Yahoo Lifestyle 2024 Was a Record Year for Women in Film but Representation for People of Color Took a Sharp Decline, Study Shows
Representation for women in leading or co-lead roles hit a record high in the top-grossing films of 2024, while opportunities for people of color took a sharp decline.
For the first time since Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative began evaluating each year’s 100 top-grossing films (1,800 in total since 2007), gender equality has been reached — with 54 films featuring a woman or girl in a lead or co-lead role.
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According to the study, authored by Katherine L. Neff, Smith and Dr. Katherine Pieper, the percentage of girls and women as protagonists was at an all-time high (54%) — up from 30% in 2023 and more than double what was first reported in 2007 (20%). This figure not only reached but exceeded proportional representation with the U.S. population (50.4%).
“In 2024, three of the top five films had a girl or woman in a leading role, as did five of the top 10 films — including the No.1 film of the year, Disney’s ‘Inside Out 2,’” stated Smith. “We have always known that female-identified leads would make money. This is not the result of an economic awakening, but is due to a number of different constituencies and efforts — at advocacy groups, at studios, through DEI initiatives — to assert the need for equality on screen.”
To note, the study — which examines assesses gender, race/ethnicity, and age of the leading and co-leading actors for each movie — also found that, in 2024, there were no nonbinary actors with a leading role among the top-grossing films, but, for the first time, there was one transgender actor with a leading role (Hunter Schafer in “Cuckoo”).
The study also showed that the progress in gender representation was not matched when it came to race and ethnicity. In 2024, just 25 of the top 100 films featured a lead/co-lead from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group, a substantial decrease from 2023, when 37 leads/co-leads were people of color. While representation still falls well below the U.S. Census figure of 41.6%, 2024 was a much better year for nonwhite actors than 2007, when just 13 of the top-grossing titles were led by a person of color.
“This downturn signifies a lack of investment in storytelling that reflects the audience as a whole. The reality is that audiences want to see stories about women and people of color — studios and filmmakers do not have to choose between the two,” Smith said, shouting out Netflix as a company who has successfully reached proportional representation for gender and race/ethnicity.
However, while opportunities for people of color decreased overall, representation for women of color remained relatively stagnant year-to-year. Thirteen films had an underrepresented female lead/co lead, similar to 2023 (14 films) and substantially higher than 2007 (one film).
In box office order, the stars of these films were: Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Auli’i Cravalho (“Moana 2”), Lupita Nyong’o (“The Wild Robot”; “A Quiet Place: Day One”), Naomi Scott (“Smile 2”), Anya Taylor-Joy (“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”), DeWanda Wise (“Imaginary”), Melissa Barrera (“Abigail”), Naomi Ackie (“Blink Twice”), Mia Goth (“MaXXXine”), Nika King (“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot”), Ryan Destiny (“The Fire Inside”) and Ariana DeBose (“I.S.S.”).
“While this year’s findings mark a historic step towards proportional representation for women there is still work to be done for women of color,” said Neff. “Another 17 years would be too long to wait to see the full range of women, their stories, and their voices brought to the biggest screens.”
Indeed, the findings grow more nuanced as the study evaluates the intersectionality of identities like gender and age.
For example, eight of the year’s top-grossing films were led or co-led by a woman 45 years of age or older: Amy Poehler (“Inside Out 2”), Winona Ryder (“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”), Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”), Hilary Swank (“Ordinary Angels”), Demi Moore (“The Substance”), Cate Blanchett (“Borderlands”), Nika King (“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot”), and June Squibb (“Thelma”). While that figure was substantially higher than both 2023 (three films) and 2007 (one film), it’s below 2018’s standout year of 11 films featuring older women protagonists.
Even more significantly, the number pales in comparison to the opportunities for male actors over 45, where 21 films depicted a man in the same age bracket. As the study explains, that means, for every one film led/co-led by an older woman there were 2.6 films led/co-led by an older man.
Thus, Smith offered an addendum to the hype for the industry finally reaching gender equality in its protagonists. “That equality is disproportionately accounted for by younger women,” she explained. “Men, however, do not face the same restriction in their career opportunities. This not only affects audiences but the ability of women in mid- and late-career to continue to work and earn a living. The consequences of a lack of representation do not only have cultural significance — they are an economic reality for women as well.”
In terms of intersectionality, only one film was led or co-led by a woman of color (King), while five films featured an underrepresented man in a lead or co-lead role. “As has continued to be the trend, white men outpaced the combined total number of older underrepresented protagonists,” the study reads. “In 2024, a full 16 films featured a white male 45 years of age or older driving the plot. In sum, older white men worked 16 times more frequently across the 100 top films of 2024 than older women of color.
The research brief also evaluates the inclusion statistics per film distributor. Several studios met or exceeded proportional gender representation; Universal Pictures featured the highest percentage (66.7%) of female-identified leads/co-leads, followed by Warner Bros. Pictures (55.6%) and Lionsgate (54.5%). Falling below that watermark was Paramount Pictures (44.4%), Walt Disney Studios (40%) and Sony Pictures (38.5%).
In terms of race/ethnicity, not a single distributor reached proportional representation with the U.S. Census (41.6%). However, a third of Paramount’s films (33.3%) featured an underrepresented lead-co-lead, followed by Lionsgate (27.3%), Universal (26.7%), Disney (20%), Sony (15.4%), Warner Bros. (11.1%).
For the purposes of this study, a group of historically smaller distributors including A24 and Neon, are coded as “other.” In terms of representation, 62.5% of the “other” studios’ films were led/co-led by females and 31.3% centered on an underrepresented protagonist, putting them among industry leaders in both respects.
Read the full study here.
[Pictured above (clockwise): Joy in “Inside Out 2,” voiced by Amy Poehler; Nicole Kidman in “Babygirl”; Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked”; June Squibb in “Thelma”; Moana in “Moana 2,” voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho; and Lupita Nyong’o in “A Quiet Place: Day One.”]
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