Overview of Findings – SRI 2016

Of the 126 releases GLAAD counted from the major studios in 2015, 22 (17.5%) contained characters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. This is no change from the 17.5% (20 of 114) of films from the same studios we found to be inclusive in 2014.
Again, the overwhelming majority of inclusive films (77%) featured gay male characters, an increase of 12 percentage points from the previous report. Less than a quarter of inclusive films (23%) featured lesbian characters and less than one-tenth (9%) included bisexual characters. This is a near reversal from last year’s report, which found 30% of inclusive films featured bisexual characters and only 10% included lesbians. GLAAD counted one trans-inclusive film among all releases by major studios in 2015 (Warner Brothers’ Hot Pursuit).
GLAAD counted 47 LGBT characters among all mainstream releases in 2015, up from 28 last year. Male characters outnumbered females by a ratio of more than three to one (36 to 11).
The racial diversity of LGBT characters drastically decreased in films tracked in 2015 after an improvement the year before. In 2015, 25.5% were people of color, compared to 32.1% last year. Of the 47 LGBT characters counted, 34 were white (72.3%), 5 were Latino/a (10.6%), 4 were Black/African American (8.5%), and 3 were Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%). One character was non-human (Fabian in Lionsgate’s Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos).
As has been the case each year since GLAAD began this report, comedies were the most likely major studio films to be LGBT-inclusive. GLAAD identified 27 different studio films as comedies of the 126 tracked, of which 14 (51.9%) were inclusive. By comparison, GLAAD counted 47 films as genre films (action, sci-fi, fantasy/horror), of which only 3 (6.4%) films were inclusive. Additionally, 3 of 35 dramas (8.6%), 1 of 15 animated/ family films (6.7%), and one of two documentaries (50%) included LGBT characters.
The most inclusive major studio tracked this year was Lionsgate, as 8 of 24 films it released in 2015 (33%) were LGBT-inclusive. Warner Brothers followed with 5 of 25 films (20%), then Universal with 4 of 21 films (19%), and Sony with 3 of 16 films (19%). Two of Fox’s 17 films were inclusive (12%). Neither Disney nor Paramount included any LGBT content in their 2015 slates of 11 and 12 films, respectively.
Last year, GLAAD began examining the film releases of four smaller, affiliated studios (Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Roadside Attractions, and Sony Pictures Classics) to draw a comparison between content released by the mainstream studios and perceived “art house” divisions. Of the 46 films released under those studio imprints, we found 10 to be LGBT-inclusive (22%), a notably higher percentage than the parent studio counterparts. This is up from the 10.6% (5 of 47) of films from the same divisions that we found to be inclusive in 2014.

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