Hollywood diversity in decline, study shows
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LOS ANGELES – Film studios last year retreated from racial and ethnic diversity in front of and behind the camera, even as women and people of color continued to drive opening weekend ticket sales, according to a new UCLA study.
The latest Hollywood Diversity Report from UCLA found that opportunities for people of color fell across the board in 2024, a reversal from the gains seen in recent years. Women saw an increase in their share of lead roles, but experienced a drop in the writing room.
The report, now in its 12th year of analyzing movies, television and audiences, focused on the top 200 movies released globally in theaters last year, showing shifts in industry progress, with attention paid to data and trends on race and ethnicity, gender and disability status around key job categories.
The researchers looked at theater audiences, exploring the offerings they wanted to see, and the apparent disconnect between audience preferences and studio offerings.
The report’s authors found that films like Jon M. Chu’s Oscar-nominated “Wicked” and the Lupita Nyong’o-starring “A Quiet Place: Day One” demonstrate how diversity on screen appeals to wide audiences.
The study also determined that domestically and worldwide, films “reflective of a multitude of identities” did better at the box office than less-diverse projects, proving them to be superior investments.
“Last year, we celebrated some historic highs for people of color in the industry,” Ana-Christina Ramón, co-founder of the report and director of UCLA’s Entertainment and Media Research Initiative, said in a statement.
“But 2024 saw a widespread reversal, as film studios retreated from racial and ethnic diversity in front of and behind the camera.”
The study suggested the industry continues to struggle in the wake of the pandemic and the weight of the 2023 actors and writers strikes, and “the retreat from diversity was swift.”
“The writing was on the wall, as we previously saw the loss of executive positions and programs focused on diversity,” said report co-founder Darnell Hunt, who is also the executive vice chancellor and provost at UCLA.
“For the studios, it seems that it wasn’t about investing in what our data has shown to be profitable. They went with what they considered safe.”
Last year saw a reduction in wide releases, with only 104 English-language films among the top 200 globally, down from the 109 studied in 2023.
The study determined that 20 of those films mainly came from franchises, with only three, including the animated
“The Wild Robot,” were not a part of an established film series.
Horror (21.2%) and drama (19.2%) rose to become the most popular genres of films, overtaking action and comedy.
According to the report, diversity — particularly people of color — remains a driving factor in opening weekend box office success. People of color led domestic ticket sales as the majority audience for 12 of the top 20 films, including seven of the top 10, the Hollywood Diversity Report found.
Women also made up the majority of ticket buyers for eight of the top 20 movies during opening weekends.
Among the top 20 films where white audiences made up the greatest share of opening weekend box-office sales, only one — “Wicked” at No. 20 — ranked No. 1 for its opening weekend.
According to the report, films that most reflected the country’s population — now estimated to be 44.3% people of color according to the US Census — outperformed other top releases, both domestically and internationally.
“Diversity is a key part of the big financial picture,” said Jade Abston, one of the report’s co-authors and a doctoral candidate in cinema media studies at UCLA. “Diversity travels. When a film lacks diverse faces and perspectives, it’s just not as appealing here and abroad.”
Films that were in the 11 percent to 20 percent cast diversity range saw the lowest median global box-office sales at $33.3 million, the study determined.
The full report can be found here.
