Representation of women and people of color in movies streaming online has decreased in 2025 — that is counting A smash hit for Netflix Demon hunters in kpop.
UCLA’s latest Hollywood Diversity Report found that as the number of films being streamed online has declined, so has the hiring of minorities among directors, writers and actors overall.
“After the huge numbers we saw for diversity in original broadcast just two years ago, we now see the path closed for people of color and women to have their films debut on a major broadcast channel,” said Ana Cristina Ramon, co-founder of the report and director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA.
Lead actors of color fell from an all-time high of 51 percent in 2024 to 36 percent in 2025 — from a majority to nearly a third. This was the first time in three years that their share fell below proportionate representation of the US population. The share of films directed by a woman continued to decline to 23.6 percent, the lowest level seen in this annual report, which began tracking online films in 2022.
“This is an industry in flux — and in reverse, especially when it comes to diversification,” said Darnell Hunt, executive vice provost and vice chancellor at UCLA, another co-founder of the report. “Unfortunately, as we saw with theatrical films, we are now seeing the impact of this current political climate in very meaningful and tangible ways. As budgets tighten, opportunities for filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds are always the first to be curtailed.”
The study’s authors blame the backlash against DEI, industry contraction, and overall belt-tightening, on a reversal of fortune. They believe diversity is treated as expendable or optional as budgets are cut.
Things don’t look any better at the bottom of the contact sheet. Only 25.8 percent of movies streaming online featured actors who were majority people of color, down from 41 percent.
“It wasn’t long before live streaming became the place where people of color and women were finding their feet,” said sociologist and co-author Michael Tran.
“These far-fetched trends in diversity in films should raise concern,” Hunt said. “And get the industry into action.”
The 2025 live-action movie was the best for several reasons Demon hunters in kpop.
“The film is a prime example of how culture spreads and how diverse representation does not alienate audiences,” said Nico Garcia, a doctoral student at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, who co-wrote the report. “He could bring them.”
One particularly interesting statistic jumps out Demon hunters in kpop is that a greater percentage of households with Latinas watched the Netflix original movie than households with Asian women, the University of California found. Although it was made for an American audience, Demon hunters in kpop It is based heavily on Korean culture – not just pop music.
