Three decades ago, Anthony Hopkins won his first Oscar for appearing in 24 minutes and 52 seconds of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Despite falling nine minutes short of the Best Supporting Actor winner average, his victory came in the Best Actor category, sparking a debate regarding his designation that continues to this day. Since then, all Best Actor winners have had screen time totals of at least 31 minutes, with 79% of them having passed the one hour mark. This includes Hopkins, who bagged his second lead trophy just last year for his one hour, five minutes, and 14 seconds of work in “The Father.”

Hopkins’s 2021 victory caused a shift in the academy’s recent trend of awarding significantly longer lead male performances. He clocked in below the category’s all-time nominee average of one hour, 10 minutes, and 40 seconds, which is something a Best Actor winner had not done since 2012. Since his Best Supporting Actress-nominated costar,...