2023 Studio Responsibility Index

Overview of Findings

Of the 350 films released theatrically and on tracked streaming services by the ten distributors counted in 2022, 100 (28.5 percent) were LGBTQ-inclusive. This is the highest percentage and number recorded in this report. In the previous study, GLAAD counted 16 inclusive films of 77 released theatrically from the seven major studios (20.8 percent).

Films with LGBTQ Characters

28.5% (71.5% FILMS WITHOUT)

LGBTQ-inclusive Film Breakdown

Of the 100 LGBTQ-inclusive films released in 2022, 55 (55 percent) included gay men, 45 (45 percent) included lesbians, 21 (21 percent) included bisexual+ characters, 12 (12 percent) included transgender characters, and 17 (17 percent) included queer characters that don’t fall specifically into those other labels.

Of the 292 LGBTQ characters counted, 163 (56 percent) were men, 119 (41 percent) were women, and ten (three percent) were nonbinary. Six of the men characters (four percent) and seven of the women characters (six percent) were transgender.

Gender of LGBTQ Characters

Race of LGBTQ Characters

Of the 292 LGBTQ characters counted, 117 (40 percent) are characters of color. Of all the LGBTQ characters, 173 (59 percent) are white, 50 (17 percent) are Black, 17 (six percent) are Latine, 26 (nine percent) are API, 19 are multiracial (seven percent), three are MENA (one percent) and two are indigenous (one percent). Two further characters (one percent) are non-human.

Of the 292 LGBTQ characters found this year, GLAAD counted eleven (4%) characters with disabilities.

Of the 292 LGBTQ characters, 95 (33 percent) appeared in over ten minutes of screentime, 32 (11 percent) had between five and ten minutes of screentime, 79 (27 percent) had between one and five minutes of screen time, and 86 (29 percent) clocked under one minute.

Screentime of LGBTQ characters

This year, comedy was the most inclusive genre of films by percentage, while drama was the most inclusive by number. This was the first year GLAAD began counting horror as a singular category; previous reports included it as part of the fantasy/genre category.

LGBTQ-inclusive Film by Genre

COMEDY

73 TOTAL / 32 INCLUSIVE (44%)

DRAMA

83 TOTAL / 33 INCLUSIVE (40%)

HORROR

32 TOTAL /
7 INCLUSIVE (22%)

ANIMATED/FAMILY

39 TOTAL / 8 INCLUSIVE (21%)

DOCUMENTARY

73 TOTAL / 12 INCLUSIVE (16%)

ACTION/SCI-FI/FANTASY

50 TOTAL / 8 INCLUSIVE (16%)

Gender of LGBTQ Characters With Significant Screentime

Of the 95 characters that had over ten minutes of screentime, 45 were men (47 percent), 48 were women (51 percent), and two were nonbinary (two percent).

Race of LGBTQ Characters with Significant Screentime

Of the 95 characters that had over ten minutes of screentime, 45 (47 percent) were white, 18 (19 percent) were Black, four (four percent) were Latine, 13 (14 percent) were API, 12 (13 percent) were multiracial, two (two percent) were MENA, and no characters with over ten minutes of screentime were indigenous. One additional character was non-human.

Theatrical Films with LGBTQ Characters

27.4% (72.6% FILMS WITHOUT)

Of the 350 films released in 2022, 164 (47 percent) were theatrical releases. Of those theatrical films, 45 (27 percent), were LGBTQ inclusive.

Of the 350 films released in 2022, 186 (53 percent) were streaming releases. Of those streaming films, 55 (30 percent) were LGBTQ inclusive.

Streaming Films with LGBTQ Characters

29.6% (70.4% FILMS WITHOUT)

View Past Years’ Reports

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