The share of female directors in top films at the North American box office will hit a seven-year low in 2025, down nearly 40% from the previous year, according to new research from Dr. Stacey L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
The report, “Joining the Director’s Chair,” examines the gender and race/ethnicity of the directors associated with the 100 highest-grossing films of the year as of December 29, 2025, and incorporates findings for the directors of the 1,900 highest-grossing films from 2007 to 2025.
Among the 111 directors behind the top films of 2025, the proportion of women decreased to 8.1% (9 directors) compared to 13.4% in 2024. This is the lowest level since 2018, when 4.5% of the year’s top 100 films were directed by women, but higher than the 6.6% average from 2007 to 2019.
Here are the top nine North American box office grossers, according to Box Office Mojo, which is cited as a source for the report. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 ($119.9 million). Nisha Ganatra Freaky Friday ($94.2 million); Domy Sy and Madeline Sharafian; Elio($72.9 million). celine song, materialist ($36.5 million);Jennifer Caitin Robinson I know what you did last summer ($32.2 million); these E KPop Demon Hunter ($24.3 million);Chloe Zhao hamnet ($10.5 million, still on release). And Hikari-san, rental family ($10 million).
Looking at both gender and race/ethnicity, 5.4%, or six, of directors in 2025 will be women of color (exactly the same as in 2024), the first time in 19 years that women of color will outnumber white women directors (three). The study found that 2.7% of top directors in 2025 will be white women, 18.9% will be underrepresented men, and 73% will be white men.
In 2025, just under a quarter (24.3%) of directors will be from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group, similar to 2024 (24.1%) and significantly higher than the 12.5% reported in 2007.
“The 2025 data makes clear that progress for women directors will be fleeting,” Smith said. “While it is tempting to think that these changes are a result of who is in the Oval Office, the reality is that these outcomes are being driven by executive decisions made long before the DEI ban went into effect. Many of these films were greenlit and in pre-production before the 2024 election.”
As measured by mean and median Metacritic scores, women’s and men’s films received roughly equal reviews from critics. The same results were observed for films by white and underrepresented directors. In contrast, women of color received the highest critic ratings in all four groups.
“When it comes to directors, it’s clear that hiring decisions are not based solely on performance,” Smith said. “If that were the case, women of color would have significantly more opportunities to work behind the camera in movies. These results show that the quality of films by women of color is not only ignored, but actively ignored.”
Distributor employment practices
The report also evaluates distribution companies’ employment practices from 2007 to 2025, with Universal Pictures, led by Donna Langley, emerging as the top in terms of women and underrepresented directors.
Although the two datasets contain significant differences in the production levels of each distributor over time, based on available data, Universal employed women to direct 32 of 341 (9.4%) films released over the 19-year period, followed by Disney with 18 of 226 (7.9%) and other distributors with 23 of 276 (8.3%). Paramount had the lowest score in 4 out of 203, or 1.9%.
Looking at underrepresented directors, Universal topped the hiring list with 67 out of 341 (19.65%), followed by Lionsgate with 32 out of 163 (19.63%). Paramount once again came in last place with 19 out of 203 and 9.4%. In 19 years, underrepresented women directed 38 out of 1,900 films.
The study notes a “significantly higher proportion of women” directing films in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition (women make up 64% of the 10-film lineup for the upcoming film lineup, which runs from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1, 2026) and television episodes (37% of episodes in 2023-24, according to the Directors Guild of America). Netflix movies (20.5% of 2024 schedule).
The study notes that 72.7% of Sundance’s 2026 U.S. Theater Competition directors are non-white.
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