The gender-balanced casting of IMDbPro’s list of the 100 most popular movies of 2025 declined.
ReFrame — the initiative launched by the Sundance Institute and WIF (formerly Women in Film, Los Angeles) in partnership with IMDbPro as a way to advance gender equality — has released its latest report examining hiring across lead roles in those 100 films based on IMDbPro data. After analyzing the ranks, the organization awards ReFrame stamps to signify gender-balanced production.
Twenty-six of the top 100 films received the seal, which is down four from 2024’s numbers. Also worth noting is the decline in representation in other key roles such as directors and performers. In 2023, there were 20 women and non-binary directors with films in the top 100, followed by 14 in 2024, and 11 in 2025. Lead casting also saw a decline with 51 women (including a transgender actor) represented in 2024, followed by 39 in 2025. Racial diversity also fell to an eight-year low with seven women represented Women of color in leadership roles. 2025.
“The findings of this report point to a significant disinvestment in women-led ventures – narrowing the scope of opportunities for women and gender-diverse people across the industry,” said WIF CEO Christine Schaefer. “Collectively, we have the power to change that. By making intentional choices guided by the ReFrame Stamp standards, those with hiring power have a clear path to building a more equitable industry, one production at a time.”
“The ReFrame Stamp was designed as a starting point, with moderate measures for the substantive inclusion of women, non-binary and trans people in key roles in front of and behind the camera to qualify as gender balanced,” ReFrame founders Cathy Schulman and Kerry Putnam added in a joint statement. “This was intended to serve as a floor, not a ceiling, on our path to inclusive hiring. The fact that even this baseline is still a minority achievement is troubling. Instead of raising the bar, we are now seeing production fall below That, and that’s not progress.
The report found that for films with budgets exceeding $100 million, 26% of films received the seal for 2025, on par with the previous year’s results. On the studio side, Netflix has obtained the ReFrame Stamp for at least 50 percent of its releases.
Notable films among the top 100 films to receive the seal include Luca Guadagnino After fishing Starring Julia Roberts, actor Len Wiseman Ballerina Starring Ana de Armas, Lynn Ramsay My love dies Animation starring Jennifer Lawrence ElioZach Lipofsky and Adam Stein Bloodlines final destinationNisha Ganatra Freaky FridayChloe Zhao Hamnet Starring Academy Award winner Jessie Buckley and Jennifer Kattin Robinson I know what you did last summerChris Appelhans and Maggie Kang Demon hunters in kpopDean Fleischer Camp Lilo and StitchCeline Song MaterialistsJosh Boone We are sorry for youPaul Feig the maidVictoria Mahoney The old guard 2Jake Schreier Lightning strikes* and John M. Chu Evil: for good Starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
The full report can be found here.
