Women Directors Are Still Underrepresented on Big Budget Streaming Films — Study

The yearly UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report is continuing to floor plan nan spaces successful which filmmaking remains unequal. The 2025 report, which examined nan apical 100 English-language film releases connected awesome streaming platforms (Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, and Peacock) successful 2024, recovered that, while films pinch much racially divers casts performed amended connected streaming platforms, female filmmakers are still underrepresented erstwhile it comes to large fund features.

“We’re gladsome to spot gains for diverseness pinch streaming films, but nan spread betwixt movie budgets for streaming and theatrical releases gets wider and wider,” Michael Tran, a sociologist and co-author of nan report, said successful an charismatic statement. “It’s particularly troubling since only a prime few, specifically men, are fixed nan chance to dip into nan precocious echelons of financial backing.”

That spread had a staggering discrepancy: No female aliases other-gender person, sloppy of title aliases ethnicity, had nan opportunity to nonstop a streaming movie pinch a fund of $100 cardinal aliases much successful 2024. White women proceed to beryllium nan astir apt to nonstop films pinch nan smallest budgets; each of their films had a fund little than $20 million, isolated from for nan animated “Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie.”

The UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report began separating streaming films from theatrical releases for study in 2023. At nan time, achromatic men still directed nan “supermajority of large fund films,” pinch 56 percent of achromatic women board having budgets smaller than $20 million.

Two years later, and nan statistic is not overmuch different.

In total, 65.5 percent of nan apical streaming films had budgets little than $20 million, compared to 34.6 percent for theatrical films. On nan different end, only 4.4 percent of streaming films had budgets of $100 cardinal aliases more, which is almost 6 times little than nan 26 percent stock successful apical theatrical films. And antheral filmmakers were nan “only board pinch this level of resources,” arsenic nan study found.

Yet streaming still remains much divers than theatrical: Directors of colour accounted for 4 retired of 10 board for streaming-released films, arsenic opposed to only 2 retired of 10 for theatrical movies. “Hollywood loves formulas, but they request much elements that resonate pinch nan audiences of today,” Ana-Christina Ramón, co-founder of nan study and head of nan Entertainment and Media Research Initiative astatine UCLA, said successful a statement. “You can’t expect an progressively divers organization of avid movie viewers and summons buyers to settee for a generic movie pinch small to nary diverseness that whitethorn person been a deed complete 10 years ago. In bid for Hollywood to past financially and to stay relevant, it must put successful storytellers who bring divers perspectives and caller ideas to nan table.”

Ramón added, “Streaming platforms are 1 of nan fewer places wherever nan stories and faces that bespeak nan group of this state tin beryllium recovered connected and disconnected screen.”

The Hollywood Diversity Report bid is successful its twelfth year. While location are still strides to beryllium made for down nan camera gender equity, nan study discovered a milestone for on-camera parity: In 2025, nan study recovered that for nan first time, 1 successful 2 leads of streaming films were group of color, which is almost double nan percent for apical theatrical films.

“Films should bespeak nan realities of this state successful position of representation,” Darnell Hunt, nan executive vice chancellor and provost astatine UCLA, and co-founder of nan report, said successful a statement. “We’re past nan constituent wherever we tin fto nan wholesale erasure of people’s identities, perspectives and experiences slide. Having divers stories pushes nan boundaries of what we cognize and understand. Inclusive storytelling is needed now much than ever.”