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Study shows ‘catastrophic’ 10-year low for female representation in film


Despite Barbie’s success, study shows that out of 2023’s top 100 films, only 30 were led or co-led by women, down from 44 in 2022

Despite the $1.4bn success of Barbie, last year’s top 100 films saw just 30 feature a female lead or co-lead, the worst result since 2014 according to a new study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. “This is a catastrophic step back for girls and women in film,” Dr Stacy L Smith, research head, said in a statement. Despite a number of major female-lead films moving to 2024, such as Luca Guadagnino’s romantic drama Challengers starring Zendaya, the study’s authors do not believe this to be the reason, writing that “we cannot explain the collapse” and calling it “an industry failure”.

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