Category: Research

Indie Women: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in U.S. Independent Film, 2023-24

• Indie Women: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in U.S. Independent Film, 2023-24

EXCERPT

This year’s Indie Women study tracked the employment of behind-the-scenes women working on independently and domestically produced feature-length documentaries and narrative films screening and/or streaming at 20 high-profile film festivals in the U.S.  While these fests continue to stream/screen more narrative films with male than female directors, for the first time they selected more documentaries with female than male directors in 2023-24.  The festivals streamed/screened an average of 11 narrative films directed exclusively by men and 7 directed by women.  However, the festivals screened/streamed an average of 9 documentaries directed by at least one woman and 8 directed exclusively by men.  Women achieved historic highs working as directors (45%) and writers (45%) on documentaries, while the percentages of women working on narrative features declined in every role considered in 2023-24.  Higher percentages of women worked as directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and cinematographers on documentaries than on narrative features.  Overall, women accounted for 44% of these behind-the-scenes individuals working on documentaries, even with 2022-23, and 32% of those working on narrative features, down from 35% in 2022-23.  The study also reports on women working as composers on independent films.  Women comprised 18% and men 82% of composers on independent features (narrative and documentary films).  Composers, who happen to be women, fared better on documentaries (24%) than on narrative features (15%).

Boxed In: Women On Screen and Behind the Scenes on Broadcast and Streaming Television in 2023-24

• Boxed In Report

Excerpt:

In 2023-24, the percentage of women working as creators on original television series appearing on broadcast networks and streaming services declined for the second year in a row.  Women comprised just 23% of creators last year, down from 26% in 2022-23, and 30% in 2021-22.  Unsurprisingly, the percentage of female characters in speaking and major roles also declined.  Females accounted for 43% of characters in speaking roles (major and minor), down from 44% in 2022-23, and 46% in 2021-22.  Females made up 45% of major characters in 2023-24, down from 48% in 2022-23, and 49% in 2021-22.  Female characters were younger than their male counterparts.  The majority of female characters were in their 20s and 30s, whereas the majority of male characters were in their 30s and 40s.  Viewers were also much more likely to see male characters 40 and older than females.  51% of male characters but 29% of females were 40+.  In behind-the-scenes roles, women comprised 34% of executive producers, 45% of producers, 33% of writers, 19% of directors, 19% of editors, and 8% of directors of photography.  

Living Archive: The Celluloid Ceiling Documenting 26 Years of Women’s Employment in U.S. Films 

• Living Archive: The Celluloid Ceiling Documenting 26 Years of Women’s Employment in U.S. Films report

EXCERPT

Since 1998, the annual Celluloid Ceiling study has tracked women’s employment in some of the core crafts of filmmaking, including directing, writing, producing, editing, and cinematography.  It is the longest-running and most comprehensive study of women’s behind-the-scenes employment available.  The Living Archive compiles the findings from every year of the project in a single reference document.  The takeaway from this report is that while the percentages of women working in the roles considered have risen over the last quarter century, many of those gains have been meager.  The percentage of women working as editors on the 250 top grossing films increased by a single point from 20% in 1998 to 21% in 2023.  The percentage of women working as producers climbed 2 points, from 24% in 1998 to 26% in 2023.  The percentage of women working as cinematographers rose just 3 points over the last 26 years, from 4% in 1998 to 7% in 2023.  The percentage of women writers increased 4 points from 13% in 1998 to 17% in 2023.  The percentage of women working as executive producers rose 6 points from 18% in 1998 to 24% in 2023.  Directors, who have received the lion’s share of attention on industry panels and in media reports, experienced the largest increase, climbing 7 percentage points from 9% in 1998 to 16% in 2023.  The extended timeline highlighted in this report provides a sobering historical record of the unrelenting underemployment of women in the U.S. mainstream film industry.

It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top Grossing U.S. Films of 2023

• It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World report

EXCERPT

It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World has monitored portrayals of girls and women in the top 100 grossing films since 2002.  It is the longest-running and most comprehensive study of women’s representation in film available.  The percentage of females in speaking roles declined from 37% in 2022 to 35% in 2023, and the number of female characters in major roles remained the same at 38%.  The percentage of films with female protagonists contracted from 33% in 2022 to 28% in 2023.  77% of films featured more male than female characters in speaking roles. Only 18% of films had more female than male characters, and 5% of films featured equal numbers of female and male characters.  Female characters were younger than their male counterparts, experiencing a precipitous drop from their 30s to their 40s.  33% of female characters were in their 30s but only 15% were in their 40s.  The percentage of male characters in their 30s and 40s remained steady at 28%, and men didn’t experience a decline until they reached their 50s.  Females over 60 remained dramatically underrepresented, accounting for just 7% of all female characters.  Films with at least one woman director and/or writer were more likely than films with no women in these roles to feature higher percentages of females as protagonists, in major roles, and as speaking characters.

