‘Bros’ Accounted for 80% of All Transgender Characters in 2022’s Top Grossing Movies According to New Hollywood Diversity Study
Angelique Jackson The annual report from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that Universal’s “Bros” accounted for 80% of the transgender characters in the 100 top-grossing movies of 2022.
According to the study, just 87 of 4,169 speaking or named characters (2.1%) in 2022 movies were LGBTQ+. Of that number, five characters identified as transgender and four of them appeared in “Bros.” Written by and starring Billy Eichner, the film made history as the first gay rom-com to be given a wide theatrical release by a major studio and featured a cast almost exclusively made up of LGBTQ actors.
The film was released in September 2022 and despite disappointing box office returns (“Bros” earned just $14.7 million worldwide), qualified under the Annenberg researchers’ criteria.
Authored by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Dr. Katherine Pieper and Sam Wheeler, the study assessed a total of 69,858 speaking characters covering the 1,600 top films from 2007 to 2022, examining the inclusion factors of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identity and characters with disabilities, as well as below the line departments including directors, writers, producers, composers and casting directors.
