Script Intelligence · Benchmark
How many scenes are in a screenplay?
The median produced feature cuts 124 scenes into 117 pages, while the median of per-script median scene lengths is 4 eighths of a page, about half a page.
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 |
|---|---|
| 20 to <40 | 9 |
| 40 to <60 | 16 |
| 60 to <80 | 30 |
| 80 to <100 | 67 |
| 100 to <120 | 61 |
| 120 to <140 | 58 |
| 140 to <160 | 51 |
| 160 to <180 | 37 |
| 180 to <200 | 20 |
| 200 to <220 | 15 |
| 220 to <240 | 10 |
| 240 to <260 | 7 |
| 260 to <280 | 5 |
| 280 to <300 | 4 |
| 300 to <320 | 5 |
| 320 or more | 6 |
| Total eligible scripts | 401 |
median 124; eligible n=401. Intervals include the lower bound and exclude the upper bound. The final “or more” interval, where shown, includes the grouped tail.
Scene count, n=401 produced features; scripts above 320 scenes grouped at the right · snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5
A median of each script’s median scene length.
Scene length is measured in eighths of a page. First we find the median scene length within each script, then summarise those script medians. The result is not the median of every individual scene pooled together, and it does not establish how quickly scenes play on screen.
View data table
| Interval | Scripts |
|---|---|
| 1 to <2 | 17 |
| 2 to <3 | 75 |
| 3 to <4 | 101 |
| 4 to <5 | 60 |
| 5 to <6 | 64 |
| 6 to <7 | 31 |
| 7 to <8 | 14 |
| 8 to <9 | 10 |
| 9 to <10 | 7 |
| 10 to <11 | 4 |
| 11 to <12 | 7 |
| 12 or more | 11 |
| Total eligible scripts | 401 |
median 4; eligible n=401. Intervals include the lower bound and exclude the upper bound. The final “or more” interval, where shown, includes the grouped tail.
Median scene length per script, in eighths of a page; scripts above 12 eighths grouped at the right · n=401 · snapshot anatomy-of-a-produced-screenplay-2026-09-v5
124scenes
In the median produced feature
Middle half: 93 to 162
n=401 eligible features
4eighths
Median of the per-script median scene lengths
Four eighths equals half a page
n=401 eligible features
Scene counts by genre.
The chart ranks genre samples by their median scene count. More headings do not necessarily mean faster screen pacing: a heading marks a scene boundary in the script, not an edit in the finished film.
View data table
| Genre | Eligible n | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sci-Fi | 31 | 119 | 160 | 202 |
| Action | 50 | 118 | 158 | 219 |
| Drama | 101 | 106 | 137 | 164 |
| Thriller | 26 | 86 | 129 | 167 |
| Horror | 43 | 95.5 | 119 | 148.5 |
| Romance | 23 | 88.5 | 112 | 147 |
| Comedy | 61 | 84 | 106 | 133 |
| Animation/Family | 37 | 64 | 89 | 114 |
| Fantasy | 17 | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| Crime | 12 | 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%
The quartile bands describe variation within each genre. Overlap between them is a reason to read the whole distribution, rather than treat a genre’s median as a required scene count.
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). "Scene Count and Scene 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-scenes (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.