How Many Gigs Is a Movie
A standard feature film ranges from about 5 GB for a compressed streaming copy to over 100 GB for a raw 4K edit file, with the exact number of gigs depending on resolution, codec, length, and whether the project includes raw camera footage or just the final export. A 90-minute movie in ProRes 422 HQ can exceed 50 GB, while a high-quality H.264 stream often lands under 8 GB.
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What Determines the File Size of a Movie
Several factors control how many gigs a movie file actually uses. Resolution, frame rate, color depth, codec efficiency, and runtime all play a role, but the biggest variable is whether you are measuring the raw source material or the finished deliverable. A 2-hour movie shot in 4K with high bitrate RAW formats can easily consume 200 GB or more per hour of footage, while the same project exported as an H.264 stream might shrink to a few gigabytes.
Size Ranges by Format
| Format | Typical Size (90-min film) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| ProRes 422 HQ (4K) | 50–100 GB | Common editing format; high quality, large file size |
| H.264 / H.265 Stream | 3–8 GB | Compressed distribution copy |
| RAW (BRAW, R3D, etc.) | 100–250+ GB per hour | Uncompressed or lightly compressed camera originals |
| DVD-quality | 1–2 GB | Older standard definition export |
Why File Size Matters for Storage and Workflow
Understanding gigs per movie helps with storage planning, cloud backup costs, and transfer times. A raw feature can exceed 500 GB, requiring fast RAID arrays and large transfer bandwidth, while a completed H.264 file is easy to share and archive. Editors working with multiple projects should budget for at least 1 TB of fast storage per feature-length project to avoid bottlenecks during grading and VFX.