New Study Suggests Diverse Casting Equals Box Office Success

hidden figures

by Elizabeth Bennett |
Published on

A new study from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has revealed that films with more diverse casts perform better at the box office than those with less diverse ones, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The study, which looked at 413 films released between January 2014 and December 2016, found that films with at least a 30% non-white cast tended to outperform films with a smaller threshold. The CAA found that this trend was reflected across all budget levels from small, independent films to blockbuster hits.

Futhermore, people of colour made up nearly half (49% in 2016, 45% in 2015) of ticket sales during opening weekend of a number of top billing films.

Their findings are supported by the financial success of a number of recent movies with diverse casts. For examples, Get Out, has to date earned $250m, and Hidden Figures, has grossed $230m, The Guardian reported.

'The interesting things that the most successful movies share is that they’re broadly appealing to diverse audiences,' Christy Haubegger, leader of CAA's multicultural development group, explained.

'People want to see a world that looks like theirs,' she concluded.

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