Gender-balanced productions might as well set up base camp on their plateau.
The annual ReFrame report from the Sundance Institute and Women in Film found that 29 of last year’s top 100 films achieved gender-balanced productions — just like in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The years leading up to 2020 had seen steady annual growth, and 2020 itself marked an all-time high. But then it became “Groundhog Day” (directed by a man, Harold Ramis, in 1993) up in here.
The top 2023 films that achieved gender balance include Oscar-nominated movies like Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” Pixar’s “Elemental,” Todd Haynes’ “May December,” Celine Song’s “Past Lives,” Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” and even “Scream 6.”
The ReFrame Stamp is awarded to films that hire women or non-binary people in at least 50 percent of key roles both above and below the line. The study is based on IMDbPro data. ReFrame proactively studies the top 100 films each year, and then probably about another 100 throughout the year, IndieWire is told.
Of the top 100, 80 percent of the women-directed films earned the stamp. Compare that with just 16 percent of the top 100 movies directed by men. Thirty-four more films outside of the top 100, including “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” and “Theater Camp,” were awarded the stamp.
Also among those smaller-budgeted films to earn the stamp were “Quiz Lady” and the Dakota Johnson-produced “Daddio.” Those two had to specifically apply for the ReFrame Stamp through an open-application process.
While more women were employed in 2023 as Visual Effects Supervisors in the top 100 movies, there were fewer female cinematographers (three compared to seven in 2022). There was a 22 percent drop in lead acting roles for women, down to 36 (from 46) out of the top 100 films.
Separate research released by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on February 20 found that the percentage of girls and women as protagonists (30 percent) in the 100 top-grossing movies of 2023 was substantially lower than the percentage in 2022 (44 percent).
A Celluloid Ceiling report released earlier this week found that for the top 100 releases of 2023, only 18 percent had more female characters than male ones, and just 28 percent had female protagonists. Overall speaking parts for women also dipped in 2023.
