Summary Fewer women directors were employed in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.
Despite the decrease, 2023 was a milestone year for women in film, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie becoming the highest-grossing film directed by a woman of all time.
The success of Barbie should signal to studios that films by and for women can be financially successful, but the response so far indicates that the industry may not be taking the right message from the movie.
A new Hollywood study reveals that fewer female directors were employed in 2023 than in the previous year. 2023 saw a record for women in film, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie becoming the highest-grossing woman-helmed film of all time. Several other top films were directed by women as well, including awards contenders such as Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn.
Per Variety, a study by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University has discovered that studios employed fewer women directors in 2023 as compared with the previous year’s numbers. Of the 250 top-grossing films in 2023, 16% were directed by women. This represents a decrease from 2022 when 18% of films were directed by women. Looking at the top 100 alone, however, there has been a slight improvement, as 14% of those were directed by women, increasing from 2022’s 11% of the top 100 being female-led.
Barbie Is Still Huge Progress — But Will It Help Hollywood Hire More Female Directors?
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Despite this disappointing data, 2023 was still a milestone year for women in film, largely due to Barbie. In addition to becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time directed by a woman, it was the top-grossing film of 2023 at the worldwide box office. Even better, Barbie was not just directed by a woman but also focused on feminist themes in a unique and original manner. Thus, even in a year when Hollywood slighted women, Barbie is a shining light.
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In theory, the financial success of Barbie should tell studios that audiences will turn up for films by women and for women. Unfortunately, early responses to Barbie seem to indicate that the studios are not taking the right message away from the movie. Since the success of Barbie, Mattel has announced the continued development of a number of other toy-based features. This response focuses more narrowly on Barbie as a “toy film” rather than as a female-led movie focusing on women in a way that major Hollywood films rarely do.
Though Mattel’s response may be lackluster, Barbie can hopefully still be a beacon of hope for women in Hollywood as studios continue into 2024. The film has at least resulted in more work for Gerwig, who has been hired for a Netflix adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia. Seeing the paucity of women directors in top films is still disheartening, but the progress is not completely for naught, for Barbie serves as a great example of the power of female directors when given the proper support.
Source: Variety