Hollywood has undoubtedly seen a strong cultural shift since the Me Too and Time’s Up movements exposed systemic misogyny within the industry and society at large. It’s also true, that movies and their audience are often a reflection of our societal values; which is why a new study that shows we much prefer seeing women at the helm of a film than a man, is utterly heartwarming news.
A new study released on Tuesday revealed that female-led movies outperformed male-led films at the box office from 2014 to 2017.
The study was a collaboration between the Creative Artists Agency and technology company Shift7 and a number of women within the entertainment industry and was first conducted in an effort to improve the portrayal of women in media and entertainment.
Former Sony Pictures Chairman Amy Pascal said that the study reflects what the audience wants to see in cinema today, “This is powerful proof that audiences want to see everyone represented on screen, decision-makers in Hollywood need to pay attention to this.”
The study focused on 350 top-grossing films released between 2014 to 2017 across five different budget levels ranging from a budget of under $10 million to a budget of over $100 million. To be counted as ‘female-led’ women had to be listed as the lead actor.
The study showed that movies with a female lead were more successful across all five budgets, large and small.
Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot was one of the top female-led movies during the survey period with $821 million in worldwide box office.
It’s always nice to read a study with such a positive spin!
