2021 Statistics

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Women Onscreen

Top-grossing 100 films:

41% featured a female lead/co lead driving the plot.
Only 7 featured a woman 45 years of age or older whereas 27 depicted a man in the same age bracket. This is a gender ratio of seeing 3.9 films starring older men to every 1 film starring an older woman. All 7 women were from only a single racial/ethnic group (i.e., Caucasian).
Only 32% featured an underrepresented lead/co lead.
Those 32 movies depicted a total of 34 non-white leads/co leads. Eleven or 32.3% of the leads/co leads were Asian, 32.3% (n=11) were Black, 8.8% (n=3) were Hispanic/Latino, 2.9% (n=1) were Middle Eastern/North African, and 23.5% (n=8) were Multiracial/Multiethnic.
Only 11 of the top 100 movies featured a woman of color as the lead/co lead of the story.
Those 11 women of color were: Gemma Chan (“Eternals”), Stephanie Beatriz (“Encanto”), Kelly Marie Tran (“Raya and The Last Dragon”), Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”), Taylor Russell (“Escape Room: Tournament of Champions”), Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”), Isabela Merced (“Spirit: Untamed”), Maggie Q (“The Protege”), Alexis Louder (“Copshop”), Taylour Paige (“Zola”), and Chanté Adams (“A Journal for Jordan”).
Of the 100 top movies, we found that 23 had an underrepresented male protagonist. This translates into 2.1 males of color to every 1 female of color.
Not one woman of color 45 years of age or older was depicted driving the storyline.
Walt Disney Studios was a top performer of films with women and girls at the center. 85.7% of all movies Walt Disney Studios released in 2021 featured female leads/co leads.
20th Century (54.5%) and Paramount Pictures (50%) were also top performers with half or more of their top-grossing movies focused on female protagonists.
The companies with the worst track records were Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, which only had 18.7% and 23.5%, respectively, of their movies focused on girls/women.
Pivoting to underrepresented leads/co leads, the top performer once again was Walt Disney Studios. A full 57.1% of their top-grossing fare featured leads/co leads of color.
Similarly, Warner Bros. Pictures is clocked in with underrepresented leads/co leads across 41.2% of their top movies.
The bottom feeders were 20th Century (9% of films), Sony Pictures Entertainment (16.7% of films) and Paramount Pictures (25% of films).

Inclusion Initiative

Of the top-grossing 1,500 films 2007-2021:

Less than 1% featured a woman or girl of color in a leading or co leading role.

Inclusion Initiative

Top-grossing theatrical releases:

