Women Comprised 16% Of Directors Who Worked On 2020's 100 Highest-Grossing Films

Hollywood saw a rise in female filmmakers getting behind the camera and enthralling the viewers with their impeccable storytelling in 2020, according to a new study.

A study from San Diego State University's Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that 16% of directors who worked on the top 100 box office hits last year were women. The figure has gone up by 4% compared to the previous year’s percentage and marks a record-high. In 2019, 12% of women filmmakers worked behind the camera while only 4% of female directors were given a chance in 2018.

The figures are a sign that studios are promoting female filmmakers to bring a change in the industry.

Some of the most high-profile movies and award contenders were helmed by women, such as “Wonder Woman 1984” (Patty Jenkins), “Nomadland” (Chloe Zhao), “Birds of Prey” (Cathy Yan), “Emma” (Autumn de Vilde), and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Celine Sciamma).

Additionally, many movies that premiered at various festivals or were released on streaming platforms were also directed by women. “One Night In Miami” (Regina King) and “Mulan” (Niki Caro) are some of the movies that created a lot of buzz among viewers.

For the first time, the study also saw the number of female technicians involved with films on the “Watched At Home Top 20 Chart.” According to the report, of all the directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and cinematographers that worked on these films, 19% were women. Less than 10% of filmmakers who worked on watched-at-home films were women.

Dr. Martha Lauzen, director of Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, believes that it is a good sign that there is a growth in the number of female filmmakers. However, there is still an area where the industry needs to look at.

“The good news is that we’ve now seen two consecutive years of growth for women who direct. This breaks a recent historical pattern in which the numbers trend up one year and down the next. The bad news is that fully 80% of top films still do not have a woman at the helm,” EW quoted Lauzen, as saying.

The study also suggests that changes in other technical fields were not as promising as they should have. In the 100 highest-grossing movies, only 28% of producers and 21% of executive producers were females while 18% of editors, 12% of writers, and 3% of cinematographers were women.