The original 1977 film is one of the greatest sports movies ever made, and the third one might be even better. That’s followed by the awesomely absurd fourth movie, in which Rocky defeated Ivan Drago after 1700 montages, ending the Cold War. The series ends with Michel B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed taking up the mantle for a new generations. Both of his films are fantastic.
Lows: Rocky V should qualify as a war crime. It’s a total disaster and it makes us feel bad about ourselves, the world, Rocky, and movies in general. And Rocky Balboa is terrible in totally different ways. It has the right spirit, but it’s overly saccharine, sentimental hogwash. They make for a brutal double feature, but at least the two great Creed films follow.
For the Completist: Uh, you can learn to box? Some guy says that would take six months.
The Kevin Costner Sports Movie Collection
13 hours, 59 minutes
Orion Pictures/Lionsgate/Warner Bros.
American Flyers (1985) – 113 minutes
Bull Durham (1988) – 108 minutes
Field of Dreams (1989) – 107 minutes
Tin Cup (1996) – 135 minutes
For Love of the Game (1999) – 137 minutes
Draft Day (2014) – 110 minutes
McFarland, USA (2015) – 129 minutes
Legend has it that if Kevin Costner doesn’t make a new sports movie every few years, the Earth flies off its axis and spins into the Sun. Fortunately, he takes that responsibility seriously, and his sports films range from “amazing” to “watchable.”
Highs: Bull Durham and Field of Dreams are two of the best sports movies ever made. Tin Cup is a whole lot of fun too. For Love of the Game, just like Bull Durham, doubles as a fantastic rom-com, so this is a great lineup for couples looking for genre-crossing films. There’s really not a dud in the entire bunch.
Lows: Remember how stupid it was in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom when a T.rex sold for like 10 million bucks instead of like a billion? Draft Day‘s understanding of NFL draft picks and their value is even dumber. Also, Tim Robbins’ pitching in Bull Durham is bad enough to be distracting at times.
For the Completist: Technically, Costner’s first sports movie, which he had a very small part in, was 1982’s Chasing Dreams, at 118 minutes. He also has a cameo as himself in 1999’s Play It to the Bone, which is another 124 minutes. And you could argue to include 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, since archery is a sport. That adds 155 minutes, bringing the entire marathon to 20 hours and 36 minutes. That miiiight be too much Kevin Costner for one day.
FAMILY
The Muppets
15 hours, 40 minutes
TriStar Pictures
The Muppet Movie (1979) – 97 minutes
The Great Muppet Caper (1981) – 94 minutes
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) – 94 minutes
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) – 86 minutes
Muppet Treasure Island (1996) – 99 minutes
Muppets from Space (1999) – 97 minutes
It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) – 85 minutes
The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) – 88 minutes
The Muppets (2011) – 103 minutes
Muppets Most Wanted (2014) – 107 minutes
It’s a scientific fact the Muppets make everything better. Whether we’re sad, scared, and worried, of if we’re happy, hopeful, and enthusiastic, having them in our lives improves it dramatically.
Highs: Few film franchises could deliver an installment as good as 1979’s The Muppet Movie and still produce something as amazing as 2011’s The Muppets over 30 years later. And in between there are some absolute gems, including The Muppets Take Manhattan and The Muppet Christmas Carol.
Lows: The only true dud in the bunch is probably The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. Also, no one is going to really go to bat for Muppets in Space, so the middle portion of the marathon is a bit of a letdown. And while it’s not bad, the final film, Muppets Most Wanted, definitely isn’t one of our favorites.
For the Completist: The Muppet Show from the ’70s alone would take two days and 12 hours to watch. WORTH IT. Muppet Babies is another two days, 5 hours, and 30 minutes. ALSO WORTH IT. Honestly, there are too many other shows to list. Those two are the best and will keep you plenty occupied.
Toy Story
Seven hours, 33 Minutes
Pixar
Toy Story (1995) – 81 minutes
Toy Story 2 (1999) – 95 minutes
Toy Story 3 (2010) – 103 minutes
Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation (2011) – six minutes
Toy Story Toons: Small Fry (2011) – seven minutes
Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex (2012) – seven minutes
Toy Story of Terror! (2013) – 21 minutes
Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014) – 22 minutes
Toy Story 4 (2019) – 100 minutes
Lamp Life (2020) – 11 minutes
We can’t see our friends currently, but at least we can celebrate friendship with one of the best, most meaningful, most enjoyable movie franchises ever. There’s more to Toy Story than just four outstanding featured films too.
Highs: All of it, but especially the four movies, each of which is beautiful in its own way. Don’t discount the shorts, though, which are a lot of fun. You’ll also appreciate Combat Carl’s role in Toy Story 4 more because of them.
Lows:Toy Story 3 is an incredible piece of filmmaking, but you know what we don’t need right now? Having our hearts ripped apart by watching a bunch of toys join hands as they accept their impending fiery death. We know they get saved and it still destroys us every time.
For the Completist: Forky Asks a Question, the mini-series on Disney+, is outstanding. There’s also Toy Story Treats from 1996. They were interstitials on ABC Saturday Morning and are on the first film’s tenth anniversary Blu-ray. And you can finish up with two seasons and 65 episodes of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, which premiered in 2000. Altogether that’s another 25 hours of Toy Story time. Sounds good to us.
