Barbie, a thousand and one, Joy Ride among the most inclusive films

Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” was a poster child for the power of inclusion when it broke box office records in 2023, but the film’s 1.45 billion US box office list.

The annual list – presented by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in collaboration with the Adobe Foundation – is a data-driven ranking of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability and age representation.

“Our goal with the Inclusion List is to celebrate those who present and work with exceptional talent from all backgrounds,” explained Dr. Smith in a press release announcing the researchers’ findings. “In its second year of publication, the latest iteration of the Inclusion List features film, filmmakers and distributors who clearly demonstrate that inclusion is a part of great entertainment.”

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King” (2022) remains the most inclusive film from the last five years, while 2023’s “Athoush and One” from writer-director Av Rockwell, produced by Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani and starring Teyana Taylor , produced. – Joins the list in #2. “Bottoms”, “The Color Purple” and “The Blacking”, also in the Top 10 (Nos. 7, 9 and 10 respectively).

For context, “Barbie” ranks in the top 3.33% of films surveyed for gender inclusion, while “Thousand and One” ranks in the top 0.67% of those films.

“Barbie” and “One Thousand and Ones” as top performers in terms of representation of girls and women on screen and behind the camera include “You Hurt My Feelings,” “The Marvels” and “Priscilla.” The highest scores for representation of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups on screen and behind the camera were “Joy Ride,” “A Thousand and Ones,” “The Color Purple,” “House Party” and “The Blacking.” Top scorers for LGBTQ+ representation were All Us Strangers, Theater Camp, Bottoms, Knock at the Cabin and Saltburn. People with disabilities featured the most in What Happens Later, John Wick: Chapter 4, Next, Golda and Holdovers. Finally, “Book Club: The Next Chapter,” “Moving On,” “Marlowe,” “The Miracle Club” and “Golda” earned the highest scores for portraying people ages 65 and older on screen.

Other 2023 films that made the top 150 inclusion list include “Origin,” “American Fiction,” “Past Lives,” “Chevalier,” “Journey to Bethlehem,” “Sound of Freedom,” “Love Again,” ” Saw x, “Transformers: Rise of the Beast”, “80 for Brady”, “Haunted Mansion”, “missing”, “Are you there, God? It’s me Margaret”, “It lives inside”, “about my father”, “Silent Night”, “65”, “Big George Foreman”, “Cocaine Bear”, “Blue Beetle”, “Creed III” and “The Freator”.”

While the first edition of the inclusion list highlighted the producers who prioritized representation, this time five directors and eight editors were recognized for the inclusivity of their work in film over the past five years. “By celebrating these artists, our goal was to showcase the voices behind the stories that bring inclusive stories to audiences,” noted Dr. Smith.

Catherine Hardwicke (“Mafia Mamma,” “Miss Bala”) rated by more than 400 directors during this time; Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart,” “Don’t Worry, Darling”); Destin Daniel Cretton (“Just Mercy,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”); Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard,” “Joe Bell”); and Kasi Lemmons (“Harriet,” “Whitney Houston: I Want to Dance With Someone”) worked with the highest percentage of women and people of color to judge the department/unit in the films.

Annette Davey (“Poms,” “Together, Together,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3”); Anne McCabe (“Country,” “Dear Evan Hansen”); Blair McClendon (“Aftersun,” “The Assistant”); Catrin Hedström (“The Marvels”, “Candyman”); Hilda Rasula (“American Fiction,” “Carrying On”); Harry Yoon (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings,” “Minari”); Mary Joyke (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “Charlies Angels”); and Terilyn A. Shropshire (“Miss Bala,” “The Woman King”) were named the most inclusive editors of two or more films on the list.

The top distributors were also ranked by the number of films that appeared on the list, with Universal Pictures once again leading the major studios with 29 films on the list, followed by Sony Pictures Entertainment (21 films) and Warner Bros. (18 films). A24 led the independent distributor list with 14 films, followed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) with 10 films and Bleecker Street with nine.

The full report and methodology can be found at InclusionList.org, as well as a breakdown of the 100 most inclusive broadcast and cable series from the 2021-22 season from 2021 to 2023.