‘Historical low’ report shows female-led films falling by 30% in 2023

Despite last year’s talk about Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s ambitious collaboration, Pink Feminism led to discussions of feminism in 2023, due to a ‘historic shortfall’ in delivering female-led films.

And as the world reels from the shock of the Barbie duo’s Oscar debacle, the latest USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative report reveals new statistics that will hit you like a wrecking ball. The study shows a sharp decline in women in leading roles in the 100 highest-grossing films of 2023.

Only 30 of these 100 titles featured women and girls in lead and co-lead roles. The retrograde turn has resulted in a decline in the numbers as compared to the films recorded in 2022 and the figures are similar to the films of 2010.

The research was led by Stacey L. Smith, associate professor of communication, who said in a press release: “This is a devastating step forward for girls and women in film.” Despite being the ‘Year of Women’, 2023 failed to bring better representation and saw a sharp reversal.

Study Katherine L. Neff, Smith and Dr. Katherine Piper. It traces the 1700 highest-grossing film releases from 2007 to 2023, examining the gender, race/ethnicity, and age of lead and co-lead stars.

Smith explained that these numbers largely reflect how often career opportunities are offered to women in the film industry. Even after considering the strikes, experts failed to understand any possible reason why the strike occurred and declared it an “industry failure”.

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Study on women-oriented films of 2023

Apart from the apparent decline in women-led stories, the research also found one bright spot. Of these, 37 out of 100 films were led/co-led by actors from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, marking an increase from the number that was stuck at 31 in 2022. However, this increase in representation “was not driven by the legacy content of the studios”; instead, it was brought about by minor contributors and international fame.

WOC representation in top-grossing 2023 films

Furthermore, this upward graph did not translate to the case of women of color (WOC). Only 14 films had a WOC as a lead character, as opposed to 18 in 2022. Katherine Neff commented that not only were young WOC missing in this case, but their middle-aged or older counterparts were being widely erased.

Variety lists these 14 names: Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid), Dominique Fishbach (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts), Leah Lewis (Elemental), Melissa Barrera (Scream VI), Ariana DeBose (Wish), Fantasia Barrino (The Color Purple), Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me), Storm Reid (Missing), Salma Hayek (Magic Mike’s Last Dance), Lana Condor (Ruby Gilman, Teenage Kraken), Ashley Park (Joy Ride), Ayo Adebiri ( Bottoms), Nicole Sakura (Suzume) and Greta Lee (Past Lives). Lily Gladstone from Killers of the Flower Moon was listed as a supporting character; He was not counted in this list.

The same study also focused on the age of the lead/co-lead. The data revealed that only three films had a 45-year-old woman (or older) as the protagonist (Keri Russell – Cocaine Bear, Nia Vardalos – My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Salma Hayek – Magic Mike’s Last Dance). On top of that, there was only one woman of color.

Flipping the coin, the study revealed that eight films featured an underrepresented person aged 45 (or older) in a leading role. In contrast, 24 films featured a white man (45 years of age or older) in a lead or co-lead role.

female director

The report examined how many films starring women and underrepresented women in lead roles/co-lead roles were directed by a filmmaker from the same identity group. Of the 30 films starring a girl or woman, 36.7% were directed by women, while 63.3% were directed by men.

Of the 37 films featuring an underrepresented lead/co-lead, 51.3% were supported by an underrepresented director, while 48.7% did not.

4.3% of films without a girl or female lead had a female director. In contrast, 9.5% of the films that missed out on an underrepresented role had an underrepresented director.

Smith said women and POC still face barriers and limitations compared to their white male peers. These findings proved that “a change is needed, and quickly”, especially since the entertainment industry could significantly support inclusive and diverse presence on and off camera.