Latest news with #USCAnnenbergInclusionInitiative
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Women Direct Only 11% of Top-Grossing Films Globally, According to New Study From Annenberg Inclusion Initiative
Women comprise 11.6% of the directors of global films, according to a new study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. The figure is among the indicators that women's participation in the film industry at a global level is changing, but still nowhere near equality. Dr. Stacy L. Smith shared results of the study on Monday during the University of Oxford Cultural Programme's Women in Film event. ('Bridgerton' breakout Simon Ashley, 'Surface' star Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Dr. Smith led the lineup at the daylong conference.) The report focuses on women's progress across four areas of interest: as global film directors across 11 countries, at film festivals across six countries, as award recipients (for directors, writers and producers at the Academy Awards, BAFTAs and César Awards) and as film executives (at studios, distributors and subsidiaries in the U.S., the U.K. and France). More from Variety 'Monte Cristo' Actor Pierre Niney on Starring as a Toxic Superstar Coach in 'Guru,' Studiocanal's Thriller Directed by Yann Gozlan (EXCLUSIVE) Koji Fukada Talks J-Pop Industry's 'No-Dating' Clauses in Cannes Premiere Title 'Love on Trial,' First Clip Unveiled (EXCLUSIVE) Fan Bingbing Starrer 'Mother Bhumi' Nabbed by Rediance Ahead of Cannes Market (EXCLUSIVE) The study examines feature-length, narrative films that earned $1 million at the global box office and originated in 11 countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). A total of 4,532 movies were assessed and the gender of 4,991 directors was evaluated. While no country was close to reaching the global population benchmark of 50%, the three countries with the highest percentage of women directors were Germany (18.7%), the United Kingdom (18.5%) and Australia (18.3%). The countries with the lowest percentage were India (4.9%), Japan (4.7%) and the Republic of Korea (9.1%). Women make up 11.3.% of the directors in the United States, which is on par with the average. The percentage of women of color in the director's chair (5.7% in 2024) has doubled in the last decade (2.5% in 2015), but the figure is still in the single digits. 'For several years, we have examined the prevalence of women directors of top-grossing movies,' Dr. Smith said in a press release. 'The results of this report demonstrate that there is still a steeper climb to the top leadership position in film for women no matter what country they work in. The encouraging finding across this analysis is that there has been change in some countries and particularly in the U.K.' As Dr. Smith notes, Canada, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the U.K. demonstrated increases over the past 10 years. The U.K. saw the largest growth in the last decade; in 2024, 32.3% of its directors were women — a 6.6% increase from 2023 (25.7%) and 24% higher than 2015 (8.3%). Comparably, in 2024, 16.2% of U.S. films were directed by women, which is double the figure from 2015 (8.5%). Unveiled just before the Cannes Film Festival begins on Tuesday, the report expands on research that Dr. Smith and Annenberg's Katherine Pieper presented in April at an event highlighting the achievements of the Kering Women in Motion program. (That report surveyed 3,240 narrative films made in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the U.S. and the U.K. that grossed at least $1 million globally and the lineups at five top film festivals: Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance and Toronto. The new study surveyed five more countries as well as the London Film Festival.) Across 10 years of programming at the six film fests, only 27.8% of narrative movies were directed by women. Sundance featured the highest percentage of women directors (34.7%), followed by Berlin (30.3%), Toronto (29.4%), London (25.9%), Cannes (21.6%) and Venice (20.5%). The study also breaks down the progress for women narrative directors at each festival by year, whether their films were shown in competition, a breakdown of representation by race/ethnicity and the prevalence of nonbinary directors. The study also assesses women's artistic recognition in the best film, director, original screenplay and adapted screenplay categories at the Academy Awards, BAFTAs and César Awards from 2015 to 2025 (11 years of nominations). Across all three awards bodies, women were most likely to be nominated in the best film category (26.7%), followed by original screenplay (24.1%) and adapted screenplay (22.5%). Only 14.8% of best director nominees were women (a gender ratio of 5.8 male directors nominated for every female). Finally, the study examined 1,367 executives across film companies in the U.S., U.K. and France. Overall, 56% of executives were male and 44% were female. Parity was achieved in France, where 50% of identified executives were female, compared to 46.6% in the U.K. and 42.9% in the U.S. The study further explored the rank of executives, finding that women were most prevalent in senior VP (52%) roles in the U.S., while women filled 54.3% of VP/head/director roles in the U.K. and 70% of president-level positions in France. Women executives of color made up less than one-quarter (24.4%) of the tally across all three countries. Sixteen women of color held C-Suite level roles in the U.S., four of whom were specifically responsible for content creation. 'Overall, the results reveal that women have found ways to showcase their storytelling talent in a variety of places — but that they are still underrepresented relative to men,' the study concludes. While the degree of this marginalization differs by country, film festival, award type and executive role, the authors note, women of color face the steepest challenges. 'Across the analyses reported here, opportunities for women from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups remain less robust and these women remain less recognized than white women,' the authors write. 'Our other work demonstrates that women of color often tell the most highly reviewed stories, so the continued exclusion of these storytellers reflects an ongoing industry bias that exists globally.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Arab Times
