2 months ago
ReFrame, nan gender equity conjugation founded successful 2017 by Sundance Institute and WIF (formerly Women successful Film), has issued a caller study spotlighting a reversal of gender-balanced hiring successful movie successful 2025.
After assessing nan teams down IMDbPro’s 100 astir celebrated films of past year, only 26 titles qualified for nan ReFrame Stamp, speaking to gender-balanced hiring — John Wick spin-off Ballerina, Final Destination Bloodlines, and The Housemaid being a fewer notable examples. This amounted to a 13% rollback, and nan first awesome driblet successful gender-balanced projects successful six years, pursuing a five-year plateau, pinch astir 30% of films awarded nan Stamp annually from 2020-2024.
Progress for board peaked successful 2023, pinch 20 women and nonbinary board represented successful nan Top 100 films. With respect to lead roles, inclusion peaked successful 2024, erstwhile location were 51 women, including 1 transgender performer, cited. In 2025, only 11 women board and conscionable 7 women of colour successful lead roles were represented connected IMDbPro’s Top 100 list. There was zero inclusion of transgender aliases nonbinary individuals arsenic board aliases successful lead roles.
“The ReFrame Stamp was designed arsenic a stepping stone, pinch mean measures for substantive inclusion of women, nonbinary and trans group successful cardinal roles successful beforehand of and down nan camera to suffice arsenic gender-balanced. This was meant arsenic a floor, not a ceiling, connected our measurement to inclusive hiring,” said ReFrame’s founders Cathy Schulman & Keri Putnam. “The truth that moreover this baseline remains a number accomplishment is alarming. Instead of raising nan bar, we’re now seeing productions falling beneath it. This is not progress. This is simply a reversal.”
WIF CEO Kirsten Schaffer added, “This report’s findings constituent to a important divestment successful women-led projects — creating a narrowing pipeline of opportunities for women and gender-diverse group crossed nan industry. Collectively, we person nan powerfulness to alteration that. By making intentional choices guided by nan ReFrame Stamp criteria, those pinch hiring powerfulness person a clear way to building a much equitable industry, 1 accumulation astatine a time.”
In looking done IMDbPro’s 100 astir celebrated films of 2025, conscionable 26% pinch accumulation budgets of $100M aliases much qualified for nan ReFrame stamp. Only Netflix earned nan ReFrame Stamp for astatine slightest 50% of their releases, and for nan 3rd consecutive year, Apple did not merchandise immoderate Stamped films successful nan Top 100.
82% of films successful nan Top 100 that were directed aliases co-directed by women qualified, versus conscionable 19% of those directed by men. While 27 films connected nan database credited women arsenic writers, only 5 listed female writers of color. Interestingly, 1 area wherever location was advancement this past twelvemonth was amongst producers, arsenic women were credited arsenic producers connected 55 of this year’s Top 100 Films, 7 much than past year.
The least-inclusive roles proceed to beryllium composers, VFX supervisors and board of photography. Going backmost to 2017, there’s ne'er been a twelvemonth erstwhile nan tally of women, nonbinary and trans individuals hired successful each of these individual arenas connected IMDBPro’s 100 astir celebrated films exceeded 10.
Per ReFrame’s organizers, it’s important to statement that each accumulation tin execute gender parity —regardless of taxable matter aliases nan gender of its head aliases lead talent — and frankincense has nan imaginable to gain their stamp. The Stamp is awarded to features that prosecute ‘qualifying candidates’ — women aliases individuals of different underrepresented gender identities/expressions (including those who are transgender, nonbinary, aliases gender nonconforming) — successful astatine slightest 50% of cardinal roles, including Writer, Director, Producer, Lead, Co-Leads, Cinematographer, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Editor, Composer, Music Supervisor, VFX Supervisor, Line Producer, Unit Production Manager, 1st Assistant Director, Stunt Coordinator and Intimacy Coordinator. Additional points are awarded to productions that prosecute qualifying candidates of colour successful these cardinal positions, and to those pinch wide gender parity successful their crews.
IMDBPro bases its Top 100 most-popular database connected nan page views of nan much than 250 cardinal monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. The ReFrame Stamp is applied only to feature-length communicative features produced and distributed successful nan U.S. and does not use to unscripted aliases documentary productions.
