HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — How well is Hollywood doing when it comes to diverse storytelling? According to UCLA’s latest Hollywood Diversity Report, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
The report highlights the achievements of films like Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which made history with 16 Oscar nominations and has grossed more than $370 million. Researchers say the film’s performance underscores the financial potential of original stories led by diverse filmmakers and casts.
“This example of ‘Sinners’ really shows that you can then invest in original stories, and people will go see them,” said Dr. Ana-Christina Ramon, director of UCLA’s Entertainment and Media Research Initiative and a co-founder of the report. “That’s all key to really offering people something that they’re interested in.”
Using data dating back to 2011, the annual report analyzes race, ethnicity and gender in Hollywood films. Ramon said the latest findings show a decline in representation across multiple categories.
“What we see is that in 2025, the improvements that you might have seen from the previous year didn’t even reach the levels of 2023,” she said.
According to the study, top domestic films with casts that were 41% to 50% people of color performed better at the box office.
But despite those numbers, representation in lead roles contracted. White actors slightly increased their share of lead parts to 76.9% in 2025, while Black actors held 6.5% and Latinx actors accounted for less than 3%.
Women’s representation in lead roles also declined, falling below 2022 levels with their share of lead roles at 37%.
“These increasingly diverse audiences really want to see diversity on screen,” Ramon said. “So they want to see a reflection of their reality. They want to see themselves on screen, and even people that are from other backgrounds. They want to see other people.”
Ramon noted that while actors with disabilities have made slight gains since tracking began in 2022, they remain significantly underrepresented in Hollywood.
You can read the full report here.
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