In an Historic First at the Movies, Female Actors Achieve Parity With Men in 2024 Roles

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2024 data from two ongoing research projects, released on Tuesday, show that movie theaters in certain areas of the United States experienced increased gender equality in representation on screen.

For the first time ever, research from two separate institutions – the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film – found that films featuring female main characters were just as frequent among top-earning movies as those with male leads.

In 2024, a USC study revealed that over half (54 out of the top 100) of the movies earning the most at North American box offices had female protagonists. Some examples include Pixar’s Inside Out 2 with Amy Poehler, Disney’s Moana 2 featuring Auliʻi Cravalho, Universal’s Wicked starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, and Paramount’s A Quiet Place: Day One headlined by Lupita Nyong’o. This is a substantial increase compared to 2023, where only 30% of movies had female leads, and more than twice the number from when researchers initially started tracking this trend in 2007.

According to Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, there’s a significant change happening. For the first time, it can be stated that gender equality has been achieved in the highest-earning movies.

Impact of Trump Administration’s Actions on Diversity and Inclusion Programs in Studios, as New Benchmark for Women Emerges

The emergence of a new milestone for women in the industry is coinciding with an intensification of the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail diversity and inclusion initiatives. Over the years since their establishment, studios have been cultivating and expanding these programs. However, it remains uncertain how studios will react to President Trump’s executive order targeting DEI programs within private corporations. Notably, PBS recently shut down its DEI office, while Disney has scaled back some of its own DEI efforts.

Smith emphasized the importance of having those programs, as the artistic expressions and narratives of a particular community are frequently disregarded, underestimated, or undervalued in terms of fair compensation within the entertainment industry.

2024 saw Universal Studios, under the leadership of chairwoman Donna Langley, leading the pack in female-led film productions, releasing a whopping 10 movies, which accounted for 66.7% of their entire slate. Warner Bros wasn’t far behind with 55.6%, followed closely by Lionsgate (54.5%) and Paramount (44.4%). Disney managed 40%, while Sony lagged slightly behind at 38.5%. As a devoted movie enthusiast, I was truly inspired by Universal’s commitment to gender representation in their cinematic offerings that year.

In a 23-year-old study conducted by San Diego State titled “It’s a Man’s World (on Celluloid)”, it was projected that by the year 2024, there would be a striking level of gender parity on screen. As reported by researcher Martha Lauzen, this equitable representation would mean that out of the top 100 domestic grossing films, 42% would center female leads, 42% would focus on male leads, and 16% would involve ensemble casts with multiple key characters of both genders.

2024 marked progress for female representation in leading roles, but it seems the same can’t be said for racial diversity. A USC study reveals that only 25 of the top 100 films in 2024 had leads from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, a significant drop from the previous year when 37 leads were people of color. This number is significantly lower than their representation in the U.S. population, which stands at 41.6%.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed an interesting pattern in movies, especially when it comes to representation for women and people of color over 45 years old. In the year 2024, only eight films had a woman this age or older in the main role, while there were 21 movies featuring men in the same age group. It’s quite surprising that only one film from Angel Studios, “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” showcased a woman of color over 45, played by Nika King, among the top 100 films. This disparity is something I hope will change in future productions to better reflect our diverse society.

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2025-02-11 23:55