Change in Hollywood can sometimes feel like going one step forward, or several steps back.
A new Hollywood Diversity report from UCLA illustrates growing representation overall for more people of color in the industry, both behind and in front of the cameras, and that audiences largely support diverse films. Still, researchers say, there is a lot more work to be done — and it’s not certain this growing representation will last.
The study from UCLA’s Entertainment and Media Research Initiative was released days before the 96th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 10. This year’s nominees include people of color in every acting category, though critics say some contenders were snubbed.
With the Black, indigenous and people of color share of the U.S. population (about 43.6% in 2023) growing by about half a percent each year, nearly one-quarter (26.4%) of the top films last year had a majority BIPOC (at least half) cast — the first time in 13 years since UCLA began reporting the diversity series, researchers said.
Still, diverse faces remain largely underrepresented in the industry — particularly women. The report shows that representation of female writers, lead actors and overall cast members dropped in 2023 — even as Greta Gerwig’s female-led “Barbie” smashed box office records.
About 70.8% of lead roles were played by White people, according to the report. Also, 13 of the top 20 theatrical films in the global box office cast White leads, while only seven of the top 20 had BIPOC leads.
While the majority of the report is broken down by race and gender, the study highlights a lack of representation of transgender and nonbinary actors featured in 2023’s top films. Notably, only one actor identified as nonbinary among White leads and actors, Asian, multiracial and Native actors, according to the report. Among the White actors in 2023 films, three identified as transgender, and one Native actor identified as transgender.
Diverse audiences also want to see theatrical films with diverse casts, the report contends. The box office numbers, particularly in the top 20 films of 2023, demonstrate the power and profits wielded by audiences of color and women, researchers said. People of color dominated opening weekend sales for 14 of the top 20 films in 2023. Women led the charge among ticket buyers, with three films in the top 10. BIPOC moviegoers also bought the majority of opening weekend tickets for seven of the top 10 films of the year, according to the report.
“After examining global and domestic box-office success and audience demographics for more than a decade, we have repeatedly found that people want to see films that reflect the diversity that exists in their communities and in the world,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, co-founder of the report and director of UCLA entertainment research arm, in a release.
Other key takeaways from the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report 2024, focusing on films/theater in the last year:
- Nine of the top 10 films — and 15 of the top 20 films — at the global box office featured casts with more than 30% people of color.
- Five of the top 10 films featured casts with over 40% women.
- Writers of color comprised 22.2% of last year’s films, while directors of color led 22.9%.
- Actors with disabilities gained ground both in front of and behind the scenes, making up 11.3% of film leads, but remain largely underrepresented.
- Among the top theatrical films in 2023, seven films featuring multiracial leads were most successful, with the highest median global box office figure of $180.5 million.
- Only one of the top 10, and three of the top 20 theatrical films, for White moviegoers featured casts that were more than 30% BIPOC
- Theatrical releases that featured the most diverse casts/actors were among the top 20 films of 2023, including “Barbie,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Elemental,” and “The Little Mermaid.”
- Franchises — including “Creed,” “Scream” and “John Wick” — reached new box-office heights with the infusion of more diverse casts and leads.
Michael Tran, a doctoral candidate at the UCLA Entertainment and Media Research Initiative, has worked on these annual reports for the past 10 years.
“We really want to stress that movie audiences and moviegoers of color and women are really propping up an industry that’s struggled through the pandemic, the rise of streaming and the double strike we had last year,” Tran, who co-authored the report, said. “The industry would have been in a far worse place if not for moviegoers of color.”
Tran said that this year’s diversity progress was overall “an improvement” — but still “not enough or consistent.”
“We will need to make more progress in terms of leads, and also directors, writers and also actors in general,” he said. “And the story is even more stark when you get into gender diversity and the representation of people with disabilities on screen, too.”
