Distribution lead actors in films in the U.S. 2011-2021, by ethnicity

After reaching an all-time high in 2020, the share of lead actors in movies in the United States that the source identified as people of color experienced a slight decrease in 2021, standing just below 39 percent. A decade earlier, approximately 10.5 percent of the lead actors in U.S. films were not white.

Celebrating a more diverse cinema

The year 2020 also had a record-high share of Academy Award-winning movies whose directors were not white: 62.5 percent. The Oscars might have reflected a general trend in the industry since one-fourth of U.S. film directors that year were part of an ethnic minority – the highest percentage in history. In 2021, that figure would increase yet again to 30.2 percent.

Minorities behind and before the big screen

The percentage of non-white movie writers in the U.S. has also been on the rise, going from less than eight percent in 2011 to over 32 percent a decade later. Meanwhile, cinema audiences in the U.S. remained predominantly Caucasian, with white viewers accounting for 57 percent of the movie tickets sold in 2021, the highest share in a historical series started in 2015. Hispanic or Latino-identifying people traditionally hold the second-largest percentage, roughly accounting for one-quarter of moviegoers in the U.S.