---
title: "How Many Pages Is a Screenplay? (Feature, Short, TV, Indian)"
description: "How long should a screenplay be? Typical page counts for features, shorts, TV pilots and Indian films, the one-page-per-minute rule and when it breaks."
url: https://kathekaara.in/blog/how-many-pages-is-a-screenplay
published: 2026-09-19T04:15:00.000Z
updated: 2026-09-19T04:15:00.000Z
---

# How Many Pages Is a Screenplay? Page Count and Runtime Explained

By Gireesh Shanbbhag, Actor | Filmmaker | Screen Writer | Editor · Published 2026-09-19

**Quick answer:** A feature film screenplay is typically 90–120 pages, because one correctly formatted page equals about one minute of screen time. Short film scripts are usually 5–15 pages, half-hour TV episodes 25–35 pages and one-hour dramas 45–65 pages. Indian feature films often run 2 hours 15 minutes or more, so their scripts are commonly 120–150 pages, with songs noted briefly.

## Key takeaways

- The one-page-per-minute rule only works with standard format: 12-point Courier and standard margins.
- Spec scripts that are too long signal an unfocused story; aim for the low end of the range.
- Dialogue-heavy pages play faster than a minute; action-heavy pages play slower.
- Production uses eighths of a page to schedule, so length directly affects budget.

## Typical screenplay lengths by format

- Feature film (Hollywood/spec): 90–120 pages; comedies and horror often 90–100, dramas and epics up to 120+.
- Indian feature film: commonly 120–150 pages for 2h15–2h45 films, including an interval and songs.
- Short film: 1–15 pages; festivals often prefer under 15 minutes. See how to write a short film script .
- Half-hour comedy/streaming episode: 25–35 pages.
- One-hour drama episode: 45–65 pages.
- Web series episode: 5–25 pages depending on platform.

## Why does one page equal one minute?

Courier is a monospaced font, so every character takes the same width, and screenplay margins fix how much text fits on a page. Over decades, the industry found that a standard page averages about a minute on screen. It is an average across the whole script, not a rule for each page — a page of fast dialogue may play in 40 seconds, while one line like "The armies clash" can take three minutes.

## How should I handle songs in an Indian screenplay?

Do not write full lyrics into the screenplay draft. Add a short heading and a few lines describing the song's purpose and visuals — for example, a general element: *SONG — "MALE BARUTHIDE" — Meera and Ravi fall in love across the monsoon months.* Lyrics usually live in a separate document. A song that runs four minutes may take only half a page on paper, so account for song durations when estimating runtime.

## My script is too long — how do I cut it?

- Cut scenes that repeat information the audience already has.
- Enter scenes late and leave early — start at the conflict, end at the turn.
- Trim action paragraphs to three or four lines.
- Remove camera directions and unnecessary parentheticals.
- Combine minor characters who serve the same function.
- Check scene lengths in a report to find the slowest sections.
Avoid "cheating" length with smaller fonts or margins — readers notice, and it breaks the page-to-minute estimate production relies on.

## How can I estimate my script's runtime?

Use page count as the first estimate, then refine it with scene-level data. [Kathe Kaara](/)'s reports show page eighths per scene, scene length histograms, act balance, dialogue-versus-action ratio and estimated shoot time per scene, so you can see where a draft is heavy before cutting.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is a 130-page screenplay too long?

For a Hollywood spec script, usually yes. For an Indian commercial feature with songs and an interval, 130 pages is normal.

### Does the title page count as a page?

No. Page numbering starts after the title page, and the first page of the script is usually not numbered.

### How many pages is a 10-minute short film?

About 10 pages, though action-heavy shorts can be shorter on paper.

### What is the minimum length for a feature?

Most festivals and academies define a feature as over 40 minutes, but commercial features are rarely under 80 minutes, so plan for at least 80–90 pages.

*Cover photo: Stacks of printed script pages — by Wesley Tingey on *[Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/stacks-of-paper-documents-and-file-folders-snNHKZ-mGfE?utm_source=kathekaara&utm_medium=referral)*.*