new york –
As Hollywood emerged from the pandemic, its biggest film productions were steeped in diversity after years of incremental progress, according to a new study by UCLA researchers. Streaming his platform has noticeably more opportunities for women and people of color than for movies released theatrically.
The annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, published Thursday, presented one of the most in-depth studies yet of how the film industry formed and, in many ways, set back during the pandemic. Analysis of films released in 2022 finds that ethnic and gender inclusivity in feature films returns to 2019 or 2018 levels in many measures, increasing equity on screen and behind the camera I discovered that the trending graph had turned downward.
The film industry has tried to win back moviegoers in 2022, but it is doing so by relying more on films starring and directed by white men, despite considerable evidence that more diverse films attract larger audiences. Did. Black, Latino and Asian American moviegoers make up nearly half of the frequent movie-goers and are often the majority of blockbuster ticket buyers.
The film industry is still recovering well into 2022, with fewer major releases and box office returns back to around 67% of pre-pandemic levels. While the 2022 film year triumphed with “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which won the best picture award for Asian-American representatives at the Academy Awards, researchers say opportunities for women and people of color We are looking at a potential tipping point where is reserved for lower-budget streaming movies.
“It definitely wasn’t an industry that came all the way back, but I really think it shows the big picture of the two-tier system that was created,” said the director of UCLA’s Entertainment and Media Research Initiative, which produces the report. says one Anacristina Ramon. “What will be interesting is what happens in 2023 if this divergence continues.”
“The fear is that the variety is either temporary or it could easily be cut at some point in theaters or streaming,” Ramon said, adding that streaming services have been on the rise for years. It mentions that they are currently scaling back their original production after experiencing tremendous growth.
In theatrical releases, 22% of the lead actors, 17% of the directors, and 12% of the writers were of color. Women accounted for 39 percent of lead actors and 15 percent of directors. That’s about twice as many as a decade ago, but the numbers are close to her numbers five years ago and still easily overtakes the US demographic. Women make a profit in writing, making up 27 percent of writers for 2022 theatrical releases, up from 17 percent in 2019. But she’s the only woman of color to write the best feature film in 2022.
At the same time, streaming releases are becoming more inclusive, with more movies with diverse casts and more female leads. 64% of his original streaming releases in 2022 were over 30% non-white, as opposed to 57% for the theatrical release. About a third of the leads in popular streaming movies were people of color. That’s nearly 12% more than feature films, but still about 10% below the demographic. By 2022, the number of female leads (49%) in streaming movies will be nearly on par with males.
But given the budget levels that tend to be higher for theatrical releases, the researchers found some of the biggest disparities. They made up 73% of theatrically released films, usually (60%) with budgets over $30 million.
Female filmmakers and directors of color tended to have lower budgets. Movies directed by white women typically (56%) had budgets less than $20 million. For a colored film director, her 76% budget for streaming movies was less than her $20 million.
“In the midst of industry volatility, we see the culture that Hollywood has always relied on when it needs a sure hit,” says Ramon. Something they can be comfortable with. “
