Gender and racial representation on the big screen dipped once again in 2025, with the sharpest decline among women in lead roles, a new study found.
The industry has failed “to better incorporate diversity,” according to the 2026 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, released Thursday. The study, which analyzed 109 of the top English-language theatrical film releases of 2025, found that racially diverse and gender diverse representation regressed despite reaching highs in previous years.
Still, audiences of color and women contributed meaningfully to the box office, buying the majority of opening weekend tickets for at least four of the top 10 films last year.
Not embracing diversity means “studios are leaving money on the table and losing their chance to draw people back to theaters,” study co-author Michael Tran said in a statement.
The number of women in lead roles nosedived to 37% among last year’s highest-grossing films, down about 10% from 2024 — a year in which the industry nearly reached gender parity. The share of lead roles held by people of color also declined slightly from 25% to 23%.
The sharp drop indicates that previous gains toward gender parity in film “have been largely cosmetic or tenuous,” Jade Abston, a UCLA doctoral candidate in cinema media studies who co-authored the study, said in a statement.
“It’s like the progress women experienced disappeared,” Abston said.
The data also “almost guaranteed more downward trends. Not just for diversity and gender parity in film, but also for the industry’s success,” Darnell Hunt, the executive vice chancellor and provost at UCLA, said in a statement.
Movies with cast diversity enjoyed the most economic success. Films in which 41% to 50% of the cast were people of color had the highest median domestic and global box office hauls and, on average, secured top spots at the box office during opening weekend, the study found.
Audiences of color also over-indexed as ticket buyers for movies with high cast diversity, indicating that audiences who are Black, Indigenous and people of color flock to theaters when they feel represented, according to the study.
“The industry cannot afford to turn away from women and people of color during this time when the theatrical industry is still struggling,” Ana-Christina Ramón, director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA, said in a statement.
This is especially important as Hollywood struggles to top the global box office, the study found. The highest-grossing film globally in 2025 was the Chinese animated movie “Ne Zha 2,” only the second time a film produced outside of Hollywood has taken the top spot.
Film production in Hollywood has slowed following years of uncertainty due to the dual actors’ and writers’ strikes and COVID-19. Attracting these demographics “will be integral to the major studios’ survival in the next decade,” Ramón said.
People of color found small gains in other film jobs, including directors, writers and actors. They, however, are still underrepresented in each field. The number of movies with at least one female writer rose by 4% to 27% — the only area where women gained ground in 2025.
The percentage of actors with known disabilities in top films rose slightly among film leads and in total actors. There were no lead actors with visible disabilities among last year’s major theatrical releases.
The report highlighted “Sinners” — Ryan Coogler’s vampire horror hit — as a film that “hit all the right notes.” “Sinners,” the highest-grossing original movie in 15 years, features a diverse cast and has made waves during awards season, snagging an Actor Award for best ensemble. The film broke Oscar records with 16 nominations, including for best picture. At least half, if not more, of opening weekend tickets for the film were purchased by audiences of color.
The horror genre is a favorite among Black and Latino viewers, and has the highest median return on investment, the study found.
The success of films like “Sinners” is proof that hiring and supporting filmmakers of color “is warranted and should be increased,” Ramón said.
“Each year, we challenge the industry to break out of old patterns,” Hunt said. “But as the country experiences a powerful blowback against diversity, the studios have relapsed into a colorblind complacency.”
The number of films with directors of color rose slightly to 22% in 2025, while the number of women directors dropped by 5% to 10%.
A Black filmmaker has never won the Oscar for directing. Four directors of Asian descent have received the honor, including Ang Lee, who won twice. There have been three Latino winners, including Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu, who each claimed the top award twice.
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