White male leads don't equal box office success. But executives and studios are still biased.

What sells at the box office? Historically, the answer for film studios, distributors, and their executives has been a white male lead. This bias hasn't changed, according to a new study undertaken by the University of Southern California. And more importantly, it may be wrong entirely.

The study from USC Annenberg's Inclusion Initiative, which was founded by communications professor Dr. Stacy L. Smith, found that identity of protagonists has little to do with determining success at the box office. The report looked at a sample of 126 top-grossing, live-action films from 2021 and 2022, examining factors that led to their box office success. The selection included only live action movies with solo leads — no re-releases or storylines with co-leads or ensemble casts.

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The most significant finding is that films featuring male or white protagonists did not perform better theatrically than films led by female characters or underrepresented groups. That is, there is "no significant benefit" to having a male white lead in a starring role.

There's an even more systemic problem here. Theatrical support for films with such leads remains significantly higher than for movies with other leads. Women are consistently provided with fewer resources for production. Films with white male leads or underrepresented male leads have higher promotional budgets than those with white or underrepresented female leads.

"Movies about white male characters are still released most often by studios and distributors," Smith explained in a statement.

Credit: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Credit: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative

"The system was built to favor storytelling about one group: white males," Smith continued. "It is the way that executives support movies about white men that drives their success, not the protagonist themselves."

Credit: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

Other findings in the study reveal similar bias. Over half of the movies with the highest budgets (of $100 million or more) in the two-year period starred white males. Meanwhile, 15.8 percent featured a white female lead, and only 10.5 percent had an underrepresented female lead.

In reality, the study concludes, factors for box office success lie in the support structure for the film: namely production budget, marketing costs, and its widest point of release. These factors are simply more often applied to movies starring men.