A new study from the Centre for Women in Television and Film reveals that the number of female protagonists in the top 100 highest grossing movies from 2016 was at an all-time high.
Yay.
As many as 29% of the most successful films of last year had a female lead. Movies such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Bad Moms and Ghostbusters helped achieve a 7% rise from last year.
This compares to films with a male protagonist, which comprised 54%, with 17% featuring ensemble casts.
It may be the highest rate of Hollywood movies with a female lead in recent history – the Centre has studies going back to 2002 – but it is, admittedly, still comparatively low.
Other slightly depressing but not at all surprising stats show that female characters were younger than their male counterparts. Female characters were mostly 20-30 years old, with male characters mostly between 30 and 40 years old.
They were also less likely to be shown working, and less likely to be depicted as leaders.
Again – massive shocker – of movies with at least one female director or writer, 57% had a female lead. But just 18% of films with exclusively male directors and writers had women as protagonists.
In some senses, it's progress. Blockbuster movies such as The Force Awakens, Rogue One – and intelligent sci-fis such as Arrival and the forthcoming Alien: Covenant – are featuring female leads in active roles not defined by their relationships.
But given the percentage of cinemagoers is much more evenly balanced in terms of gender, it seems slightly ridiculous that the depiction of women on screen is still so skewed.
Behind the camera it's much worse, of course. Of the top 100 grossing movies of 2016, only 4 of them were directed by women.
Oh, and in other news, the Financial Times reported yesterday that at current rates the gender pay gap won't be levelled for another 24 years.