Hollywood's top films were less diverse in 2025: 'Studios have relapsed into a colorblind complacency'
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Gender and racial representation on the big screen dipped once again in 2025, with the sharpest decline among women in lead roles, a new study found.The industry has failed “to better incorporate diversity,” according to the 2026 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, released Thursday.The study, which analyzed 109 of the top English-language theatrical film releases of 2025, found that racially diverse and gender diverse representation regressed despite reaching highs in previous years.Still, audiences of color and women contributed meaningfully to the box office, buying the majority of opening weekend tickets for at least four of the top 10 films last year.
Not embracing diversity means “studios are leaving money on the table and losing their chance to draw people back to theaters,” study co-author Michael Tran said in a statement.The number of women in lead roles nosedived to 37% among last year’s highest-grossing films, down about 10% from 2024 — a year in which the industry nearly reached gender parity.The share of lead roles held by people of color also declined slightly from 25% to 23%.
The sharp drop indicates that previous gains toward gender parity in film “have been largely cosmetic or tenuous,” Jade Abston, a UCLA doctoral candidate in cinema media studies who co-authored the study, said in a statement.“It’s like the progress women experienced disappeared,” Abston said.
Movies Despite the popularity of films like ‘Wicked,’ opportunities for people of color in Hollywood declined in 2024, according to the latest UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report.The data also “almost guaranteed more downward trends.Not just for diversity and gender parity in film, but also for the industry’s success,” Darnell Hunt, the executive vice chancellor and provost at UCLA, said in a statement.Movies with cast diversity enjoyed the most economic success.
Films in whic...