SUMMARY
Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under the Amazon Studios banners, GLAAD has rated Amazon as FAIR.
There are some standouts in terms of LGBTQ representation in Amazon’s slate, led by the GLAAD Media Award-winning comedy My Old Ass, which featured a bisexual protagonist, something very rare despite bisexual+ people being the largest subsection of the LGBTQ community. Another highlight was Ricky Stanicky, which included a gay man in its lead trio, along with his partner, who is one of the few disabled queer characters featured in this study. Other films tracked, such as Challengers and Space Cadet, were minimally inclusive but had opportunities to expand upon their LGBTQ characters and storylines.
After Amazon’s previous year’s slate included such successes and leading and diverse characters as were seen in Bottoms, Cassandro and Red, White & Royal Blue, which netted the distributor a Good grade, there was a slight decrease year over year, leaving an opportunity for Amazon to return to that level in the next study.
HISTORY
Prime Video and in-house Amazon MGM Studios (previously Amazon Studios) began distributing original content in 2013, followed by original films in 2018. In 2021, Amazon reached a multi-year deal with Universal Pictures to bring their films to Prime Video and Amazon Freevee (previously IMDb TV) after a window on Universal-owned streamer Peacock. Amazon finalized its acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 2022, allowing MGM to continue operations as a boutique label. In 2023, Amazon Studios merged with MGM Holdings and launched an international film and tv distribution unit for Amazon and MGM projects, entitled Amazon MGM Studios Distribution. That same year, Amazon shut down United Artists Releasing and Freevee, folding their operations into MGM and Prime Video, respectively. In 2024, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios joined the Motion Picture Association (MPA), becoming its seventh member.
Amazon and UAR’s previous LGBTQ-inclusive films consist of GLAAD Media Award winners Transparent: Musical Finale (2019), Uncle Frank (2020), Anything’s Possible (2022), and Red, White & Royal Blue, and Bottoms (2023); GLAAD Media Award nominees Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and God’s Own Country (2017) Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021), My Policeman (2022), and American Fiction, and Cassandro (2023).
This dramedy follows 18-year-old Elliot the summer before she leaves for college when a trip on mushrooms causes her to see her 39-year-old self. Older Elliot warns her younger self to stay away from a boy named Chad, which Younger Elliot doesn’t think will be a problem as she’s only been attracted to women at that point. Elliot spends the early part of the film sleeping with a girl named Chelsea, who she describes as her dream girl, but eventually she does meet Chad and falls for him. She has a conversation with her friend Ro, who is nonbinary, about how she’s never been attracted to men before, and Ro assures Elliot she isn’t any less queer because of her feelings for Chad. It is later revealed that Chad died young, but he was a great love of Elliot’s life, and that Older Elliot was trying to save Younger Elliot from the heartbreak of loss. Older Elliot also casually mentions that she currently has a girlfriend.
This sequel stars Kevin Hart as an action-star version of himself who is being hunted by his former stuntman, Doug. While trying to capture Doug, Kevin and his friends encounter Mr. 206, a man who is working with Doug in his attempt to kill Kevin. Mr. 206 states that he and Doug were lovers in the past, a fact later confirmed by Doug who says “In 2003, for a brief period where I was confused about my sexuality, he was my lover.” While Mr. 206 and Doug are both villains and die by the end of the film, their villainy is not rooted in their queerness, nor vice versa. Ultimately, these characters could have used more nuance in their portrayal, but it is clear that Doug and Mr. 206 genuinely care about each other and their queerness is not the butt of the joke.
The sequel to 2020’s My Spy continues to follow spy JJ and his adopted daughter Sophie. In the first film, gay couple Carlos and Todd were introduced as neighbors who were secretly arms dealers. Carlos and Todd return in the sequel, hired by the antagonist, but they are quickly apprehended by Sophie, who takes them down easily. Carlos and Todd have a relatively small part in the film, but they are important to the plot, and confirmed to still be a couple.
This raunchy comedy follows a group of friends who have made up a fake person, Ricky Stanicky, who they use to displace blame for their own wrongdoings or to get out of things they do not want to do.. Years later, when almost caught in the lie, they hire an actor, Rod, to play the “real” Ricky. One of the core friends is Wes, a gay man, who is dating a man named Keith. Wes’ sexuality is not a surprise or a punchline, and he is lying to Keith in the same way the straight men are lying to their wives. When the Ricky lie gets out of control, Wes is the one who tries to tell the truth, although the others shut him down. It is also revealed that Wes told Keith that he and Ricky used to date. Rod takes this in stride and commits to playing the role of Ricky as Wes’s ex. It is notable that this gross-out comedy includes a gay character in the main cast and doesn’t make him the butt of the joke, as many predecessors have. It is also notable that Keith is one of the few characters counted in this study that has a disability, and though Wes and Keith’s relationship goes through its ups and downs, the two are together and happy at the end of the film.
Space Cadet follows Rex, a party girl who applies to NASA on a whim and is accepted into their space program. Her roommate is Violet Marie, a Type-A girl who learns to loosen up with the help of Rex. Violet Marie makes an offhand comment about how there are a bunch of cute guys in the program and then amends the statement to also include cute girls, demonstrating her interest in men and women. Though Violet Marie is never given a love interest, she is a significant part of the film, and her relationship with Rex is one of the central friendships in the movie.
This romantic comedy follows Ana as she meets a wealthy man, Will, on a flight, and the two fall in love. Will’s mother Catherine is a British celebrity who is close friends with Julian, a gay man. Though Julian mostly serves a supporting role as Catherine’s sidekick, he is also a confidant of Will, at times influencing Will and Ana to make their relationship work.
