Script Intelligence · Benchmark
How many characters does a screenplay have?
42 characters speak in the median produced feature, and the median share of dialogue attributed to the largest speaking part is 29.2%.
Published 13 August 2026 · n=428 produced features, 2000-2026 · Snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5 · Methodology
View data table
| Interval | Scripts |
|---|---|
| 0 to <10 | 3 |
| 10 to <20 | 16 |
| 20 to <30 | 34 |
| 30 to <40 | 55 |
| 40 to <50 | 56 |
| 50 to <60 | 30 |
| 60 to <70 | 15 |
| 70 to <80 | 11 |
| 80 to <90 | 6 |
| 90 to <100 | 3 |
| 100 to <110 | 1 |
| 110 or more | 3 |
| Total eligible scripts | 233 |
median 42; eligible n=233. Intervals include the lower bound and exclude the upper bound. The final “or more” interval, where shown, includes the grouped tail.
Speaking characters, n=233 produced features; scripts above 110 grouped at the right · snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5
29.2%
of all dialogue belongs to the largest part on the median script
Middle half: 23% to 35%
n=233 eligible features
899
speeches in the median feature
Middle half: 744 to 1,066
n=395 eligible features
A long cast list is not a crowded film.
A speaking-character count includes every detected character cue, including small roles. It does not count only principal characters. The median largest-part share of dialogue is 29.2% (n=233), a separate measure of how dialogue is distributed. Name variants or misclassified cues can affect extraction; the count is not a verified casting breakdown.
Speaking parts by genre.
View data table
| Genre | Eligible n | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 57 | 32 | 49 | 63 |
| Comedy | 35 | 38.5 | 46 | 54 |
| Action | 28 | 34.5 | 46 | 58.75 |
| Horror | 29 | 24 | 31 | 39 |
| Animation/Family | 13 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Sci-Fi | 18 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Thriller | 17 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Romance | 15 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Fantasy | 10 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Crime | 11 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
The middle half lies between the lower and upper quartiles. Results below n=20 are not shown. These ranges describe this corpus, not a target or quality score.
n per genre beside each label · snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5 · dot: median, band: middle 50%
About these figures
Structural counts are extracted deterministically from the screenplay text of 428 professionally produced features, released 2000-2026. Runtime estimates, where discussed, use a fitted model. Repeatability does not prove extraction accuracy. Each measure excludes flagged or missing measurements and reports its own n. Figures are medians with the middle 50% stated; genre cells below n=20 are counted but not described. The middle 50% describes this corpus, not a target or quality score for a draft. The full caveats live in the methodology. These figures come from The Anatomy of a Produced Screenplay, where they sit in context.
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Publication history
Source review of all 448 in-range held files corrects draft writing credits and public provenance. Nine previously included files are removed after source-identity or screenplay-extent checks, leaving 428 features. Shared cue-quality checks and 68 targeted source-page reviews withhold suspect measurement families; the No One Will Save You exception is withdrawn. Median PDF pages is 117 (n=428), scenes 124 (n=401), locations 62 (n=401), and speaking characters 42 (n=233). Page counts include cover and front matter. This is a targeted review, not a whole-corpus accuracy estimate. Prior releases remain unchanged.
437 features; Nell excluded, Memory identified as the 2023 drama, and figures use eligible samples. Median 117.5 pages (n=436).
Introduced measurement-family exclusions. Nell and Memory metadata were later corrected in v4; original histograms did not apply these exclusions.
Expanded to 438 scripts. This version predates measurement-family guards.
268 produced feature scripts.
Use this research
The PreList Industry Intelligence (2026). "Speaking Characters: Produced Feature Benchmarks." Cohort: 428 produced feature screenplays, 2000-2026; eligible n varies by measure. Snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5. https://www.theprelist.io/research/screenplay-characters (version: https://www.theprelist.io/research/versions/anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5)
Licensed CC BY 4.0: reuse the figures, charts and dataset with attribution and a link back to this page. Snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5; every number above traces to it.