The percentage of films featuring female protagonists was 31%. 57% of films featured male protagonists, and 12% had ensembles or a combination of male and female protagonists.
Females accounted for 35% of major characters. Males comprised 65% of major characters.
Females made up 34% of all speaking characters. Males accounted for 66% of speaking characters.
85% of films featured more male than female characters. Only 7% of films had more female than male characters. 8% of films featured equal numbers of female and male characters.
14% of films featured 0 to 4 female characters in speaking roles, 53% had 5 to 9 females, and 32% had 10 or more females. In contrast, 4% of films featured 0 to 4 male characters in speaking roles, 21% had 5 to 9 males, and 74% had 10 or more males.
Female protagonists were most likely to appear in dramas (36%), followed by horror features (21%), animated features (18%), action features (14%), comedies (7%), and documentaries (4%).
A higher percentage of female characters than male characters were in their 20s (18% females, 10% males). Male characters were more likely than females to be 40 or over (50% males, 30% females).
Female characters experienced a precipitous drop from their 30s to their 40s (34% to 18%). Male characters also experienced a decline but it was not as dramatic (30% to 26%). Male characters experienced a more substantial decline in numbers from their 40s (26%) to their 50s (15%).
5% of female and 9% of male characters were in their 60s or older.
20% of major female characters were in their 20s, whereas only 10% of major male characters were in their 20s. 30% of major female characters but 55% of major male characters were in their 40s and older. The percentage of female characters declined dramatically from their 30s (33%) to their 40s (18%). The percentage of major male characters actually increased from 25% in their 30s to 28% in their 40s. There were almost twice as many major male characters (11%) as female characters (6%) aged 60 and above.
60.6% of female characters in speaking roles were White, 19.3% were Black, 9.5% were Latina, 8.4% were Asian or Asian American, 0.3% were Native American, 0.5 were MENA, and 1.4% were of multiple races or ethnicities.
64.6% of male characters in speaking roles were White, 16.7% were Black, 8.3% were Latino, 8.4% were Asian or Asian American, 0.1% were Native American, 1.3% were MENA, and 0.6% were of multiple races/ethnicities.
When the limited number of films centered on Latina/Latino characters — “Encanto,” “West Wide Story,” “In the Heights,” etc. — were excluded from the analysis, the percentage of Latina characters in speaking roles fell from 9.5% to 5.7%, and the percentage of Latino characters declined from 8.3% to 6.1%.
When the limited number of films centered on Asian and Asian American characters — “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Minari,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” etc. – were excluded from the analysis, the percentage of Asian and Asian American female characters in speaking roles fell from 8.4% to 5.9%. The percentage of Asian and Asian American male characters declined from 8.4% to 6.4%.
57.6% of major female characters were White, 16.4% were Black, 12.8% were Latina, 10.0% were Asian or Asian American, 0.4% were Native American, 0.0% were MENA, and 2.8% were of multiple races/ethnicities.
64.3% of major male characters were White, 17.0% were Black, 6.8% were Latino, 10.2% were Asian and Asian American, 0.4% were Native American, 0.4% were MENA, and 0.9% were of multiple races/ethnicities.
When the limited number of films centered on Latina/Latino characters were excluded from the analysis, the percentage of Latina characters in major roles fell from 12.8% to 5.3%. The percentage of major Latino characters declined from 6.8% to 6.5%.
When the limited number of films centered on Asian and Asian American characters were excluded from the analysis, the percentage of Asian and Asian American females in major roles fell from 10.0% to 6.7%. The percentage of Asian and Asian American males fell from 10.2% to 7.3%.
Female characters in speaking roles were more likely than male characters to have a known marital status. 44% of female characters but 35% of male characters had a known marital status. Similarly, major female characters were more likely than males to have a known marital status (71% females, 65% males).
A larger percentage of male than female characters in speaking roles had an identifiable occupation. 77% of male characters but 61% of female characters had an identifiable job or occupation. Similarly, major male characters were more likely than major females to have an identifiable occupation (83% males, 66% females).
A larger percentage of male than female characters in speaking roles were seen at work, actually working (65% of males, 47% of females). Similarly, a larger percentage of major male than female characters were seen at work, actually working (71% males, 54% females).
Male characters were more likely than females in speaking roles to have primarily work-related goals (45% of males, 32% of females). Female characters were more likely than males to have primarily personal life-related goals (40% of females, 24% of males). The findings are similar for major characters, with males being more likely than females to have primarily work-related goals (males 33%, females 21%). Major female characters were more likely than males to have primarily personal life-related goals (females 55%, males 34%).
Male characters were more likely than females in speaking roles to have anti-social goals such as fighting and crime (18% males, 9% females). This is also true for characters in major roles (males 23%, females 12%).
Male characters were more likely than females in speaking roles to be seen in primarily work-related roles (64% males, 43% females). Female characters were more likely than males to be seen in primarily personal life-related roles (49% females, 29% males). The findings were similar for major characters with male characters more likely than females to be seen primarily in work-related roles (53% males, 32% females). Major female characters were more likely to be seen in primarily personal roles (45%) than major male characters (29%).
In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 57% of protagonists. In films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females accounted for 19% of protagonists.
In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 41% of major characters. In films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females accounted for 33% of major characters.
In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 38% of all speaking characters. In films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females accounted for 32% of all speaking characters.

Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film

Top 20 films watched at home:

