Movie audiences love women.
According to a study by Creative Arts Agency and slim redbone sex home videoshift7, films with women in leading roles earn more than their male counterparts at the box office, a finding which shouldlead to a major paradigm shift in show business.
“The perception that it’s not good business to have female leads is not true,” CAA agent Christy Haubegger told The New York Times. “They’re a marketing asset.”
SEE ALSO: We have a lot to learn from Megan Fox's #MeToo commentsCAA and shift7 examined 350 top box office films from 2014 to 2017, defining "lead actor" as the first performer credited in official press materials (also of note: most of these films passed the Bechdel test). 105 of these were women. In every category broken down by budget, films with women in the lead outperformed those starring men.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Haubegger attributed this to the movie audience's desire to see something new, rather than say, yet another superhero origin story about a white guy. That's why stories about women perform better, as well as stories starring people of color (the subject of a previous study).
The study was part of an active effort by CAA to diversify Hollywood with regard to women and people of color. But even in light of new research, Haubegger notes that change may be distant.
“A lot of times in our business there is a lot of bias disguising itself as knowledge,” Haubegger said. Translation: Finding could still be touch for women and minorities simply because those in power won't act.
But hopefully, with a study like this gaining traction and the obvious incentives of performance and revenue, Hollywood uses this momentum to improve.
Featured Video For You
Here's how women in Hollywood want to protest harassment this awards season