Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest
Contest · 2026Prestige 78/100
Final Draft's flagship contest. $10,000 cash, an LA industry trip, and a Dell laptop for the Feature and TV grand prize winners.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 contest closed on 29 June 2026 and is in judging, with quarter-finalists announced on 28 August and grand prize winners on 18 December. No 2027 dates have been published, though the 2026 prize list includes a free 2027 entry, so a further cycle is expected. Across four evidenced cycles the final deadline has landed between 28 and 30 June every year, with the first tier in mid-to-late April, quarter-finalists in late August and grand prize winners in early-to-mid December. The opening date is only evidenced for two cycles, 10 March 2025 and 23 March 2026, so treat March as an observation rather than a rule. Note the tier names changed for 2026, from Early Bird, Regular, Extended and Last Chance to Early Bird, Regular, Final and Extended.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Entry categories
Feature
Feature · up to 120 pages
Feature screenplays, 80 to 120 pages. Same fee applies to Diversity-track feature entries.
Short
Short · up to 20 pages
Short screenplays up to 20 pages. Lower entry fee than Feature and TV categories.
TV Pilot
TV Pilot · up to 70 pages
Original pilots only. One-hour 40 to 70 pages, half-hour 20 to 35 pages. Same fee applies to Diversity-track TV entries.
Key facts
- Formats
- Feature, TV Pilot, Short
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Animation, Biography, Comedy, Crime, Documentary, Drama, Family, Fantasy, History, Horror, Music, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Sport, Thriller, War, Western
- Page limit
- 120 pages
- Required materials
- PDF of the screenplay in industry-standard format
Entrants must be 18 or older with internet access. Optioned screenplays are not eligible. Adaptations are accepted only if the entrant wrote the original source material, or if the source material is in the public domain. Prior Grand Prize and category winners cannot resubmit winning scripts. Employees of Final Draft and competition sponsors, and their relatives, are excluded.
Prizes
Cash and prize packages across eight feature categories, three television categories and a short script category. The short script winner prize rose sharply for 2026, from 1,000 US dollars to 5,000 plus 2,000 in casting services on Backstage. Winners also receive FilmFreeway credit and a free entry to the following year's contest. Feedback is NOT included as standard: it is a separate paid tier costing roughly 70 US dollars more per entry, for example 45 dollars for a standard early-bird feature or television entry against 115 with feedback. Entry moved off Coverfly onto FilmFreeway after that platform closed.
Judging
Judged in rounds across the 11 sub-categories. The full judge roster is published on the Big Break page each year. Final-round judging is conducted by an industry jury of managers, producers, and executives.
The PreList verdict
Big Break's draw is its sponsor. Final Draft is the industry's default screenwriting software, and it puts real marketing muscle behind its winners: two US$10,000 grand prizes (one feature, one TV), category awards, an LA trip and genuine visibility. For commercial, mainstream material it is one of the strongest brand names you can put on a query letter.
The honest part: 2026 set an entry record, so the field is enormous, and the fee ladder climbs steeply at the extended deadlines, particularly once you add the optional feedback packages, which ran up to US$155 for features this year. The feedback is an upsell, not part of the base entry.
Enter if your script is polished, commercial and genre-clear, and get in at the early deadlines where the fee is sane. Skip it if your work is quiet, experimental or in need of notes first; a contest this size rewards scripts that grab a tired reader by page three. The 2026 cycle closed on 29 June; winners are announced in stages from late August, with the grand prize on 18 December.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 7 Sept 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is Big Break still open for 2026?
No. Entries closed on 29 June 2026 with no further extension. Quarterfinalists are announced on 28 August and the grand prize winners on 18 December 2026.
What does Big Break cost?
Fees rise by deadline tier and by category. At the 2026 extended deadline, short scripts ran US$65 to US$110 and features and TV US$85 to US$155 depending on optional feedback add-ons.
What do winners receive?
Two US$10,000 grand prizes (feature and TV), US$1,000 category wins, a US$5,000 short script prize, an industry trip to Los Angeles and promotion by Final Draft.
Is your script right for Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this contest: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
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