Reuters
[ Source : 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.
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.
