A survey exploring equality in Hollywood revealed the mean production costs of movies with white male leads amounted to 76 million U.S. dollars, more than double the production budgets of movies with underrepresented female leads. The study analyzed the differences in production costs among top-grossing U.S. movies from 2007 to 2018 by race/ethnicity and gender of leads. From 817 live action movies with a single protagonist, those with male leads received the highest budgets.
Average production costs of top-grossing live action movies from 2007 to 2018, by lead actor gender and ethnicity
(in million U.S. dollars)
Gender/ethnicity of lead role
Mean production costs in million U.S. dollars
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Exclusive Premium Statistic
To access all Premium Statistics, you need a paid Statista Account
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
USC Annenberg. (February 5, 2020). Average production costs of top-grossing live action movies from 2007 to 2018, by lead actor gender and ethnicity (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117821/movie-budget-underrepresented-lead-role/
USC Annenberg. "Average production costs of top-grossing live action movies from 2007 to 2018, by lead actor gender and ethnicity (in million U.S. dollars)." Chart. February 5, 2020. Statista. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117821/movie-budget-underrepresented-lead-role/
USC Annenberg. (2020). Average production costs of top-grossing live action movies from 2007 to 2018, by lead actor gender and ethnicity (in million U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117821/movie-budget-underrepresented-lead-role/
USC Annenberg. "Average Production Costs of Top-grossing Live Action Movies from 2007 to 2018, by Lead Actor Gender and Ethnicity (in Million U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 5 Feb 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117821/movie-budget-underrepresented-lead-role/
USC Annenberg, Average production costs of top-grossing live action movies from 2007 to 2018, by lead actor gender and ethnicity (in million U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117821/movie-budget-underrepresented-lead-role/ (last visited August 25, 2024)
Average production costs of top-grossing live action movies from 2007 to 2018, by lead actor gender and ethnicity (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph], USC Annenberg, February 5, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117821/movie-budget-underrepresented-lead-role/