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab Times
Female protagonists reach parity with men in top-grossing films of 2024
NEW YORK, Feb 12, (AP): For the first time in recent history, the percentage of top-grossing films featuring female protagonists equaled the percentage of films with male protagonists, according to a pair of annual studies released Tuesday. Movies like "Wicked," "Inside Out 2" and "The Substance' lifted Hollywood's theatrical releases to gender parity in leading roles in 2024. Of the 100 top domestic-grossing films in 2024, 42% had female protagonists, and 42% had male protagonists, according to a report issued by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which also released its annual study Tuesday, found that 54% of the top 100 films at the box office in 2024 featured girls and women as protagonists. That's a massive jump from just the year prior, when 30% of films featured women in lead roles. In 2007, when the USC annual study began, that figure was just 20%. "This is the first time we can say that gender equality has been reached in top-grossing films,' Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, said in a statement. "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 number one film of the year, Disney's 'Inside Out 2,'" added 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.' Other metrics suggested the gains in leading roles masked still-endemic disparity throughout Hollywood. The percentage of female characters in speaking roles increased from 35% to 37% in 2024, according to the San Diego State study. Major female characters rose from 38% in 2023 to 39% in 2024. "Films such as 'The Substance' pushed back hard against a culture that considers women disposable,' Martha Lauzen, director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, stated. "While the number of films with female protagonists rose to a historic high in 2024 after a dismally lean 2023, the percentages of women in the more stable categories of major and speaking roles reflected only minor gains.' Universal Studios, which is led by Donna Langley, was the studio with the best record for female representation. In 2024, 66.7% of Universal releases centered on girls and women, according to the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Neither study captures the large number of films released directly on streaming platforms or films that fall outside the top 100 movies in theaters. But for decades, those top box-office films have offered a snapshot of a film industry that has long failed to come close to reflecting the demographics of American society. That remains the case for underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, who account for roughly 42% of the U.S. population. In the top 2024 films in 2024, 25% included an underrepresented lead or co-lead, according to Annenberg. In those 25 movies, the lead or co-leads were 38.% Black, 15.4% Asian or Asian American and 3.9% Hispanic. That was a substantial decrease from 2023, when 37 leads or co-leads were people of color. "The progress we saw for female-identified leads was not matched by the findings for underrepresented leads,' said Smith. "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.'
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Women may have won at the box office in 2024, but other marginalized groups weren't so lucky
Are female protagonists finally getting their time to shine at the box office? According to an annual study on inequality in film, for the first time, the answer is "yes" For the past 18 years, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has published an annual report examining gender, race/ethnicity, and age of leads and co-leads in the top 100 films released each year. According to this year's study, studios broke new ground in 2024 by finally achieving parity between male and female leads. Of the 100 top-grossing films of the year, 54 featured female protagonists — a notable upward trend compared to 2023, where female protagonists were only featured in 30 of the top 100 films. It feels like a win for women — at least for the time being — but the remainder of the data didn't look quite as optimistic. The study also found that only 25 of the top 100 films featured a non-white lead or co-lead, down from 37 the year prior. Latino/Hispanic representation was the lowest among the group, with only a single film (Abigail) featuring a Latino or Hispanic actor at the helm. Multiracial actors made up the bulk of this group, featured in 11 out of 100 movies. Another disappointing conclusion drawn by the study is that older actresses still aren't being afforded the same opportunities as their male counterparts in feature films. Only 8 films starred an actress in the 45+ age range, compared to 21 male actors. While the age statistics stayed similar to what they were in 2023, the fact that underrepresented racial/ethnic groups became even more underrepresented this year is a stark reminder that we're not always marching forward. We won't have GLAAD's annual studio responsibility index analyzing films from 2024 for LGBTQ-inclusion until later this year, but their analysis of 2023 provided a similar reminder. In that study, they found the number of LGBTQ+ characters in fictional films from 10 major distributors decreased from 253 in 2022 to 170 in 2023. The majority of 2024 films looked at by the Annenberg Inclusion Institute came from the following distributors: Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and Sony Pictures Ent. Of these companies, only Disney has scaled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts amidst Donald Trump's return to the presidency — so far. As to whether that will change and how this impact will be reflected on screen remains to be seen. But for now, at least we've finally gotten one year where studios invested in films featuring female protagonists and saw it pay off.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Representation for Women on Screen Reached Parity in 2024, but People of Color Led Far Fewer Films
