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Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Streaming films top theatrical when it comes to diversity, new Hollywood study shows
A new study shows that there is one place in Hollywood where diversity efforts have been successful — streaming films. Released Wednesday, Part 2 of UCLA's 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report has found that the proportion of women and people of color working in key entertainment jobs has increased since the previous edition of the annual study. The report also found that a majority of the top 20 streaming-only films released in 2024 featured diverse casts. 'People across the country support diverse films regardless of whether it's in a theater or from the comfort of their couch,' Ana-Christina Ramón, the report's co-founder and the director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA, said in a statement. Part 1 of the 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report, released in February, similarly found that theatrical films with casts that reflect the diversity of the real world performed better at the box office. 'Streaming platforms are one of the few places where the stories and faces that reflect the people of this country can be found on and off screen,' she added. According to the study, one out of two leads were played by actors of color in the year's top streaming movies. Broadly speaking, people of color as well as women in lead streaming film roles exceeded proportional representation. Actors of color starred in 51% of the top streaming releases in 2024 (up from 45% in 2023). In comparison, actors of color accounted for 25.2% of lead roles in the top theatrical films of 2024 (down from 29.2%). People of color account for 44.3% of the U.S. population. But when the actors' demographics are broken down further, the study shows that Latinx and Asian actors are still underrepresented among lead streaming roles. Latinx actors accounted for 6% of lead streaming roles, while Asian actors accounted for just 2%. (According to census data, 19.5% of the U.S. population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, and 6.4% as Asian.) Women, who represented 51% of streaming film leads in 2023, saw an increase to 61% in 2024. The study also found that while actors with known disabilities gained ground in 2024, they remain underrepresented on screen. This latest UCLA study examined 100 of the top English-language streaming films released in 2024 as well as 175 film deals that were documented that year. Among the information analyzed were the demographics of the actors, writers and directors involved in the films and deals as well as movie genre and budget. Much like the findings in the UCLA's theatrical report, the streaming report found that women and people of color drove viewership of the top 2024 streaming films. 'Our data shows that diverse storytellers and actors draw in and engage people from every demographic,' Jade Abston, the report's co-author and a doctoral candidate in cinema media studies, said in a statement. 'They're not just watching it — they're sharing it with their social media followers and talking about it online.' One key difference between streaming and theatrical movies, the study shows, is the overall budget of the films. The study found that while 65.5% of top streaming releases in 2024 had budgets under $20 million, 65.3% of theatrical films that year had budgets higher than that — 26% had budgets of $100 million or more. A mere 4.4% of streaming films had budgets in that range in 2024. The report also found that the proportion of people of color in directing and writing roles on streaming films saw an increase in 2024. Thirty percent of top streaming films had writers of color, while 41% were helmed by directors of color. Women, on the other hand, saw a drop to 28% of directors and 37% of writers, from 31% and 41% in 2023, respectively. Read the full report here.
Los Angeles Times
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Hollywood diversity in decline despite audience demand, study finds: ‘The writing was on the wall'
A new study examining the top films of 2024 has found that Hollywood is backsliding on its diversity efforts. The 2025 edition of the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, released Thursday, has determined that the proportion of people of color working in key entertainment roles dropped compared to their white counterparts in every area between 2023 and 2024. This is despite findings that also show that films with casts that reflect the diversity of the real world performed better at the box office. 'Last year, we celebrated some historic highs for people of color in the industry,' Ana-Christina Ramón, the report's co-founder 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 latest UCLA study examined 104 of the top English-language theatrical releases from 2024 to analyze the demographics of actors, writers, directors and even ticket buyers. The study tracked global and domestic box office figures as well as film genres. Researchers found that among the top films, those with more racially diverse casts tended to perform better at the global box office than those with less diverse casts. Films in which 41-50% of cast members were people of color — such as 'Wicked,' 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' and 'A Quiet Place: Day One' — were found to have the highest median global box office earnings. These movies also tended to be released in more international markets. Similarly, the study determined that the majority of moviegoers keeping the industry afloat are people of color. Filmgoers of color were found to have purchased the majority of domestic opening weekend tickets for seven of the top 10 films and 12 of the top 20 films released in theaters in 2024. 'Diversity is a key part of the big financial picture,' Jade Abston, one of the study's co-authors and a doctoral candidate in cinema and media studies at UCLA, said in a statement. 'Diversity travels. When a film lacks diverse faces and perspectives, it's just not as appealing here and abroad.' Despite these findings, the study shows that people of color remain underrepresented as film leads, directors, writers and total actors in these Hollywood films. Actors of color accounted for 25.2% of lead roles in the top theatrical films of 2024, which is down from 29.2% in 2023. People of color account for 44.3% of the U.S. population. The number of films directed by people of color also dropped in 2024 compared to 2023. Directors of color accounted for 20.2% of 2024 movies, compared to 22.9% of films the year before. These findings come amid the contraction that has reduced the number of Hollywood productions and jobs as well as the current trend of companies and studios rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the wake of President Trump's return to office is. 'The writing was on the wall, as we previously saw the loss of executive positions and programs focused on diversity,' Darnell Hunt, co-founder of the report and the executive vice chancellor and provost at UCLA, said in a statement. '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.' The study did find some positive trends. After two years of decline, women accounted for 47.6% of lead performers in 2024 — closer to parity with men compared to 2023 (32.1% of leads). Meanwhile, women directors accounted for 15.4% of films in 2024, which is similar to the previous year's findings at 14.7%. Read the full report here.