SUPERHERO
Live-action Spider-Man
15 hours, 33 minutes
Sony
Spider-Man (2002) – 121 minutes
Spider-Man 2 (2004) – 127 minutes
Spider-Man 3 (2007) – 139 minutes
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) – 136 minutes
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) – 142 minutes
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – 133 minutes
Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) – 135 minutes
Highs: The first two films and the last two films are excellent, offering a fantastic start and finish so you can begin on a high note and end on another. You might have your own personal favorite, but all three actors who have played Peter Parker on the big screen were great in their own way.
Lows: This binge doesn’t exactly come to a crescendo in the middle. It basically crashes into the Mariana Trench. The downfall starts with Spider-Man III, which features the worst Venom ever and a black-haired Tobey Maguire dancing. (Technically it’s dancing, but not really). And let’s not even get into The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
For the Completist: A true live-action Spider-Man marathon would also add all the other MCU films featuring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. That would add 2016’s Captain America: Civil War (148 minutes), 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War (149 minutes), and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame (182 minutes). Adding these movies to your marathon would your total Spidey runtime to 23 hours and 38 minutes, just shy of a day! (Guess you’ll have to save Into the Spider-Verse for the next morning.)
Live-action Batman
22 hours, 44 minutes
Warner Bros.
Batman: The Movie (1966) – 104 minutes
Batman (1989) – 126 minutes
Batman Returns (1992) – 126 minutes
Batman Forever (1995) – 122 minutes
Batman & Robin (1997) – 125 minutes
Batman Begins (2005) – 140 minutes
The Dark Knight (2008) – 152 minutes
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – 165 minutes
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Cut (2016) – 183 minutes
Justice League (2017) – 121 minutes
You can watch every live-action Batman movie, starting with Adam West and ending with Ben Affleck, in under 24 hours. It’s going to be one hell of a long day. But the Dark Knight is not only worth it, his films are different enough to never feel stale.
Highs: The 1966 film is exactly the right kind of silly camp fun we need right now, and after that you are going to get four of the best superhero movies ever made. The Tim Burton/Michael Keaton films and the first two installments of The Dark Knight Trilogy are unimpeachable. But even “bad” Batman can still be fun.
Lows: You’re also going to get some of the worst superhero sequels ever made. The Batfleck was good, but the movies he starred in? Not so much. Oh, and at some point George Clooney’s Bat-nipples are going to show up for two hours and there’s nothing you can do about it.
For the Completist: There’s plenty more Batman out there (the ’40s serials, Suicide Squad, and all the animated forms Bruce Wayne has taken), but adding anything else to the mix would exceed 24 hours. And that’s too much time spent in Gotham City.
HORROR
Friday the 13th
18 hours, 33 minutes
Paramount Pictures
Friday the 13th (1980) – 95 minutes
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) – 87 minutes
Friday the 13th Part III (1982) – 95 minutes
Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984) – 91 minutes
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) – 92 minutes
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) – 87 minutes
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) – 88 minutes
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) – 100 minutes
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) – 88 minutes
Jason X (2001) – 93 minutes
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) – 100 minutes
Friday the 13th (2009) – 97 minutes
Oh what we would give to be at a summer camp right now. Going out on the lake, sitting around the campfire with friends, getting brutally murdered by a supernatural killer in a hockey mask…. oh, well, no, not the last one.
Highs: The first four films are still among our favorite slasher flicks ever. Some because they’re scary (the original), others because they’re silly (looking at you, Part 3D). But there’s lots to love after that too, including Jason Lives and the funniest “horror” film ever made, Jason X.
Lows: At some point, Jason is going to “take” Manhattan and you will envy the people he murders because they are allowed to escape the movie sooner than you.
For the Completist: Since Friday the 13th did a crossover with A Nightmare on Elm Street in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, you’d technically need to also watch all of those movies to complete the marathon. That said, A Nightmare binge alone (minus FvJ but including the mediocre 2010 reboot) would be another 12 hours and 40 minutes, and that’s over 31 hours of quarantine slasher time.
Hellraiser
14 hours, 56 minutes
New World Pictures
—Hellraiser (1987) – 93 mins.
—Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)- 98 mins.
—Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)- 93 mins.
—Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996) – 85 mins.
—Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) – 99 mins.
—Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002) – 89 mins.
—Hellraiser: Deader (2005) – 88 mins.
—Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) – 95 mins.
—Hellraiser: Revelations (2011) – 75 mins.
—Hellraiser: Judgement (2018) – 81 mins.
The Hellraiser marathon may be a whopping ten films long, but it runs just under 15 hours total. Cenobites don’t dillydally.
Highs: The first few movies are outstanding horror films that still freak us out. And with so many movies in the franchise covering 30 years, Hellraiser manages to touch on more tropes than you’d imagine. You get noir, time travel, sci-fi, and even the internet. It makes for an interesting lineup, so you’ll never get bored.
Lows: The last few movies are not good, or even really watchable. Things start to get pretty corny, and not in a fun “so bad they’re good way.”
For the Completist: …On second thought, maybe get a good night’s sleep and start your next all-day marathon.
Featured Image: Paramount/Disney/United Artists/New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.
