Female-led films scored the top two spots at the domestic box office in 2016. A blue tang fish and a heroic rebel proved to be the most lucrative characters of the year. “Finding Dory,” whose protagonist is voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, currently stands at number one, but it’s only a matter of time until “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” starring Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, surpasses the animated film. “Rogue One” didn’t open until mid-December, and continues to do huge numbers at the box office: Last week it took in over $153 million.
Of the 250 top-grossing films of the year, 58 feature female protagonists, amounting to 23 percent. This figure doesn’t mean that the remaining 77 percent of 2016’s biggest box offices successes are about men: That number includes both male-centric movies and ensemble pieces.
In 2015, women comprised 22 percent of protagonists in the top 100 domestic grossing films, according to research from Dr. Martha Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film. In 2016, women account for 29 percent of protagonists in the top 100 films. That’s a seven percent increase. [Note: The data used for this post was collected January 3, and this percentage may change in the coming weeks.]
While female-led films are often associated with romantic comedies, it’s encouraging to note that the films to crack the top 250 encompass many genres, such as comedy (“Bad Moms”), sci-fi (“Arrival”), horror (“Don’t Breathe”), romance (“Me Before You”), drama (“Queen of Katwe”), and yes, romantic comedy (“Bridget Jones’s Baby”).
It’s been proven that diversity sells, but this list is sorely lacking when it comes to films about women of color. “Moana” made the top 20, but that’s an animated film. “Hidden Figures,” which is based on a true story, opened in limited release in 2016 and will open wide this week. We’ll be able to assess its success by next month. Early numbers look promising.
Check out the highest-grossing women-centric films of 2016 below. We’re basing these findings on data from Box Office Mojo retrieved January 3. We’ve noted where the films are also directed by women. These figures aren’t written in stone: films released in 2016 continue to leave their mark at the box office. Be sure to have a look at our list of 2016’s top-earning films directed by women.
1. “Finding Dory”: $486,295,561
2. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”: $439,714,705
12. “Moana”: $213,360,039
19. “Ghostbusters”: $128,350,574
23. “Bad Moms”: $113,257,297
29. “Arrival”: $92,632,332
31. “Don’t Breathe”: $89,217,875
36. “Alice Through the Looking Glass”: $77,041,381
38. “The Girl on the Train”: $75,347,390 –
40. “10 Cloverfield Lane”: $72,082,998
42. “Lights Out”: $67,268,835 2,835
43. “The Divergent Series: Allegiant”: $66,184,051
48. “The Boss”: $63,077,560
50. “Miracles from Heaven” — Directed by Patricia Riggen: $61,705,123
52. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”: $59,689,605
54. “Me Before You” — Directed by Thea Sharrock: $56,245,075
55. “The BFG”: $55,483,770
57. “The Shallows”: $55,124,043
64. “How to Be Single”: $46,843,513
71. “Nerve”: $38,583,626
76. “The Boy”: $35,819,556
78. “Ouija: Origin of Evil”: $34,992,970
79. “The 5th Wave”: $34,912,982
81. “Mother’s Day”: $32,492,859
89. “Florence Foster Jenkins”: $27,383,770
92. “The Forest”: $26,594,261
94. “The Witch”: $25,138,705
95. “Bridget Jones’s Baby” — Directed by Sharon Maguire: $24,139,805
97. “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”: $23,083,334
117. “Hello, My Name is Doris” : $14,444,999
118. “The Edge of Seventeen” — Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig: $14,329,434
119. “Love & Friendship”: $14,016,568
120. “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party” (Documentary): $13,099,931
127. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”: $10,907,291
134. “Queen of Katwe” — Directed by Mira Nair: $8,845,487
140. “Jackie”: $7,476,006
142. “Shut In”: $6,891,009
152. “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” — Directed by Mandie Fletcher: $4,761,241
155. “The Meddler” — Directed by Lorene Scafaria: $4,267,218
159. “Denial”: $4,073,489
160. “Morgan” $3,915,251
168. “Miss Sloane”: $3,469,757
171. “Maggie’s Plan” — Directed by Rebecca Miller: $3,351,735
174. “The Mermaid” (Mei ren yu): $3,232,685
178. “The Other Side of the Door”: $3,000,342
183. “Hidden Figures”: $2,611,395
191. “The Eagle Huntress”: $2,278,362
193. “I’m Not Ashamed”: $2,082,980
195. “The Dressmaker” — Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse: $2,022,115
201. “The Handmaiden”: $1,865,082
208. “Equity” — Directed by Meera Menon: $1,605,463
209. “Neerja”: $1,585,687
210. “Jane Got a Gun”: $1,513,793
214. “The Neon Demon”: $1,333,124
226. “Certain Women” — Directed by Kelly Reichardt: $1,068,054
227. “The Innocents” — Directed by Anne Fontaine: $1,065,665 –
232. “Dark Horse” (Documentary) — Directed by Louise Osmond: $940,715
233. “Elle”: $932,407
