Why are so many movies exactly 89 minutes? Its such a specific time that it make me think there is somereason?

I'm gonna take a stab at this and it may be totally wrong. I think a lot of those times given on movie length include the credits. Lets say the credit roll takes a minute. So that leaves 88 minutes. It is estimated for every half hour of tv time, 8 minutes are commercials. So that means per hour, you would get 44 minutes of show time. Two hours would be 88 minutes.

All comes down to my hypothesis. That 88 minutes for a movie, when adapted to television time, would fill a two hour timeslot, given the parameters for allowing 32 minutes of commercials. Usually they can small frame the credit roll and do some "coming up next" ads.

I'm not saying that studios turn out movies with hopes that it ends up on tv. Because they do stand to make the most money on the bigscreen. But when they can adapt it to make it 88 minutes without compromising much story-wise, it just makes it simpler to fit a tv schedule at some point down the line. Otherwise, scenes could get deleted for the benefit of the tv network.

Just a theory.

TV did start as public TV without commercials, everything was tuned to a quarter hour or multiples minus a 1 - 2 Minute for introduction.

In Europe shows run for 45 Minutes without commercials (US with Commercials = 1 hour) , TV news are 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes and long films are 1.5. hours (90 Minutes) or 2 hours. All minus 1 - 2 Minute to change and some "coming up" intros. 30 Minutes shows (run time is 22 - 25 Minutes) are shown in commercial channels or a 2 hour time slot in pubic TV which allows commercials

The longer the film's running time, the more it cost to produce.

I guess if the script doesn't get enough good ratings from the producers, the producers will compress the script into a generic 89 min movie.

If a script gets enough positive votes, then the producers will gamble with whatever it takes to give the script what it needs, including a longer running time.

the perceived maximum attention span of some of the audience

Yes.. someone in the film industry is playing to the dumbest in our society who find it hard to concentrate for more than an hour and a half.

This is not ME being cruel.. I have heard this being admitted to

Some complaining that a 3 or 4 hour film is too long

So now they split films into two parts and charge us twice to see films we long to see.