ROAR

The Roar Meter is a weekly story in numbers.

• Percentage of the 100 top-grossing 2016 films which featured a female lead: 29
• Percentage of the 100 top-grossing 2015 films which featured a female lead: 22
• Percentage of the 100 top-grossing 2014 films which featured a female lead: 12
• Of the 100 top-grossing films of 2015, average gross: 90,660,000
  • Average gross of those films with a male lead: $75,738,095
  • Average gross of those films with a female lead: $89,941,176
    • Percentage higher than those films with a male lead: 15.8
  • Average gross of those films with both male and female leads: 108,317,073
• Average screentime for male characters: 28.5% (34.5% in male-led films)
• Average screentime for female characters: 16% (12.9% in male-led films)
• Percentage of characters in the top 100 top-grossing films of 2016 who are:
  • White: 77 (male)/76 (female)
  • Black: 14
  • Asian: 6 (female)/4 (male)
  • Latinx: 3
• Population breakdown of the USA (as of 2015 census):
  • White (including Hispanic): 77
    • White (not including Hispanic): 61.6
  • Black: 13.3
  • Asian: 5.6
  • Latinx: 17.6
• Percentage of characters in 100 top-grossing 2016 films who are male and over 40: 52
  • Percentage of Americans who are male and over 40 (as of 2010 census): ~40

*all data refers to non-animated films, and domestic American box office.

Sources

• THE REEL TRUTH: WOMEN AREN’T SEEN OR HEARD
• It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top 100 Films of 2016
• Welcome to QuickFacts
• Age and Sex Composition: 2010

Annika Barranti Klein is a writer, knitter, women’s banked track roller derby referee, and radical homeschooling mother. Her work has appeared at The Toast, The Establishment, and on Book Riot. She is a cis, white, bi-furious intersectional feminist.