Women achieve gender parity with men in US big screen lead roles for first time
Women achieved gender parity on the big screen in 2024 for the first time in the US, according to two new studies.
Out of the 100 top-grossing films of last year, women led 42% of the films, the same percentage as their male counterparts, with 16% led by ensembles. This was according to Dr Martha Lauzen’s annual It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World report. Lauzen said that 2024 “offered one of the richest slates of films featuring female protagonists in recent memory”.
An ongoing study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative also found that 54% of films last year were led or co-led by women, up from 30% the previous year.
“We have always known that female-identified leads would make money,” said Dr Stacy L Smith, head of the study. “This is not the result of an economic awakening, but is due to a number of different constituencies and efforts – at advocacy groups, at studios, through DEI initiatives – to assert the need for equality on screen.”
Recent major hits led by women included Wicked, Inside Out 2, The Substance, Moana 2, Mean Girls and It Ends with Us.
But Smith’s study also found that while there was a notable increase for female leads, leads and co-leads of colour saw a decline. According to her findings, 25% of the films last year were led by a person of colour, down from 37% the year before. “The reality is that audiences want to see stories about women and people of colour – studios and film-makers do not have to choose between the two,” Smith said.
There also remains a gap in how women over the age of 45 are represented compared to men. Out of the year’s 100 top films there were eight led by an older woman compared to 21 that were led by an older man. “The consequences of a lack of representation do not only have cultural significance – they are an economic reality for women as well,” Smith said.
Last month also saw another report from Lauzen that showed that female representation behind the scenes remains low. In 2024, 70% of the top-grossing films had 10 or more men in key off-screen positions compared to just 8% for women.
This year’s upcoming female-led films hoping to score big at the box office include the John Wick spin-off Ballerina with Ana de Armas, the horror sequel M3gan 2.0, the comedy sequel Freakier Friday, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s horror reinvention The Bride! and the much-anticipated musical Wicked: For Good.
