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Female Led Oscar Films Make More Cash

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1 March 2018

By Alex Khalil

Oscar-nominated movies with female leads are more profitable than their male-led competitors. Female-led movies earn higher box office returns – despite lower budgets, according to BBC analytics.

Only 28% of films nominated for an Oscar since 2013 have had an actress in the lead role. On average, every dollar invested into a female-led film has an average return of $2.15 (£1.53). Male-led films only have a return of $1.19 (£1.15).

The head of Women in Film and Television UK said:

‘Women are not bad box office, on or behind the screen.’

The figures boost for female leads isn’t just an Oscars thing. Last year, there was a boom in female-led movies. For the first time this century, the top three grossing movies had female leads, something that hasn’t happened since the 1950s.

The top three movies were Wonder Woman, Beauty and the Beast and The Last Jedi leading the way.

Among the top-earning movies in the US, those with female leads earned back more on their budgets. The Last Jedi made approximately $618.3m (£442.7m) with a budget of $200 million. That’s a lot of money to make back on a project.

This year we have a few movies with female leads to look forward to also. Tomb Raider, the story of the iconic Lara Croft is set to get a fresh movie reboot. Red Sparrow starring Jennifer Lawrence will be released this month and even New Mutants which also has a primary female lead.

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