25% of films featured female protagonists. 56% of films featured male protagonists, and 19% had ensembles or a combination of male and female protagonists.
Females accounted for 34% of major characters. Males comprised 66% of major characters.
Females comprised 34% of all speaking characters. Males accounted for 66% of speaking characters.
19% of films featured 0 to 4 female characters in speaking roles, 51% had 5 to 9 females, and 30% had 10 or more females. In contrast, 4% of films featured 0 to 4 male characters in speaking roles, 26% had 5 to 9 males, and 70% had 10 or more males.
A higher percentage of female characters than male characters were in their 20s (17% females, 9% males) and 30s (37% females, 29% males). Male characters were more likely than females to be 40 or over (53% males, 31% females).
Female characters experienced a precipitous drop from their 30s to their 40s (37% to 17%). The percentage of males also declined but it was not as dramatic (29% to 26%). Male characters experience a more substantial decline in numbers from their 40s (26%) to their 50s (15%). There were more male characters than female characters aged 60 and over. 8% of female and 12% of male characters were in their 60s or older.
Major female characters were younger than major male characters. 21% of major female characters but only 11% of major male characters were in their 20s. 30% of major female characters were in their 40s and older, whereas 53% of major male characters were in in their 40s and older. 8% of major female characters but 12% of major male characters were 60 and older.
65.6% of female characters in speaking roles were White, 18.7% were Black, 7.8% were Latina, 6.0% were Asian or Asian American, 0.7% were Native American, 0.4% were MENA*, and 0.7% were of multiple races/ethnicities. 69.7% of male characters in speaking roles were White, 16.4% were Black, 6.6% were Latino, 5.6% were Asian or Asian American, 0.3% were Native American, 1.1% were MENA, and 0.2% were of multiple races/ethnicities.
67.0% of major female characters were White, 17.2% were Black, 7.2% were Latina, 6.3% were Asian or Asian American, 0.9% were Native American, 0.0% were MENA, and 1.4% were of multiple races/ethnicities. 67.1% of major male characters were White, 17.4% were Black, 6.5% were Latino, 7.4% were Asian or Asian American, 0.7% were Native American, 0.5% were MENA, and 0.5% were of multiple races/ethnicities.
43% of female characters but 34% of male characters had a known marital status. Major female characters were also more likely than male characters (72% females, 67% males) to have a known marital status.
73% of male characters but 56% of female characters had an identifiable job or occupation. Major male characters were also more likely than major female characters to have an identifiable occupation (80% males, 58% females).
A larger proportion of male than female characters in speaking roles were seen at work, actually working (60% males, 40% females). Similarly, more major male than female characters were seen at work, actually working (67% males, 43% females).
Male characters were more likely than females in speaking roles to have primarily work-related goals (42% males, 29% females). Female characters were more likely than males to have primarily personal life-related goals (46% females, 27% males). Similarly, major male characters were more likely than major females to have primarily work-related goals (31% males, 17% females). Major female characters were more likely than major male characters to have personal life-related goals (63% females, 38% males).
In addition, male characters were more likely than females in speaking roles to have anti-social goals such as fighting and crime (20% males, 9% females). Similarly, major male characters were more likely to have anti-social goals than major female characters (24% males, 12% females).
Male characters in speaking roles were more likely than females to be seen in primarily work-related roles (60% males, 39% females). Female characters in speaking roles were more likely than males to be seen in primarily personal life-related roles (55% females, 34% males). Similarly, major male characters were more likely than females to be seen in primarily work-related roles (50% vs. 28%). Major female characters were more likely than major male characters to be seen in personal life-related roles (54% vs. 33%).
In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 44% of protagonists. In films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females accounted for 18% of protagonists.
In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 39% of major characters. In films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females accounted for 32% of major characters.
In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 39% of all speaking characters. In films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females accounted for 32% of all speaking characters.

Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film

Women Behind the Scenes

Top-grossing 51 films:

A total of 55 directors were attached, with 12.7% (n=7) women and 87.3% (n=48) men. This is a gender ratio of 6.8 to 1.
27.3% (n=15) of the 51 top-grossing films of 2021 were directed by
underrepresented filmmakers. Five of these directors were Asian, 3 Black or African American, 4 Hispanic/Latino, and 3 were multiracial/multiethnic.
Only 3 directors were women of color: Chloe Zhao (“Eternals”), Liesl Tommy (“Respect”), and Nia DaCosta (“Candyman”).

Inclusion Initiative

Of the top films 2007-2021:

5.4% of directors were women. The percentage of women helmers in 2021 (12.7%, n=7) was not meaningfully different from 2020 (15%, n=6) or 2019 (10.7%, n=12). Thus, the gains achieved from the 4% challenge and other advocacy efforts have held even in the pandemic. Further, the current percentage of women directors in 2021 was substantially higher than 2018 (4.5%) or 2007 (2.7%).
STX Entertainment (13%, n=3) has worked with the highest proportion of women directors followed by Universal Pictures (8.7%) and Warner Bros. (6.3%). In terms of sheer number, Universal Pictures (n=21) and Warner Bros. (n=16) were far more inclusive of attaching women directors to their films than were the other studios or mini-majors
Films with women directors (Mean=56.6, range=22-95) have slightly higher – on average – Metacritic scores than those films with only men at the helm (Mean=54.3, range=9-100). Looking at the midpoint or median, women directors (57) have slightly stronger movies than their male peers (55).
2021 (27.3%) featured a significantly higher percentage of underrepresented directors than did 2020 (17.5%) or 2007 (12.5%). Despite the uptick in 2021, the percentage of underrepresented directors was still well below U.S. census (39.9%).
Lionsgate distributed the highest percentage of films with underrepresented directors at the helm. Universal Pictures (19.9%, n=48) also consistently worked with non-white directors.
The Walt Disney Company (8%, n=14) and STX Entertainment (4.4%, n=1) have the worst track record when it comes to working with underrepresented content creators.
There was no relationship between race/ethnicity of director and critical reception of movies. The average Metacritic scores did not differ between the stories helmed by White (54.3, range=9-100) and underrepresented directors (55.2, range=11-99). The medians also follow the same pattern (UR
directors=55, White directors=54).
Only 18 women of color were attached. This represents less than 2% of all directing jobs (1.2%). Yet women of color are roughly 20% of the U.S. population. The ratio of White male directors to women of color is 69.3 to 1.
Of the 18 films with a woman of color attached to direct, 5 (27.8%) were distributed by Universal Pictures and 4 by 20th Century (22.2%). Lionsgate and STX Entertainment have not worked with a woman of color director on a top-grossing film across the 15-year sample time frame.
Women of color direct movies that have significantly higher Metacritic scores (62.2, range=44-89) than films by white (54.2, range=9-100) or underrepresented men (54.5, range=11-99) or white women (55, range=22-99). The medians follow the same pattern as the averages: White men (54), underrepresented men (54), White women (55), underrepresented women (61.5).