As you may have heard earlier today, representation for women on screen had a record year in 2024. For the first time, movies with female protagonists reached parity with male protagonists among the top 100 grossing films of the year. Those were findings as reported in an annual study from Dr. Martha Lauzen at San Diego State University, but coincidentally, they were also similar findings as confirmed by a competing report by Dr. Stacy Smith at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, also released today. The Annenberg report, titled 'Inequality Across 1,800 Popular Films,' noted that 54 of the top grossing films of the year had a female lead or co-lead, up from just 30 in 2023. More from IndieWire Sigourney Weaver on 'The Gorge,' How 'The Witch' Terrified Her, and Reuniting with James Cameron for the Next 'Avatar' Sundance Online Leaks Shouldn't Scare Filmmakers: It's Part of the Appeal Dr. Smith also analyzed the slates of individual studios and found that Universal Pictures featured the highest percentage (66.7 percent) of female-identified leads/co leads, followed by Warner Bros. Pictures (55.6 percent), and Lionsgate (54.5 percent). Sony Pictures fared the worst, as 38.5 percent of its films across the 100 top movies last year featured a girl/woman in a leading role (only one of those was 'Madame Web'). But they were strong numbers across the board and show real progress. 'This is the first time we can say that gender equality has been reached in top-grossing films,' Dr. Smith said in a statement. '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.' 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.' Smith wasn't giving out all the ballyhoos just yet. Representation for people of color on screen took a nose dive in 2024 compared to 2023, and Smith argues that Hollywood shouldn't have to choose between the two. Just a quarter of the top 100 this year had leads coming from a racial or ethnic group, compared to 37 in 2023, though it was a comparable number of underrepresented women compared to 2023. '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 Katherine Neff, the study's lead author. '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.' Both the USC study and the SDSU study also made the observation that of the female protagonists, only eight of them featured women over the age of 45, while men over 45 had far more opportunities, another age-old (pun intended) problem. Films like 'The Substance,' 'Thelma,' 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' and 'Babygirl' proved there's a market for such actresses. It's a bit of inside baseball, but both studies have had something of a healthy rivalry for years. SDSU's dates back with data to 2002, and USC's dates back to 2007. Each iteration of each study tries to beat the other to press, sometimes releasing their latest reports literally after midnight on January 1. That's not to say both studies can't co-exist, and they each come at their analysis of the top films in slightly different ways. SDSU's analyzes women across all speaking roles or as 'major' characters, and it also doesn't include movies with ensembles as explicitly female-led. USC's study on the other hand does a good job of breaking down studio slates and which have more work to do. Neither of these studies however look at streaming-only titles via Netflix or other platforms, which could skew the overall results. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hollywood boosts female leads but lags in people of color, report finds
By Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Out of the top 100 movies in 2024, more than half featured a story centered on a female actor as a lead or co-lead, the first time representation has been above the U.S. Census where girls and women comprise 50.5% of the population, a 2025 report from the University of Southern California found. However, representation fell for people of color in film, the report said. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examined 1,800 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2024 and assessed the gender, race and ethnicity as well as the ages of the leading and co-leading actors for each movie. 'This is the first time we can say that gender equality has been reached in top-grossing films,' said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. "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," Smith added. Films like "Wicked" with lead Cynthia Erivo, "Anora" with lead Mikey Madison and Anya Taylor-Joy in "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" set the stage for these gains in Hollywood gender equality. Out of the 100 top-grossing films of 2024, 54 featured a girl or woman in a lead or co-lead role, the USC report said. This reflects an increase from 2023, when only 30 movies featured a female-identified protagonist. Over half of the films distributed by Universal Pictures (66.7%), Warner Bros. Pictures (55.6%)and Lionsgate (54.5%) featured a female actor as the lead or co-lead of the story, the report found. About 40% or more of films were centered on a female lead or co-lead at Paramount Pictures (44.4%), Walt Disney Studios (40%) and Sony Pictures Entertainment (38.5%). However, leads and co-leads from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups have declined significantly, as only 25 of the top 100 films featured a lead of color in 2024, a decrease from 2023, when 37 leads or co-leads were people of color. A third of all Paramount Pictures films released in 2024 featured a lead or co-lead of color, with Lionsgate (27.3%) and Universal Pictures (26.7%) having similar demographics. Walt Disney Studios (20%), Sony Pictures Entertainment (15.4%) and Warner Bros. Pictures (11.1%) reflected even lower numbers. In 2024, no distributors reached proportional representation with the U.S. Census (41.6%). 'This downturn signifies a lack of investment in storytelling that reflects the audience as a whole,' Smith said. '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,' she added. Thirteen films in 2024 had a woman of color lead or co-lead, which is similar to USC's 2023 report and higher than the 2007 report. '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 Katherine Neff, the study's lead author.
