A recently conducted study has shed light on the prevalent casting trends in mainstream movies, revealing a concerning situation for older women in the Hollywood industry. In a bizarre turn of events, talking animals currently have a better statistical chance of landing a lead role than women who have crossed the 60-year age mark.
New study reveals latest casting norms in Hollywood
According to a recent survey, the top Hollywood films of the last three years had more male actors with the name Chris serving as the protagonist than women over 60. The UK study also mentioned that a movie was more likely to have a talking animal in the leading role than a 60+ female actor.
Notably, the Age Without Limits survey formulated its response by looking at the 100 highest-grossing films in 2023, 2024, and 2025 that dominated the UK box office. Of the movies considered in the study, six entries had a man named Chris play the lead role, while only five featured a female protagonist over the age of 60.
The Age Without Limits campaign, centered around women in Hollywood, has already received support from Academy Award winner Emma Thompson. “Women are half the population, and we get older. So where are the stories about us? The older we get, the more interesting we are. I want to see more films center aging women, we are compelling, relatable, and overdue for center stage. Older women don’t need permission to exist on screen. They already exist in the world, cinema just needs to catch up,” she said in a statement to the campaign representatives.
Moreover, Dr. Carol Easton OBE, the Centre for Ageing Better’s Chief Executive, stated, “The representation of older actors in major film roles is so disproportionate to the proportion of older women in the cinema-going audience, the lack of representation is insulting frankly.”
Additionally, Harriet Bailiss, the co-lead of the campaign, reflected, “By failing to properly represent older people, and older women in particular, the film industry is actively participating in the pushing of older people to the margins of society.”
Notably, the five recent Hollywood movies to feature women over 60 playing the leading role, as revealed in the study, include Jennifer Saunders’ Allelujah, Nia Vardalos-led My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, Diane Keaton’s Book Club: The Next Chapter, Demi Moore’s The Substance, and Jamie Lee Curtis-led Freakier Friday.
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on ComingSoon.net.
