Hollywood hits a major milestone: 2024 had as many movies with female protagonists as male protagonists | Hollywood

The conversation surrounding gender equality in Hollywood has been a longstanding one, with industry stakeholders pushing for greater representation and inclusivity over the past few years. Now, it appears that this dialogue is finally translating into a change. Also read: Women continue to lag in entertainment industry

In a significant breakthrough, the film industry achieved a major milestone in 2024, as the percentage of top-grossing films featuring female protagonists reached parity with the percentage of films boasting male protagonists, marking a historic first in recent history.

Hollywood hits a milestone

According to the latest installment of Dr. Martha Lauzen‘s annual It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World report, 42% of the 100 top-grossing films domestically had female protagonists while another 42% had male protagonists. As per Deadline, the remaining 16% featured ensembles.

As per Hollywood Reporter, two more studies, one conducted at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and one at San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, highlighted the same finding.

The USC study stated that, across the top 100 movies at the North American box office in 2024, more than half (54) featured a story that was focused on a female lead, including movies like Pixar’s Inside Out 2, led by Amy Poehler; Disney’s Moana 2, with Auliʻi Cravalho; Universal’s Wicked, with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo; and Paramount’s A Quiet Place: Day One, starring Lupita Nyong’o.

The number is higher than in 2023, when 30% of movies had a female lead.

“We’re seeing a real shift in sensibility. This is the first time we can say that gender equality has been reached in top-grossing films,” said Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

The studio that released the most female-led films in 2024 was Universal, under chairwoman Donna Langley, with 10 movies, or 66.7 percent of its slate female-led, followed by Warner Bros (55.6 percent), Lionsgate (54.5 percent), Paramount (44.4 percent), Disney (40 percent) and Sony (38.5 percent).

More about the report

In 2024, many female actors over 50 played powerful roles, including Demi Moore in The Substance. However, ageism remains an issue, with men still getting a larger percentage of roles as the ages of characters increase.

The percentage of female characters declined from 35% in their 30s to 16% in their 40s. In stark contrast, the percentage of male characters increased as they moved from their 30s (25%) to their 40s (31%). More than twice as many male characters as females were 50 and older.