Women achieve gender parity with men in US big screen lead roles for first time

Two studies find the top-grossing films of 2024 were led by female protagonists as much as by men, buoyed by the success of Wicked and The Substance

Women achieved gender parity on the big screen in 2024 for the first time in the US, according to two new studies.

Out of the 100 top-grossing films of last year, women led 42% of the films, the same percentage as their male counterparts, with 16% led by ensembles. This was according to Dr Martha Lauzen's annual It's a Man's (Celluloid) World report. Lauzen said that 2024 offered one of the richest slates of films featuring female protagonists in recent memory".