The male-directed film dominated the box office this summer. Helmer’s boy-only executives included Gareth Edwards (Jurassic World: Regeneration), James Gunn (Superman), Joseph Kosinski (F1) and Len Weissman (Ballerina). The women directed several small budget films, such as “Freakier Friday” (Nisha Ganatra) and “Materalists” (Celine Song), but Hollywood once again awarded the gigs to direct the men with the largest budget and therefore the largest total amount.
Film critic Richard Roper wrote to New Yorker about a major budget film shortage with female directors in 2015, predicting that “Today’s major independent visionary is tomorrow’s recognized Authers.” He went on to suggest that indie directors such as Miranda July, Sofia Takal and Amy Seimets mimic the career paths of male counterparts and move from indie traits to big budget films. Roeper acknowledged that there are gender inequality, but he said he minimized them and claimed that “it’s not a film that screams about actors coming in, not a film in which actors build a career, and most often not a film living in the history of film history.”
These films may or may not live in history, but they are often tickets to famous careers and stable employment. They then dominated the multiplex and continued to order box office revenue today. However, seeing one glance at any of the current list of top gross movies reveals that they are the top heavy in franchise films. With exceptions like the great Gerwig and the precious few, women can build a market that doesn’t oversee gigs in large budget films that enjoy large marketing and advertising budgets.
Check out our list of top gloss films for 2025 and read the first 5-10 films. They have all male directors. See how far down the list you have to go to reach the top 5 or 10 female directors. Over 30 movies? 40 movies? Exercise is spectacular.
The numbers provided by the two studies are the story of the two-tier film business. According to the latest Indie Women Report, women accounted for 32% of directors working on narrative features domestically and independently between 2024 and 25. These are low budget features to screen and stream at film festivals. In contrast, this year’s survey of celluloid ceilings revealed that women accounted for just 11% of directors working on the country’s top 100 gloss films in 2024.
No such widespread movement occurred 10 years after Roeper suggested that many of the women working on independent films would eventually appear in the position of large budget films. The mechanism that catapulted men into a popular helm position regarding Hollywood’s biggest features is not as realised as women.
Women remain an underutilized labor pool due to large budget functions. Other important behind-the-scenes role comparisons reveal similar gaps. More than twice as many women as large budget characteristics (16%) work as writers for independent story characteristics (33%). More than twice as many women work like cinematography in indie traits like a massive budget film (13% vs. 5%).
About a decade ago, the EEOC visited Hollywood to investigate discrimination by major film studios regarding female film directors. The committee found the studio was found guilty of discrimination, but no known actions were taken. The pigs fly before the EEOC conducts another investigation, but employment statistics are pitiful as current efforts are likely to turn accusations of head bias and consider how men were systematically disadvantaged.
Historical records show that it could take years before a considerable number of female filmmakers create the kind of jumper described a decade ago. It is a reality that is almost impossible to speculate. Take this into consideration. In 1999, activist organisation Guerilla Girls created a public awareness campaign to encourage thoughts with a Los Angeles sign that briefly stated “The US Senate is more progressive than Hollywood,” and “Women Senators: 9%, Female Directors: 4%.” The percentage of female directors was taken from the annual celluloid ceiling report of the top 100 gloss films.
If the group created a campaign today, almost 30 years later, the numbers reflect a similar reality. The US Senate is more progressive than Hollywood. Female senators: 26%, female supervisor, 11%. They can also add that women are better represented in US homes (29%) and as governors (28%). Even NASA’s astronaut program outdistances Hollywood as women have made up 17% of candidates since the program’s inception. So, is women more likely to be shot in space than planting their feet firmly on a set of tent pole features funded by major film studios? Like I said, it’s almost impossible to guess.
Dr. Martha M. Lausen is the founder and executive director of the Center for Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, and is the author of numerous studies on the portrayal of women in screens and employment on television and film.
