More hit films starred a man called Chris than a woman aged over 60, says new study

A study found that just five of the 100 highest-grossing films from the past three years starred a woman older than 60. The comparison showed multiple leading roles dominated by actors named Chris. The research also found films were four times more likely to feature a talking animal as the lead than an older woman. The female-led films identified included Allelujah, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, Book Club: The Next Chapter, The Substance, and Freakier Friday. Emma Thompson called for directors to better represent audiences, arguing that women are half the population and become older, making stories about ageing women overdue. The Centre for Ageing Better’s chief executive said it was ludicrous that so few films placed older women at the front and centre.

"A campaign by The Age Without Limits has found that just five of the 100 highest-grossing films of the past three years have starred a woman older than 60. In comparison, there were five led by an actor named Chris: Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023), The Super Mario Bros Movie (2026) and The Garfield Movie (2024); Chris Pine in Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023) and Chris Hemsworth in Transformers One (2024)."

"Films were also four times more likely to feature a talking animal as its lead than an older woman. The female-led films that did feature in the research were Allelujah (Jennifer Saunders), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (Nia Vardalos), Book Club: The Next Chapter (Diane Keaton), The Substance (Demi Moore), and Freakier Friday (Jamie Lee Curtis)."

"Responding to the findings, Thompson, 67, called on directors to be more representative of audiences. "Women are half the population and we get older," said the actor. "So where are the stories about us? The older we get, the more interesting we are." She continued: "I want to see more films centre ageing women. We are compelling, relatable and overdue for centre stage. Older women don't need permission to exist on screen. They already exist in the world - cinema just needs to catch up.""

"In a statement following the findings of their research, The Centre for Ageing Better's chief executive, Dr Carol Easton OBE, said: "It is absolutely ludicrous to think so few films have been made in recent years that have an older woman at the front and centre.""

Read at The Independent