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Script Reading Time Calculator

Work out script reading time instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Script Reading Time Calculator

The screenwriting convention is one minute of screen time per correctly formatted page, so a 95 page script runs about 95 minutes, or 104.5 with a 10% allowance for action sequences that take longer to shoot than to read. A standard 90 minute feature therefore lands near 90 pages, which is why page count is the industry's proxy for runtime.

Formulas

Runtime

minutes = pages x minutes per page

With action allowance

total = base x (1 + allowance)

Worked example

With the default values below, Script Reading Time Calculator returns Estimated Runtime of 104.5. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Script pagesminimum 0
95
Minutes per pageminimum 0.1 min
1 min
Extra time for action-heavy pagesminimum 0 %
10 %

Results

Estimated Runtime
104.5 min
Runtime In Hours
1.74
Runtime Before The Action Allowance
95.0 min
Pages For A 90 Minute Film
90

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Runtime
  3. 3With action allowance
  4. 4Estimated Runtime= 104.5 min
  5. 5Runtime In Hours= 1.74
  6. 6Runtime Before The Action Allowance= 95.0 min
  7. 7Pages For A 90 Minute Film= 90

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the one-page-per-minute rule really hold?

Approximately, for correctly formatted Courier 12 point screenplays. Dialogue-heavy pages run faster and action-heavy ones slower.

Why do action pages take longer?

Because a single line like 'the chase continues' can describe two minutes of screen time, so the page count understates the runtime.

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