Movies like Inside Out 2, The Substance, and Wicked were huge at the box office in 2024. They were also stories that starred women that drew a wide demographic of viewers, ultimately helping achieve gender parity for protagonist representation for the first time in a long time. The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University released a study that said that out of the 100 top US domestic-grossing films in 2024, 42% had female protagonists, and 42% had male protagonists. The same study found that the percentage of female characters in speaking roles increased from 35% in 2023 to 37% in 2024. The percentage of major female characters rose a single percentage point, from 38% in 2023 to 39% in 2024. While those numbers aren't huge, I think the parity number is actually very important. This is a big deal because numbers have been dwindling in the past few years, as studios made fewer films. Coupled with this study comes the annual Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study, which delivered great news that 54% of the top 100 films at the box office in 2024 featured girls and women as protagonists. To put that into perspective, the 2023 number was only 30%. So that's a major change. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, said of the new numbers, “In 2024, three of the top five films had a girl or woman in a leading role, as did five of the top...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Tuesday, 11 February