Paramount and Disney had no LGBT characters in any of their 2015 movies, according to a report released Monday by GLAAD Media. That’s the first time in the report’s five-year history that any studio has not had at least one non-straight character on screen.
Overall, only 22 — or 17.5 percent — of the 126 releases from major studios included gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters last year. That number is consistent with the year before, though portraits of non-white LGBT people dropped nearly 7 percent.
Not one studio received a grade score of “Good,” while Warner Bros., Paramount and Disney were all graded as “Failures.”
Although five of Warner. Bros.’ 25 releases had LGBT characters, the stereotypical depictions in movies like the Kevin Hart–Will Ferrell comedy “Get Hard” earned the studio a failing grade.
Representatives for the studios have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Lionsgate was found to be the most inclusive studio: Eight films of its 24 2015 releases featured LGBT characters — though the company only earned a grade of “adequate” based on the survey’s Vito Russo Test of the nature of their portrayal (read more about GLAAD’s survey method here).
Sony Pictures followed Lionsgate and Warner Bros. with three out of 16 films.
Seventy-seven percent of visible LGBT characters in film were gay men, 23 percent were lesbians, 9 percent bisexuals and 5 percent trans people. In addition, 72.3 percent of characters were white, with Latinos at 10.6 percent, African Americans at 8.5 percent and Asian/Pacific Islander characters at 6.4 percent.
Comedies accounted for 51.9 percent of films with LGBT characters — more than any other genre. Dramas accounted for 8.6 percent, while genre films like action, sci-fi and horror/fantasy clocked in at 6.4 percent, and the animated/family film category at 6.7 percent.
For the second year running, GLAAD also included the releases of awards-coveting indie labels, many of which are owned by the larger studios — Focus Features (Universal), Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics. Of 46 art-house releases from these labels, 10 were considered LGBT-inclusive — 22 percent higher than the slates offered by their parent companies.
The watchdog group’s Studio Responsibility Index found that Hollywood movie studios are falling significantly behind television and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon in their inclusiveness.
“Hollywood films lag far behind other media when it comes to portraying LGBT characters, cementing the industry’s reputation as outdated compared to the groundbreaking inclusion seen on streaming series like ‘Sense8,’ ‘Orange Is the New Black’ and ‘Transparent,’” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said in the report’s introduction.
Ellis vowed that the group would hold the film industry to a higher standard. GLAAD also said future reports will carry a five-star rating system, one being “failing” and five being “excellent.” This report did not issue stars.
“It is clear that what we once considered ‘adequate’ from the film industry is no longer adequate at all,” she said. “We will be holding these studios to a higher standard that more fully accounts for the groundbreaking inclusion we see continuing to flourish across other entertainment media.”