Script Intelligence · Benchmark
How long is a screenplay?
The median produced feature runs 117 pages, and half of the eligible sample lands between 106 and 131. The hundred-and-twenty-page rule of thumb sits above the measured middle.
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 |
|---|---|
| 60 to <70 | 1 |
| 70 to <80 | 4 |
| 80 to <90 | 17 |
| 90 to <100 | 42 |
| 100 to <110 | 78 |
| 110 to <120 | 93 |
| 120 to <130 | 72 |
| 130 to <140 | 46 |
| 140 to <150 | 26 |
| 150 to <160 | 15 |
| 160 to <170 | 16 |
| 170 to <180 | 6 |
| 180 to <190 | 5 |
| 190 to <200 | 2 |
| 200 to <210 | 2 |
| 210 to <220 | 1 |
| 220 to <230 | 1 |
| 230 to <240 | 0 |
| 240 to <250 | 0 |
| 250 to <260 | 1 |
| Total eligible scripts | 428 |
median 117; eligible n=428. Intervals include the lower bound and exclude the upper bound. The final “or more” interval, where shown, includes the grouped tail.
Page count, n=428 produced features · snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5
117pages
The median produced feature screenplay
Middle half: 106 to 131 pages
n=428 eligible features
Length by genre.
The bands overlap, so genre alone does not determine length. The chart orders the eligible genre samples by their measured median page count.
View data table
| Genre | Eligible n | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action | 53 | 116 | 128 | 152 |
| Thriller | 30 | 114.25 | 126 | 138.25 |
| Sci-Fi | 32 | 109 | 121 | 139.5 |
| Romance | 25 | 103 | 117 | 130 |
| Drama | 105 | 103 | 115 | 138 |
| Animation/Family | 41 | 101 | 115 | 128 |
| Comedy | 66 | 107 | 114 | 120.75 |
| Horror | 46 | 100 | 110 | 117.75 |
| Fantasy | 17 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Crime | 13 | 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%
How to read this against your script.
The middle band contains half of the eligible scripts; the other half falls outside it. It describes this sample, not the length a reader requires or a measure of your draft’s quality. Compare like formats and genres, then consider what your story needs.
These are held-PDF page counts, including cover pages, blank pages and other front matter, rather than numbered story-page counts. Page count does not establish a film’s running time. The package retains modelled runtime estimates with a median of 117 minutes (n=395), but these are not observed film lengths. The small historical model has not been validated on this full cohort. Read the runtime assumptions and limits.
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.
What is on your pages?
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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). "Screenplay Length: 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-length (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.