I took a look at the final numbers for 2008 and they are remarkable. I will analyze the changes from previous years but to my unanalyzed eyes, 4 films in the top 20 that have women leads is a big f**king deal!
Top Grossing Films of 2008
8- Twilight- $172,274
11- Sex and the City- 152,647
12- Mamma Mia!- $144,051
18- Juno- $112,025 (made most of its money in 2008 even though it was released at the end of 2007)
37- 27 Dresses- $76,808
45- Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana- $65,281
51- Baby Mama- $60,494
59- The House Bunny- $48,237
60- Nim’s Island- $48,006
65- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2- $44,089
81- The Secret Life of Bees- $37,463
85- Changeling- $35,627
2008 was a good year for women at the box office.
All stats are domestic grosses from Variety.
It is a big deal!
The fact that women who are leads in film are becoming rare is a big deal. Watching films with almost an all male cast is getting tiresome. When I do get to see “a woman” or two in the film they usually have a role that does little to keep me interested. Where I live, I see far more advertising for male centric films than women centric. Thankfully we have websites and blogs to direct us more to what is being made by women. I guess the box office doesn’t need my dollars as much as the next “guy.”
Please go out and support women centric films as often as you can so that more of them are made.
It is great, but too bad most of these films are crap.