Screenplay Page Count and Runtime Calculator
Turn a page count into a runtime, or paste a script to count its pages, scenes and dialogue share the way a formatted screenplay lays them out.
From a page count
One formatted page runs about one minute on screen.
≈ 110 minutes
1 h 50 min on screen. Rule of thumb range: 99–121 minutes, depending on how much of the page is dialogue.
| Format | Pages | Runtime |
|---|---|---|
| Short film | 5–40 pages | 5–40 min |
| Half-hour episode, single camera | 25–35 pages | 22–30 min |
| One-hour drama episode | 45–65 pages | 42–60 min |
| Feature film | 90–120 pages | 90–120 min |
From your script
Paste Fountain or plain screenplay text. Pages are counted the way a formatted script lays out: Courier 12, standard margins, 54 lines a page.
0
Pages
—
Runtime
0
Scenes
0
Words
—
Dialogue
—
Range
Nothing is uploaded; the count happens in your browser.
Why one page is one minute
Screenplay format is not a style choice; it is a measuring device. Because the font, margins and spacing are fixed, a page of any properly formatted script holds about the same amount of screen time, and producers read page counts as running times. That is why a 140-page first feature gets a raised eyebrow before anyone reads a line, and why the format rules matter even in a first draft.
What the count tells you
Beyond runtime, the scene count and dialogue share are quick diagnostics. A feature with forty scenes is built from long sequences; one with a hundred and twenty cuts fast. A script that is eighty percent dialogue is a different film from one that is thirty, and neither is wrong, but knowing the number helps you check it against the story you meant to write. If the page count is far off the target for your format, the beat sheet guide shows how the structural targets scale with length.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a 90-page script?
About 90 minutes of screen time. The page-a-minute rule works because standard screenplay format is fixed: Courier 12, set margins, and 54 lines to a page, so every page holds roughly the same amount of story. Dialogue-heavy pages tend to run a little short of a minute and dense action pages a little over.
How many pages is a two-hour movie?
Around 110 to 120 pages. Most produced features land between 90 and 120 pages; a first spec script over 120 pages is a hard sell, and comedies usually sit at the shorter end.
How are the pages counted when I paste a script?
The text is parsed as Fountain or plain screenplay text, then laid out on a standard page: 60 characters of action per line, dialogue 35 characters wide, one blank line between elements, two before a scene heading, and dialogue split with (MORE) and (CONT'D) at page ends. The count matches what a formatting program would print, give or take a page.
Does the estimate account for dialogue versus action?
The headline figure is one minute a page. The range under it leans shorter when more than about 60% of the prose is dialogue and longer when less than about 35% is, which is the direction scripts usually drift on screen. It is a rule of thumb, not a shooting schedule.
Try ScriptFlo
Formatting handled while you write.
ScriptFlo formats as you type, ships nine story structure templates and an AI coach that gives notes without writing a word for you. One plan at $30/month, everything included, 14-day free trial.
Start writing free