It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World 2018
1
It’s a Man’s (Celluloid)
World: Portrayals of
Female Characters in the
Top Grossing Films of 2018
by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen
Copyright © 2019– All rights reserved.
Male characters continued to dominate
on the big screen in 2018. While only
35% of films featured 10 or more female
characters in speaking roles, 82% had 10
or more male characters in speaking
roles.
Females comprised 35% of all speaking
characters, an increase of 1 percentage
point from 34% in 2017. Males
accounted for 65% of speaking
characters. Overall, audiences were
almost twice as likely to see male
characters as female characters in the top
grossing films of 2018 (see Figure 1).
In 2018, females accounted for 36% of
major characters. This represents a
decline of 1 percentage point from 37%
in 2017. Males comprised 64% of
major characters (see Figure 2).
The percentage of top grossing films
featuring female protagonists increased
to 31% in 2018, rebounding from 24% in
2017, and slightly besting the 29%
achieved in 2016. It is a recent historical
high. Males accounted for 52% of
protagonists, and 17% were ensembles.
The percentage of Black females
increased from 16% in 2017 to 21% in
2018. This is a recent historical high.
The percentage of Latinas decreased
from 7% in 2017 to 4% in 2018.
The percentage of Asian females
increased from 7% in 2017 to 10% in
2018. However, it should be noted that
this increase is due largely to one film,
Crazy Rich Asians. When this film is
excluded from the analysis, Asians
accounted for 8% of all female
characters, only 1 percentage point
above the 7% achieved in 2017.
The following summary reports the
findings of a content analysis of over
2,500 characters appearing in the 100
top domestic grossing films of 2018.
This report provides historical
comparisons from last year with figures
dating back to 2002. Overall, this
analysis considers the representation of
more than 18,500 characters appearing
in approximately 800 films.
Figure 1. Percentages of Females and
Males as Speaking Characters
Figure 2. Percentages of Females and
Males as Major Characters
65%
35%
Males
Females
64%
36%
Males
Females
It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World 2018
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The findings are divided into four major
sections. The first section reports the
percentages of female and male
characters in top grossing films. The
second section details various
demographic traits of characters,
including age, race/ethnicity, marital
status, and occupational status. The
third section reports the goals and
leadership positions held by characters.
The fourth section discusses important
relationships between on-screen
representations of female characters and
behind-the-scenes employment of
women as directors and writers.
Findings/Percentages of Female and
Male Characters
•More films featured female characters
as clearly identifiable sole protagonists
in 2018 (31%) than in 2017 (24%) or
2016 (29%). It is a recent historical
high. Males comprised 52% of
protagonists, and 17% were ensembles.
For the purposes of this study,
protagonists are the characters from
whose perspective the story is told.
•Sole female protagonists were more
than twice as likely to appear in
independent features (68%) as studio
features (32%). Sole male protagonists
were more likely to appear in studio
features than in independent features
(54% and 46% respectively). Ensemble
protagonists were more likely to appear
in studio features than in independent
features (53% and 47% respectively).
•Female protagonists were most likely to
appear in comedies (32%), followed by
dramas (29%), horror films (19%),
science fiction features (10%), action
features (7%), and films in other genres
(3%). Male protagonists were most
likely to appear in dramas (31%),
followed by action features (21%),
science fiction features (15%), comedies
(14%), animated features (14%), horror
features (4%), and films in other genres
(1%).
•Females accounted for 36% of major
characters (see Figure 3). This
represents a decline of 1 percentage
point from 37% in 2017. Males
comprised 64% of major characters. For
the purposes of this study, major
characters appear in more than one scene
and are instrumental to the action of the
story.
Figure 3. Historical Comparison of
Percentages of Females and Males as
Major Characters
73
67
71
66
63
63
64
27
33
29
34
37
37
36
0 50 100
Females
Males
It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World 2018
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•Females comprised 35% of all speaking
characters in 2018 (see Figure 4). This
represents an increase of 1 percentage
point from 34% in 2017. Males
accounted for 65% of speaking
characters. Overall, audiences were
almost twice as likely to see male
characters as female characters.
•13% of films featured 0 to 4 female
characters in speaking roles, 52% had 5
to 9 females, and 35% had 10 or more
females. In contrast, 6% of films
featured 0 to 4 male characters in
speaking roles, 12% had 5 to 9 males,
and 82% had 10 or more males.
Figure 4. Historical Comparison of
Female and Male Characters as
Speaking Characters
Findings/Demographic Characteristics
•Female characters remained younger
than their male counterparts (see Figure
5). The majority of female characters
were in their 20s (29%) and 30s (28%).
The majority of male characters were in
their 30s (35%) and 40s (25%).
•Males 40 and over accounted for 45%
of all male characters. Females 40 and
over comprised 31% of all female
characters.
•13% of females were under 20, 29%
were in their 20s, 28% were in their 30s,
16% were in their 40s, 8% were in their
50s, and 7% were in their 60s or older.
