Gal Gadot played Wonder Woman as an invincible warrior princess
If you liked Wonder Woman and Moana partly because they were movies directed by strong female characters, it would seem that you were not alone.
The conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that male stars are a more important attraction at the box office, which often explains their higher salary.
But according to a new analysis, it could have been a miscalculation, showing that movies with potential customers earn more.
The researchers analyzed the 350 most profitable films between 2014 and 2017.
The correlation was true regardless of the size of the production budget: movies in which female stars had a higher turnover earned more money than those with male stars.
Research conducted on behalf of the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and shift7's innovation consulting firm divided the films into five different categories based on their cost, starting with those made with a budget of less than $ 10 million. dollars. . ) and even those made for $ 100 million or more.
They then examined whether the main artist was a man or a woman. Regardless of their budget, movies with female protagonists performed better in the global averages.
They also discovered films that passed the Bechdel test, which determine whether the roles assigned to women are different from those for men, beyond those who do not.
Moana, the 2016 Disney movie, featured the voice of Auli'i Cravalho
"This is irrefutable proof that the public wants to see everyone on the screen," said Amy Pascal, director of Pascal Pictures, former president of Sony Pictures, who runs a women's working group. in the film industry. "Hollywood manufacturers should pay attention to that."
CAA and shift7 have joined the TimesUp movement, calling for a change in the relationship between men and women in the film industry.
"Low bar"
Bechdel's test was developed as a general rule to determine whether women are presented as rounded human beings in films and to endorse the film must contain at least one scene in which women talk to each other about something other than the man.
Of the films seen by the researchers, 60% passed the Bechdel test. And those who went beyond the movies that failed. The study also found that all films that generated more than $ 1 billion worldwide (during the reporting period) had passed the Bechdel test.
The Hobbit: An unexpected trip in 2012 was the last movie to win more than a billion dollars without passing the Bechdel test.
"The Bechdel test is a weak point to clean up and it's amazing how many movies are not," said another member of the group, 3Dot Productions founder Liza Chasin. "It's understandable that studies are looking at the end result, so it's great to see a growing body of data that should make it easier for leaders to make more inclusive decisions."
Emma Watson played in the live version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast 2017
Research sponsors said they expected the message to be clear: it was important to represent women in more diverse roles to aspire to more roles in the economy, particularly in the areas of science, technology and engineering. and mathematics. .
"What we see on the screen is affecting the way we see ourselves," said Shift7 CEO Megan Smith.
"When traditionally underrepresented people are stereotyped or totally excluded from history, we diminish self-confidence, we deprive people of these models and we directly retain the economic and social potential of the country."
Actress Geena Davis, who starred in the movie Thelma and Louise in 1991 and now produces films in the course of reading, said: "I started ordering the data in 2004, realizing that there were many trends unconscious in this space ". On-screen women and girls are not only good for everyone, especially for our children, but also for entertainment and business. "
Films With Female Stars Earn More At The Box Office
Reviewed by Musa Ali
on
20:38
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