Overview of Findings

• 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. 

Continue reading…