Why Can’t I Stop Watching Full-Length Movies In Bite-Sized Chunks On TikTok?

For those who don’t remember, The Imitation Game is a 2014 movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch as mathematician Alan Turing attempting to crack a top-secret code during World War II. It was a perfectly fine historical drama and ultimately went on to garner eight Oscar nominations, eventually winning Best Adapted Screenplay.

Like many others, I watched the biopic in the run-up to the 2015 Oscars, thought “okay, that was decent” and didn’t really think about it again. That is, until it popped up on my TikTok a few months ago, and I watched a short scene. Then, it showed up again. Eventually, a third time.

For no reason whatsoever, I’ve watched a handful of one- to three-minute clips of a movie from over a decade ago instead of doing … well, literally anything else. And I’m not alone.

If you search The Imitation Game on TikTok, there are numerous clips (some from services like Tubi, others from random accounts) with views in the hundreds of thousands. It’s far from the only semi-forgotten movie to make this type of impact, and studios are even beginning to lean into the algorithm hype cycle.

Media psychologist Pamela Rutledge, PhD, MBA, is one of many who have attempted to understand this phenomenon, even going so far as to work with 20th Century Fox Films and Warner Bros. Theatrical Marketing. She has a handful of explanations for why these clips resonate, and has even compared their boom to unboxing videos in addictiveness and impact.

“We are curious to see what small part of a movie someone thought was worth clipping,” Dr. Rutledge tells Betches. “We are also wired to want to complete a story, so even seeing even a fragment is enticing as a clue to resolve the narrative gap.”

These clips are bite-sized, low-effort ways to consume entertainment and get a dopamine hit without committing to a whole film. “Our brains trigger the reward center in anticipation of a payoff, like a punchline, a reveal or an emotional beat,” she says. “Even a short scene sets up that anticipation.”

My algorithm, for some reason, loves to show movies of all sorts from the 2010s — recently Moneyball, Hidden Figures, and Django Unchained. Still, it’s doing its job because I end up watching all of them lying on my side when I should be going to sleep, liking them out of repetition, and then moving on to the next thing. Dr. Rutledge compared this to a bit of “nostalgia,” an easy way to “feel connected, comforted and grounded by reinforcing a sense of continuity.” These clips also tell their own small stories within the scope of the movie, so there’s a sense of fulfillment. At their best, they’ll convince you to rewatch or start a movie for the first time, which is why studios are perfectly fine with these clips going viral.

“Damnit, okay fine, I’m starting it right now for the 40th time,” writes one commenter under a Moneyball sequence. “Love how much attention this movie is getting lately,” one user wrote next to a clip of The Big Short. “I revisit it every couple of years.”

With these clips making it big and putting various movies back into users’ heads, it only makes sense that studios would attempt to profit from this as well.

Back in 2023, Paramount Pictures released Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (2004) on October 3 (IYKYK) over 23 parts on TikTok for one day only. This was a PR play more than anything, but also a chance for unsuspecting scrollers to come across a popular clip and become motivated to watch the comedy classic for the umpteenth time. The Paramount account jumped from 700 to 24k followers over that single day, and the movie was trending across social media. Lionsgate is doing something similar on YouTube this September 14, streaming all five Twilight movies for free on their official page. Don’t be shocked if you see Edward, Bella, and Renesmee pop up on your TikTok algorithm in the coming weeks.

A 2024 study supported these findings, drawing a direct link between TikTok users watching clips and ads on the app and their subsequent purchase of movie tickets in theaters. “The TikTok audience is the moviegoing audience, with TikTok users +44% more likely than non-users to go to the movies at least once per month,” the report reads. “Through co-creation between studios, creators, and fans, content is amplified to reach an engaged audience in an emotionally impactful way. In fact, 80% of TikTok users have engaged with their favorite show or movie on TikTok.”

Sure, this commentary centers on upcoming movies, but it’s just as relevant when it comes to old clips putting up numbers on TikTok. It’s all about not missing out. And like everything else today, FOMO is a critical factor.

“The fact that someone thought the clip was worth posting is social validation,” Dr. Rutledge says. High view counts and sharing only reinforce the “this is worth watching” message. “Comments can also create a bit of FOMO-lite: Am I missing out on what others are enjoying?”

It’s always nice to have some scientific and analytical back-up as to why you’re awake in the wee hours of the morning, watching 150 seconds of a movie from 2016. Hopefully, this makes you feel less alone.

The algorithm knows all. Unfortunately, usually, too much.