The number of female protagonists on the big screen was down five percentage points in 2017, according to a new study.
The annual report on gender representation in film, from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, showed that out of the 100 highest-grossing films of the year, just 24% were led by women, down from 29% in 2016.
The year saw the three biggest films in the US all led by female characters: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Woman. But the study showed independent films were still more likely to provide women with bigger parts. They account for 65% of films with female leads.
The study shows that women accounted for 37% of major characters, unchanged from the year before. Women also represented 34% of all speaking characters, up from 32% in 2016.
There was minor improvement in the representation of women of color. The share of black female characters rose two percentage points to 16% thanks to hits like Girls Trip, and Latinas increased from 3% to 7%. The share of Asian women rose from 6% to 7%.
But there remains an age disparity. Men over 40 accounted for 46% of all male characters compared to just 29% for women.
While the majority of 2018’s big budget bets are centered around men, there are some films hoping to turn the tide. The year has already seen the final Fifty Shades film make $274m worldwide while next month sees the release of Ava DuVernay’s Disney adaptation A Wrinkle in Time, starring newcomer Storm Reid. Other female-led releases include Ocean’s 8 with Sandra Bullock and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake The Hustle starring Anne Hathaway.