The number of girls and women leading the top movies of 2025 has hit a seven-year low, according to a new study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
Of the 100 top-grossing films in 2025, 39 featured a girl or woman in a lead or co-lead role, a significant decrease from 2024’s historic high of 55 films and the lowest total since 2018 with 40 films, according to the study’s author Dr. Stacy L. Smith.
Underrepresented female leads or co-leads did not fare well in 2025, according to the study. Fifteen films in 2025 had an underrepresented female lead/co-lead, similar to 2024 (14) and 2023 (14). Also, in 2025, not a single film featured a woman of color 45 years of age or older in a leading/co leading role, according to the study. Within the same age bracket, a total of six films in 2025 had an underrepresented male-identified lead/co-lead.
Notably, the study called out Paramount and Warner Bros. as ‘the worst performing distributors.” Universal ranked at the top with over half (54.2%) of its films centered on a female actor as the lead/co-lead of the story. Lionsgate (50%) and Disney (43.7%) followed. Warner Bros (20%) and Paramount (12.5%) were ranked last.
As for underrepresented status, half of all films released by Disney (50%), Lionsgate (50%), and Sony Pictures (50%) were led by a person of color. Both Universal (25%) and Warner Bros. (20%) fell behind their counterparts. Paramount did not have a single underrepresented actor as the lead of a film among the top 100 films.
“Given the distributor findings, it is clear a Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros would be devastating for actors that identify as women and people of color,” the study, released Wednesday, said.
“With many eyes on a possible merger of these two companies [Paramount/WB], this data shows that it would be highly detrimental for talented actors who identity as women and/or people of color,” said Smith. “As a contrast, since 2019, at least half of Netflix films have featured a woman in a lead/co-lead role and in all but 1 recent year, Netflix has reached proportional representation for underrepresented leads. Anyone who values inclusion should be considering the consequences should Paramount acquire Warner Bros.”
The study was more positive about a Netflix/WB merger. “In contrast, since 2019, at least half of Netflix movies have had a woman in a lead/co lead role, the study said. “In all but 1 recent year (2023), Netflix films also reached proportional representation for underrepresented leads/co leads.
“These data are a clear indication of what a merger with Warner Bros. would mean. One between Paramount and Warner Bros. offers little hope for a film slate that features women and people of color in significant leading roles to match the population. A merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. would result in more films with women and people of color at the center.”
You can read the entire report here.
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