Inclusive Storytelling Drives Streaming Success

Success is once again in the eyes — and from the homes — of women and people of color, according to UCLA's latest Hollywood Diversity Report. Their viewership drove high household ratings for the top streaming films, especially for those with diverse casts, mirroring how these same audiences showed up for theatrical films at the box office.

Streaming platforms continued to chart paths forward for diversity, with gains for people of color in all major employment categories. Women also saw more opportunities in acting roles, the report found. These increases are in sharp contrast to how films on the big screen walked back opportunities for these same groups.

The Hollywood Diversity Report series, now in its 12th year, releases multiple in-depth industry analyses annually of the people in front of and behind the film and television cameras and the audiences driving their success. This release focuses on the top 100 English-language film releases on major streaming platforms (Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, and Peacock) in 2024, ranked by U.S. household ratings. The research showed that even in divisive times, audiences opened up their homes to diversity.

"People across the country support diverse films regardless of whether it's in a theater or from the comfort of their couch," said Ana-Christina Ramón, co-founder of the report and director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA. "Streaming films are one of the few places where the stories and faces that reflect the people of this country can be found."

Most of the top 20 streaming films by overall household ratings featured casts that included more than 30% people of color. When audiences were broken into different demographic groups, households that defined themselves as Asian, Black, Latino, white, or other race/ethnicity had at least eight, if not more, of their top 10 highest-rated films featuring casts that included such diversity. Additionally, the majority of the top 20 films for almost all audience groups featured female leads, such as Jennifer Lopez in "Atlas" and Brooke Shields in "Mother of the Bride."

"Our data shows that diverse storytellers and actors draw in and engage people from every demographic," said co-author Jade Abston, a doctoral candidate in cinema media studies.

Particularly key to the success of streaming films was the viewership of certain groups: Households of color were overrepresented for 19 of the top 20 streaming films ranked by total household ratings. Women were the majority of viewers, and audiences aged 18-49 were also overrepresented among 15 of the same top 20, watching films like "Damsel" with Millie Bobby Brown and Kevin Hart's "Lift."

More opportunities in front of the camera

Researchers found that, for the first time, half of all leads were people of color, almost double the percentage for top theatrical films.

Women's share as leads also hit a high of 61%, mirroring a jump in theatrical releases.

The percentage of film roles that went to actors with a known disability was still below representation, but increased to 14% for leads and 6.1% for total roles. While the actors represented a range of disabilities, there were only two lead actors and 10 actors in total within main casts who had visible disabilities.

"Films should reflect the realities of this country in terms of representation," said Darnell Hunt, executive vice chancellor and provost at UCLA, who co-founded the report series. "We're past the point where we can let the wholesale erasure of people's identities, perspectives and experiences slide."

Hunt, a professor of sociology and African American studies, pointed to the attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, and the loss of these spaces not just in Hollywood but also in corporations and educational institutions as another reminder that creative industries need to move forward, not backward.

"Having diverse stories pushes the boundaries of what we know and understand. Inclusive storytelling is needed now more than ever," Hunt said.

A call for investment

The report also looked at film budgets, as well as the 175 film deals made in 2024 overall.

Just over 65% of the top streaming films had budgets of less than $20 million, compared to 34.6% for theatrical films. On the higher end, only 4.4% of streaming films had budgets of $100 million or more, which is almost six times less than the 26% share in top theatrical films. Men were the only streaming film directors with this level of resources.

"We're glad to see gains for diversity with streaming films, but the gap between movie budgets for streaming and theatrical releases gets wider and wider," said Michael Tran, a sociologist and co-author of the report. "It's especially troubling since only a select few, specifically men, are given the chance to dip into the upper echelons of financial backing."

White women continue to be the most likely to direct films with the smallest budgets. All of their films had budgets of less than $20 million except one: the animated "Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie," directed by Liza Johnson and streamed on Netflix.

Directors of color moved closer to proportionate representation, accounting for four out of 10 directors. In theatrical films, 80% of directors were white across the same period studied.

Researchers stressed that more attention and investment are needed in filmmakers who are women and people of color, as they found that three-quarters of those who received film deals were white. When it came to gender, men also made up the overwhelming majority of film deal principals at 73.5%, with white men receiving the most investment from Hollywood.

Ramón emphasized that the industry needs to break away from old formulas to satisfy and keep audiences.

"In order for Hollywood to survive financially and to remain relevant, it must invest in storytellers who bring diverse perspectives and new ideas to the table," she said.