Films Had More Female Protagonists Than Ever Before in 2016

Courtesy of TIFF

BY Josiah HughesPublished Feb 21, 2017

Hollywood has traditionally been extremely shitty to women. While movie executives still have a long way to go, a study suggests a small glimmer of hope as 2016's films boasted the most female protagonists ever.

The study was conducted by The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film and discovered that women led 29 percent of the year's top 100 films. That was a seven percent increase from  the films of 2015, and set a new world record.

Films like ArrivalRogue OneGhostbusters and Bad Moms helped increase the numbers. Martha Lauzen, who authored the study, spoke with Variety, saying, "We have now seen over and over and over that female characters, when done well, they're good box office."

That said, she's not convinced we should celebrate yet. After all, females only directed seven percent of the year's top films, which is down two percent from the year before. "It is also possible that introducing female protagonists is somehow an easier, less threatening fix than hiring women directors and writers," Lauzen said.  

Further, while there may have been more female protagonists, they didn't get nearly enough lines. According to a report released earlier this year, women only spoke 27 per cent of the dialogue in the year's top movies. So while women may have received more roles, they weren't necessarily getting lines. 

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