Study Reveals Accurate White Representation in Movies

For the first time since UCLA started its annual Hollywood Diversity Report a decade ago, the white share of the U.S. population is now accurately reflected in their onscreen representation, particularly in streaming movies. According to the latest study, while the white population stands at 56.4 per cent, their representation in streaming movies is at 51.7 per cent.

A magazine notes that this data comes from an analysis of 720 film roles last year, highlighting disparities among various BIPOC racial groups. Latinos, for instance, face the largest gap, with onscreen representation at 8.9 per cent versus their real-life proportion of around 19 per cent.

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The report also shows that gender and racial diversity among lead actors in streaming films reached new highs, with women making up 51 per cent and people of colour 45 per cent of lead roles in 2023. However, a significant majority of white women (77.5 per cent) and BIPOC leads (58.6 per cent) were featured in films with budgets under $20 million, whereas most white male leads (57.2 per cent) appeared in films with budgets exceeding this amount. 

Despite the progress in diversity, the streaming film industry still lags significantly in disability inclusion. Less than 5 per cent of all film roles across the top 100 English-language scripted streaming features were played by actors with known disabilities, and none of these actors were leads.

Behind the camera, there is a similar disparity. Female and BIPOC directors had more opportunities in streaming, directing 31 per cent of streaming movies, compared to 14.7 per cent for women and 22.9 per cent for people of colour in theatrical features. However, these directors were less likely to helm big-budget projects. Only 3.2 per cent of streaming films had budgets of $100 million or more, all directed by white men, and no woman directed a streaming movie with a budget over $50 million.

Michael Tran, a UCLA doctoral candidate and co-author of the study, stated that creators from diverse backgrounds face mixed opportunities. They may lead or participate in streaming projects, but financial support from studios is often limited, restricting their ability to demonstrate success.

Despite having fewer resources, movies with casts that accurately reflected proportionate representation (41 per cent to 50 per cent casts of colour) received the highest ratings across all audience demographics and garnered the most social media engagement. Streaming audiences themselves were predominantly women and/or people of colour, which was true for nine out of the top 10 films across all platforms.

Nonetheless, the streaming industry, much like the rest of Hollywood, needs significant improvement in disability inclusion.

-Sushmita Sarkar