Free screenplay runtime estimator. Re-weights the classic "1 page = 1 minute" rule using genre and the action / dialogue / parenthetical split of your script. Flags production-complexity warnings for stunt-heavy short scripts.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software
Use during script revision to predict if your 90-page script will fit a 90-minute slot — or if you've accidentally written a 2-hour epic.
Final Draft and Movie Magic give a flat page-to-minute count. This tool factors in the *kind* of pages, not just how many.
Pacing is internally consistent.
Total runtime = pages × (action% × action-mult + dialogue% × dialogue-mult + pause% × pause-mult), with genre presets adjusting the multipliers.
Action and pause time inflate runtime; dialogue runs roughly 1:1 with page count.
Stunt-heavy short scripts (high action %, low page count) trigger a production-complexity warning.
A Hollywood rule of thumb. It breaks for action sequences (longer than the page suggests) and rapid comedies (shorter).
Action and pauses inflate runtime; dialogue is roughly 1:1. The genre selector applies a final multiplier.
Dialogue is spoken at a fairly predictable pace close to one page per minute, while a single line of action description can represent a long visual sequence or stunt. Re-weighting the page count by the action-versus-dialogue split gives a more realistic runtime.
Yes; the one-page-per-minute rule assumes standard 12-point Courier with industry-standard margins. Non-standard fonts or spacing throw off the page count and therefore the runtime estimate.
Input
90 pages, action genre, 50% action / 40% dialogue / 10% pause.
Output
Adjusted runtime: 1:48:00 (108 minutes).
The classic 1-page-per-minute rule gives 90 minutes; the action-genre multiplier inflates action blocks and shortens dialogue, landing at 108 minutes.
Standard screenplay format is built so that one correctly formatted page runs about one minute of screen time. That is not a coincidence — the margins, font and spacing were fixed to make it true, which is why format compliance matters in submissions beyond looking professional.
The rule holds well on average and poorly on any particular page, because different content runs at different rates. That is what the genre multipliers here are for.
The presets weight action, dialogue and pause differently. Action is set at 1.6 and dialogue at 0.7 — a page of action description routinely plays far longer than a minute, because a line describing a chase takes seconds to read and minutes to shoot, while dialogue plays roughly at reading speed or faster. Sitcom runs everything fast, dialogue at 0.45, matching a form built on rapid exchange. Arthouse runs pauses at 1.6, because held silence is part of the form.
Drama sits at 1.0 across the board, which is the classic assumption. If you are unsure, that preset is the honest default.
A 90-page action script and a 90-page sitcom script are not the same runtime, and this is the input that lets the estimate say so.
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