LGBTQ+ inclusion in mainstream movies reaches 3-year low, study finds

LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media keeps plummeting year-over-year, and a new study from GLAAD shows concerning results when evaluating the queer-inclusive projects — from Hollywood's top 10 studio distributors — released in the 2024 calendar year.

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GLAAD's 13th annual Studio Responsibility Index study took into consideration the top 10 studio distributors in Hollywood, as well as their "subsidiary distribution labels and majority-owned streaming services." For context, this list includes A24, Amazon, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The GLAAD study outlines alarming statistics regarding studio films released in 2024. Of note, LGBTQ-inclusive movies now only account for 23.6 percent of all releases from major Hollywood studios in 2024. This is a three-year low that follows 27.3 percent in 2023 and a record-high 28.5 percent in 2022.

The report also includes findings such as:

Only two films (less than 1 percent of all films tracked) featured transgender characters, and both included either harmful stereotypes or inauthentic casting.

LGBTQ characters of color made up just 36 percent of all LGBTQ characters, down from 46 percent in 2023 — the lowest since 2019.

A24 was the only studio to receive a "Good" rating, releasing the highest percentage of LGBTQ-inclusive films and breaking its own box office record in the process.

2024 films that passed the Vito Russo Test developed by GLAAD — a set of criteria used to analyze how LGBTQ+ characters are included in a film — include Love Lies Bleeding, Problemista, Mean Girls (2024), Queer, My Old Ass, and Drive-Away Dolls, to name a few.

GLAAD President & CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, wrote in a statement:

"This year's findings are a wake-up call to the industry. At a time when LGBTQ people are facing unprecedented attacks in politics and news media, film must be a space for visibility and truth. Representation isn't about checking a box — it's about whose stories get told, whose lives are valued, and creating worlds that mirror our own society today. When done authentically, LGBTQ representation builds audience and buzz, while humanizing LGBTQ people as those in power are actively working to take away our humanity."

Overall, GLAAD reports that the "10 distributors tracked in this study released 250 films in 2024." Only 59 films — within that total of 250 releases — contain an LGBTQ+ character.

Keep scrolling to discover how each of the top 10 Hollywood studios were rated in this new GLAAD study.

Editor's note: All information below provided by GLAAD. Studios listed in alphabetical order.