Inclusion Initiative

Of the 837 films released by 8 studio and mini-major companies 2015-2021:

913 directors were attached. 13.7% (n=13; 61.5% white, 38.5% underrepresented) of all helmers were women in 2021 and 86.3% were men (n=82). This is a gender ratio 6.3 male directors to every 1 female.
The percentage of women directors in 2021 (13.7%) was significantly lower than 2020 (22.2%), but not 2019 (15%). However, 2021 was still significantly higher than the percentage in 2018 (7.6%). Thus, the gains achieved in 2019 have held into 2020 and 2021.
Universal Pictures (16.8%, n=31) and Sony (14.8%, n=26) have the highest percentages of women directors across their slates and are the only companies that have worked with female helmers every year evaluated. STX Entertainment (17.1%, n=7) was also among those with the highest percentage of women directors. Paramount Pictures has the worst track record for working with women helmers over the sample time frame. There has still not been one year where every distributor has a woman director on their slate of films.
Only 3.1% (n=28) of directors were women of color. Sony Pictures distributed the most films with a woman of color at the helm (n=8). The worst offenders were Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate. These companies did not distribute one movie directed by a woman of color in 7 years. Across 56 film slates (8 per year for 7 years), 34 did not feature even one director who was a woman of color.
Overall, 17.8% of the 913 directors were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Only 3 companies had at least one film with an underrepresented director every year since 2015: Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Overall, Universal Pictures had the highest percentage of underrepresented directors (23.2%, n=43), while STX Entertainment featured the lowest (7.3%, n=3).

Inclusion Initiative

Of Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition directors 2015-2021:

Across these 111 directors (106 movies), 37.8% (n=42) were women. Additionally, 37.8% (n=42) of directors were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.
Of the 42 women directors between 2015 and 2021, 16 were women of color, representing 14.4% of all Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition directors in this time frame.
Notably, there has been change over time for both women and underrepresented directors. The percentage of women directors increased from 2015 (29.4%) to 2021 (50%), despite a significant decline from 2019 (52.9%) to 2020 (47.1%). For underrepresented directors, 2021 (50%) was not meaningfully different than 2020 (52.9%), but both years were significantly higher than 2015 (23.5%).

Inclusion Initiative

Of the U.S. original, feature-length films released on Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix 2020-2021:

Streaming platforms offered more opportunities to women directors than did top-grossing films. More than one-third of directors (37.5%) were women at Amazon, more than one-quarter (29%) at Disney+, 19.5% at HBO Max, and 18.1% at Netflix, compared to 13.7% in popular movies.
23.2% of all top-grossing directors were underrepresented, which was lower than but not significantly different than Netflix (26.3%). HBO Max (31.7%), Amazon Prime (32.5%), and Disney+ (29%) had significantly more underrepresented directors across these two years.
While top-grossing films (5.3%) were on par with Netflix (5.3%), HBO Max (4.9%), and Disney+ (9.7%), Amazon Prime (15%) had a significantly higher percentage of directors who were women of color on its platform.

Inclusion Initiative

Of the 14 A-category festivals that held an edition in 2018, 2019, and 2021:

Eight of 670 films (1.19%) across these three years came from Black filmmakers.
No Black director has appeared twice in the main competition at any of the festivals across this time.
Nine of the 14 A-class festivals haven’t programmed any Black directors in their main competition section across the past three years.
In 2021, four of 221 films (1.81%) came from Black filmmakers. Only six of the 242 (2.48%) directors to work on the festivals’ competition films were Black.
In 2021, 25.34% of films in main competition at the major festivals were directed by women.
For Arab directors, that figure was 8.6%. For Asian directors, 17.19%.

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