UCLA Reveals: Women & People of Color are the Secret Powerhouse Behind Streaming Movie Ratings!

In the intense competition of the streaming landscape today, it seems that diversity is the winning card.

In 2023, women and people of color had a significant influence on the viewership ratings of streaming movies, despite being underrepresented and having limited resources in filmmaking, based on the second installment of a UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report published on Thursday.

Streaming Viewership by Women and People of Color

The study, which analyzed the 100 most-watched English-language scripted movies released on major streaming platforms last year, revealed that a majority of viewers for nine out of the top 10 and 17 out of the top 20 streaming releases were women. Also, households of color accounted for a larger share of viewers for nine out of the top 10 and 18 out of the top 20 streaming movies, including popular Netflix films like Jennifer Lopez’s “The Mother” and Kenya Barris’s romantic comedy “You People.”

These findings are in line with the first part of UCLA’s diversity report, published in March, which showed that women and people of color also drove the highest-grossing films of 2023, despite their underrepresentation in the film industry.

“The data from 2023 clearly demonstrates that diversity in cinema is a profitable strategy, both domestically and in the cinema,” said Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, in a statement released alongside the report. “Diversity is not a hindrance. It’s an attraction.”

Streaming Landscape Contraction

The UCLA research also pointed out that the streaming industry saw a decline last year, with the number of English-language movies reducing by 28.6%, from 161 in 2022 to 115 in 2023, as studios cut back on projects and budgets in the aftermath of the pandemic and in anticipation of strikes.

Despite these reductions, the study highlighted the critical role of diversity in drawing viewers, with films featuring diverse casts and crews, such as Netflix’s Jennifer Aniston-Adam Sandler comedy “Murder Mystery 2,” pulling in higher levels of engagement and ratings.

Ana-Christina Ramón, director of UCLA’s Entertainment and Media Research Initiative and co-author of the report with Hunt, emphasized that diverse content is particularly appealing to younger audiences, who are more used to seeing themselves represented in animated films and on social media. “This is how you retain subscribers: by giving them what they respond to and clearly want to see,” Ramón suggested.

Diverse Representation in Leading Roles

For the first time in the 11-year history of the report, actors of color achieved proportionate representation in lead roles for streaming movies, comprising 45% of lead roles — a substantial increase from 33.3% in 2022. Women also attained proportionate representation in lead roles, although their overall presence in casts was still lacking. Movies with a predominantly diverse cast made up more than a third of the top streaming movies in 2023 (35%), an increase of 10% from the previous year.

When it comes to behind-the-scenes roles, streaming provides more opportunities for women and people of color compared to the traditional cinema industry. Directors of color accounted for 31% of streaming movies, compared to 22.9% for theatrical films. Female directors directed a higher percentage of streaming movies at 31%, nearly twice their share of theatrical films.

Challenges Remain

However, financial barriers continue to be a significant obstacle. Female directors were more likely to work on lower-budget movies, with the majority of their projects costing less than $20 million. In contrast, high-budget films were predominantly directed by white men.

“Content creators from diverse backgrounds encounter a mixed situation,” said co-author and UCLA doctoral candidate Michael Tran. “On one side, they have the opportunity to lead or contribute to these streaming projects, but on the other, studios are tightening the budget, limiting the room for success.”

As the entertainment landscape continues to transform in the streaming age and studios face mounting pressure from Wall Street to generate profits, the authors of the report conclude that investing in diverse content is not a risk, but a proven approach to success.

“Investing in diversity isn’t a gamble,” said Hunt, who is also a professor of sociology and African American studies. “It should be viewed as a strategic business necessity if Hollywood wants to thrive.”

You can access the complete report here.