The overall percentage of female leads in top-grossing films may have grown, but it pales in percentage to their share of the population and of the moviegoing audience. Women comprise 51% of the population in the U.S. and Canada and 50% of ticket-buyers. The same holds true with underrepresented groups, who account for 39.3% of the U.S. population. Moreover, Latinos and Asians account for a disproportionate amount of ticket sales.
That represented an increase of eight films from the previous year and 20 movies from 2007. It is the highest percentage of female-driven films in 12 years. Hollywood has been under public pressure in recent years to tell more stories that feature women and people of color. Some of that advocacy appears to be producing results; recent hits such as “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” scored with audiences in part because they were inclusive.