The Celluloid Ceiling: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes Women on Top Grossing U.S. Films in 2023

• The Celluloid Ceiling Report

Excerpt:

The Celluloid Ceiling has tracked women’s employment on the 250 top (domestic) grossing films for the last 26 years and provides the most comprehensive historical record of women’s employment in behind-the-scenes roles available.  Overall, women accounted for 22% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the 250 top grossing films.  This represents a decline of 2 percentage points from 24% in 2022.  Taking the long view, it represents an increase of just 5 percentage points since 1998. By role, women made up 16% of directors, 17% of writers, 26% of producers, 24% of executive producers, 21% of editors, and 7% of cinematographers working on the 250 top grossing films.  Films with at least one woman director employed substantially more women in other key behind-the-scenes roles than films with exclusively male directors.  The report also includes the percentages of women working on the 100 top grossing films.

Streaming Women: Representation and Employment in Original U.S. Films Released by Streaming Services in 2022

• Streaming Women report

EXCERPT

In 2022, more original U.S. films on major streaming services featured female than male protagonists.  49% (49.4%) of films featured sole female protagonists, 38% (38.3%) of films featured sole male protagonists, and 12% (12.3%) of films had ensembles.  Females comprised 44% (43.8%) of major characters, and 40% (40.1%) of all speaking characters.   The report also considers the representation of women in behind-the-scenes roles.  In 2022, women comprised 26% of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers.  By role, women accounted for 8% of cinematographers, 22% of directors, 23% of writers, 27% of producers, 29% of executive producers, and 30% of editors.   The study reports the findings of a content analysis of over 1,800 characters and more than 1,100 behind-the-scenes credits on original U.S. films released by Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max and Netflix in 2022.  It is the only study currently available that provides 2022 data for the major streaming companies.

Thumbs Down 2022: Film Critics and Gender, and Why It Matters

• Thumbs Down 2022

Excerpt:

First conducted in 2007, Thumbs Down considers the representation of individuals working for print, radio/television, and online outlets in the U.S. and whose reviews appear on the Rotten Tomatoes website.  The study found that male reviewers now outnumber female reviewers by more than 2 to 1.  In the opening months of 2022, men comprised 69% (69.2%), women 31% (30.5%), and nonbinary individuals 0.3% of reviewers.  For women, this represents a decline of 4 percentage points from 35% in 2020.  Further, male critics outnumber female critics in every job category, type of media outlet, and film genre considered.  The findings indicate that men reviewers award slightly higher average quantitative ratings to films with male protagonists than women reviewers, films directed by women comprise a smaller proportion of reviews by men than women, and that when reviewing films directed by someone of their own gender, male and female critics are more likely to mention the name of the director in their review.  Over the years, Thumbs Down has considered over 29,000 reviews written by more than 1,900 reviewers.  This year’s edition examined more than 4,000 reviews written by over 330 individuals. It is the most comprehensive and longest-running study of women’s representation and impact as film reviewers available.  

The Celluloid Ceiling II: Production Design, Production Management, Sound Design, Key Grips, and Gaffers

• The Celluloid Ceiling II Report

EXCERPT

For over a decade, The Celluloid Ceiling study has tracked women’s representation as directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers on the top 250 domestic grossing films. In an effort to assess the larger picture of women’s employment in film, this study monitored their representation as production designers (20%), production managers/production supervisors (25%/44%), sound designers/supervising sound editors (5%/5%), key grips (1%), and gaffers (1%).

The study analyzed behind-the-scenes employment of 1,318 individuals working on the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2008 with combined box office grosses of approximately $9.4 billion.

Women @ the Box Office

• The Women @ the Box Office Report

EXCERPT

This study asked two basic questions: how do films with at least one woman working in a key behind-the-scenes role fare at the box office when compared to those employing only men in the same roles, and how do films featuring female protagonists fare at the box office when compared to those featuring males.

Examining the top 100 worldwide grossing films of 2007, the study found that when women and men filmmakers have similar budgets for their films, the resulting box office grosses are also similar. In other words, the sex of filmmakers does not determine box office grosses.

In addition, when the size of the budget is held constant, films with female protagonists or prominent females in an ensemble cast earn similar box office grosses (domestic, international, opening weekend) and DVD sales as films with male protagonists. Because films featuring male protagonists have larger budgets, they earn larger box office grosses. However, the differences in box office grosses are not caused by the sex of the protagonist but by the size of the budget. Films with larger budgets generate larger grosses, regardless of the sex of the protagonist.