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It’s no secret that the film industry took a hit during the pandemic.
While the movie business was somewhat back to normal in 2022, it seems like it lost its footing regarding representation on screen.
That’s according to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report.
Diversity in leading roles for theatrical releases has lowered to 2018 and 2019 numbers said the report.
During a time of uncertainty, studios leaned on “surefire” hits, which tapped into nostalgia or previous intellectual property.
They also limited the number of theatrical releases, which capped opportunities for some filmmakers.
“The idea that diversity on the big screen is somehow an inherently ‘riskier’ business proposition— which this report series debunked years ago —seemed to rear its ugly head again in 2022,” the report said.
This led to studios choosing white male directors for bigger projects. They made up 73% of film directors in theatrical release, in films that had a budget above $30 million.
For theatrical releases, people of color consisted of 22% of leading actors, 17% of directors, and 12% of writers.
Women consisted of 39% of lead actors and 15% of directors.
When it came to streaming, it was more inclusive.
In 2022, 64% of original streaming releases had casts that were more than 30% non-white as opposed to 57% of theatrical releases.
Roughly a third of leads in top streaming films went to people of color, that’s about 12% more than in theatrical films.
With all that being said, U.S. moviegoers are increasingly diverse.
People of color accounted for the majority of opening weekend and domestic ticket sales for six of the top 10 films released in theaters in 2022, according to the report.
The audience then went to films with a diverse cast.
“In 2022, theatrical films with casts that were from 31% to 40% minority, enjoyed the highest median global box office receipts, while films with casts that were less than 11% minority (echoing a pattern evident the last three years) were the poorest performers.”
In the end, the annual series of reports advised studios that “diversity should be a first-order business imperative for the film industry — for both theatrical and streaming releases.”
“Diversity is the key to competing globally and staying relevant domestically,” the report continued. Now is the time to push forward and renew a commitment to invest in the communities that have long invested in Hollywood.”
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