Figure 5. Comparison of Ages for
Female and Male Characters
72
73
70
67
68
66
65
28
27
30
33
32
34
35
0 50 100
Females
Males
9
11
25
35
11
10
7
8
16
28
29
13
0 20 40
60s+
50s
40s
30s
20s
Under 20
Females
Males
It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World 2018
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•10% of males were under 20, 11% were
in their 20s, 35% were in their 30s, 25%
were in their 40s, 11% were in their 50s,
and 9% were in their 60s or older.
•In 2018, 65% of all female characters
with speaking roles were White, 21%
were Black, 4% were Latina, 10% were
Asian, and 1% were other (see Figure 6).
68% of all male characters were White,
20% were Black, 5% were Latino, 7%
were Asian, and 1% were other.
•65% of all female characters were
White in 2018. This represents a decline
of 3 percentage points from 68% in 2017
(see Figure 7).
•21% of all female characters were
Black in 2018. This represents an
increase of 5 percentage points from
16% in 2017, and is a recent historical
high.
Figure 6. Comparison of Race/Ethnicity
for Female and Male Characters
•4% of all female characters were Latina
in 2018. This represents a decrease of 3
percentage points from 7% in 2017.
•10% of all female characters were
Asian in 2018. This represents an
increase of 3 percentage points from 7%
in 2017. However, it should be noted
that this increase is due largely to one
film, Crazy Rich Asians. When this film
is excluded from the analysis, Asians
accounted for 8% of all female
characters, only 1 percentage point
above the 7% achieved in 2017.
Similarly, the percentage of male Asian
characters drops from 7% with Crazy
Rich Asians to 6% without. This is just
1 percentage point above the 5%
achieved in 2017.
•In 2018, 70% of major female
characters were white, 18% were Black,
4% were Latina, and 8% were Asian.
Figure 7. Historical Comparison of
Race/Ethnicity for Female Characters
1
7
5
20
68
1
10
4
21
65
0 50 100
Other
Asian
Latino/a
Black
White
Females
Males
6
6
4
14
76
2
7
7
16
68
1
10
4
21
65
0 50 100
Other
Asian
Latino/a
Black
White
It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World 2018
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•Female characters were more likely
than male characters to have a known
marital status. 47% of female characters
but 36% of male characters had a known
marital status.
•A larger proportion of male than female
characters had an identifiable
occupation. 76% of male characters but
62% of female characters had an
identifiable job or occupation.
•A larger portion of male than female
characters were seen in their work
setting, actually working (62% vs. 46%).
Findings/Goals and Leadership
•Male characters were more likely than
females to have work-related goals (70%
vs. 30%). Female characters were more
likely than males to have goals related to
their personal lives (54% vs. 46%).
•Male characters were more likely than
females to be seen in primarily work-
related roles (64% vs. 44%). Female
characters were more likely than males
to be seen in primarily personal life-
related roles (48% vs. 30%).
•Overall, 7% of characters were leaders.
For the purposes of this study, leaders
are those individuals occupying a
leadership position in an organization,
government or group and whose
instructions and/or behaviors are
followed by two or more other
characters.
•Females comprised 26% of leaders,
while males accounted for 74% of
leaders.
Figure 8. Comparison of Female and
Male Characters Portrayed as Leaders
•Broken down by type of leader, females
were most likely to be social leaders
(44% vs. males 56%), followed by
religious/spiritual leaders (33% vs.
males 67%), white collar leaders (31%
vs. males 69%), political leaders (24%
vs. males 76%), professional leaders
(22% vs. males 78%), blue collar leaders
(18% vs. males 82%), and criminal
leaders (17% vs. males 83%) (see Figure
8).
83
82
78
76
69
67
56
17
18
22
24
31
33
44
0 50 100
Criminal
Blue Collar
Professional
Political
White Collar
Clergy
Social
Females
Males
It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World 2018
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Findings/Behind-the-Scenes
Employment and On-Screen
Representation
•In films with at least one woman
director and/or writer, females
comprised 57% of protagonists. In films
with exclusively male directors and/or
writers, females accounted for 21% of
protagonists (see Figure 9).
•In films with at least one woman
director and/or writer, females
comprised 47% of major characters. In
films with exclusively male directors
and/or writers, females accounted for
32% of major characters.
•In films with at least one woman
director and/or writer, females
comprised 43% of all speaking
characters. In films with exclusively
male directors and/or writers, females
accounted for 32% of all speaking
characters.
Figure 9. Comparison of Representation
of Female Characters in Films with At
Least One Woman Director and/or
Writer and Films with Exclusively Male
Directors and/or Writers
Figures based on top grossing films as rated by
Box Office Mojo.
Every film in the sample was viewed one or more
times in its entirety. Every character who was
seen speaking at least one line was included in
the study.
For the purposes of this study, protagonists are
the characters from whose perspective the story
is told. Major characters appear in more than
one scene and are instrumental to the narrative
of the story.
Characters classified as leaders are those
individuals who occupy a leadership position in
an organization, government or group and
whose instructions and/or behaviors are
followed by two or more other characters.
Report compiled by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen,
Executive Director, Center for the Study of
Women in Television and Film, San Diego State
University, San Diego, CA 92182,
lauzen@sdsu.edu
32
32
21
43
47
57
0 20 40 60
All Chars.
Major Chars.
Protagonists
At Least 1
Woman
All Male