Study: Latinos Under-Represented In Hollywood Film Industry

HOLLYWOOD, CA -- Of the 100 top-grossing domestic features from each of the past 12 years, Latinx characters make up only 4.5 percent of all speaking roles, according to a newly-released study.

The study, conducted by USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in association with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment, is entitled "Latinos in Film: Erasure on Screen & Behind the Camera Across 1,200 Popular Movies."

Only three percent of the films studied featured Latinx leads or co-leads, the report found. Seventeen, or 49 percent, of those leading or co-leading roles were women, but five of those 17 roles were played by a single actress: Cameron Diaz. Along with Diaz, the most frequently hired Latino actors were Jennifer Lopez, Eugenio Derbez and Jessica Alba.

Of the 1,200 titles, 568 did not feature a single Latinx speaking character, according to the Reporter.

In 2018, Hispanics made up 18 percent of the U.S. population and 24 percent of the annual box office's frequent moviegoers, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Hispanic audiences made up the highest annual attendance per capita, going to the movie theater an average of 4.7 times in 2018.

The lack of onscreen representation was mirrored in behind-the-camera representation: of the 3,616 produced-by credits on the 1,200 feature films, only 3 percent were held by Latinx producers, while only four percent of directors were Latinx. When a Latino director was attached to a film, the percentage of Latino characters onscreen increased from four percent to 13 percent.

City News Service contributed to this report.