Pink slipped
As the red carpet rolls out for the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, some might still be reeling from Barbie — the fuchsia phenomenon that ruled last summer’s box office — being snubbed in several nomination categories on the illustrious honors list, including best director and best actress. Regardless of whether you agree with the omissions (Barbie still scooped a coveted best picture nomination), the flick spearheaded Hollywood’s ‘pink wave’ in 2023, having grossed a mind-boggling $1.4 billion in theaters worldwide.
But widespread Barbie-mania may have obscured a notable decline in female representation on the silver screen: researchers at USC Annenberg found that 2023 marked a low point for women in film, with just 30 of the year’s top 100 highest-grossing films featuring women and girls in lead and co-lead roles, down from 44 the year before and the lowest figure seen in nearly 10 years.
Mixed pictures
Zooming in, cinema’s gender disparity becomes even more defined in older actor demographics. Indeed, of 2023’s 100 top-grossing movies, 32 featured men aged 45+ in lead/co-lead roles, compared to just 3 featuring women aged 45 and older — 7 fewer than in 2022. Behind the camera, a similar trend is observable: only 22% of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers on the 250 highest-grossing films of 2023 were women.
