Report: Women do not get leading roles in Hollywood films

(LR) Canadian actor Ryan Gosling, American actress America Ferrera, Australian actress Margot Robbie, and American actress Greta Gerwig arrive for the Warner Brothers Pictures red carpet photo shoot for “Barbie” during CinemaCon 2023 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, in April 25, 2023 – AFP photo

New research showed Thursday that the share of Hollywood films in which women play lead roles declined last year, despite notable successes such as “Barbie.”

In a year in which the feminist blockbuster starring Margot Robbie demolished its competitors at the box office, only a third of the films had a woman at the top, according to the Hollywood Diversity Report.

Greta Gerwig’s fun-filled feminist satire, which has grossed more than $1.4 billion at the global box office, received eight Oscar nominations this weekend, including best picture.

“Even as ‘Barbie’ broke box office records, the industry showed that it continued to undervalue female-centered and female-led films, as women lost ground when it came to representing theatrical heroes, writers, and actors,” the report said. , produced by the University of California, Los Angeles.

The share of films with a woman in the lead role increased steadily over the decade to 2019, the researchers said.

That year, 44% of films produced in Hollywood starred women.

But in the years since, this percentage has declined, with only 32% of films in 2023 featuring a woman as the main character.

“This is a wake-up call for Hollywood,” said Ana Cristina Ramon, co-founder of the report and director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at the University of California, California.

“Studios need to invest in women and their stories. Women creatives and moviegoers are integral to the growth of the industry.

The report, now in its 12th year, found that films with a more diverse cast, including a greater percentage of non-white actors, tend to perform better at the box office.

The report said that films with at least half of the cast being people of color outperformed previous releases, citing the best successes in the series enjoyed by “Creed III,” “Scream VI” and “John Wick: Chapter 4.”

Consistent with previous years, the report found that audiences of color ensured box office returns, with at least six out of ten tickets for those films’ opening weekends being purchased by non-white customers.

“When the film industry gives them what they want, people of color deliver at the box office year after year,” Ramone said.

This year’s Oscars ceremony will be held in Hollywood on Sunday.