A new UCLA study finds that opportunities for women and people of color in streaming films are shrinking, raising concerns that years of progress in Hollywood representation may be reversing.
Key takeaways
Even with the runaway success of “KPop Demon Hunters,” diversity fell in streaming films in 2025, with people of color losing ground in all key employment categories, the latest Hollywood Diversity Report shows.
Women also saw drops in almost every category, with less than 1 in 4 streaming films being directed by women — the lowest point since the report began tracking.
“KPop Demon Hunters” topped household ratings across all audience demographic groups studied, with women of color especially helping to drive unprecedented Nielsen ratings.
Netflix’s Korean-inspired “KPop Demon Hunters” may have been one of the biggest films in 2025 — racking up 20.6 billion minutes of viewing according to Nielsen — but diversity took a hit on major streaming platforms, according to the latest analysis by UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report.
Mirroring shifts in theatrical releases over recent years, streaming opportunities for people of color and women went anywhere but “Up, Up, Up,” the researchers found.
“After the big numbers we saw for diversity in streaming originals just a couple of years ago, we now see the path closing for people of color and women to premiere their film on a major streamer,” said report co-founder Ana-Christina Ramón, director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA.
An industry-wide chilling effect
In 2025, people of color will lose ground in all key Hollywood employment categories measured by the report—directors, writers, lead actors and overall cast. Women also saw drops in almost every category, and actors with known disabilities continued to be underrepresented, the UCLA researchers said.
The proportion of lead actors of color declined from 2024’s high of 51% to just 36% — the first time in three years that figure fell below their proportion of the U.S. population. And the number of streaming films directed by women continued to fall, reaching a reported low of 23.6%. Meanwhile, the share of films by white directors grew from 61.3% in 2024 to 70.4%.
For the first time since the Hollywood Diversity Report began tracking streaming releases in 2022, films featuring casts with a majority of people of color did not represent a plurality — dropping to 25.8% in 2025 from 41.0% the previous year.
These declines in diversity are particularly notable because the overall number of original English-language films also fell. In 2025, only 89 were released on major streaming platforms; the Hollywood Diversity Report usually focuses on the top 100 English-language releases.
The researchers said it is a point of concern, with previous UCLA reports having shown that greater progress in representation and success was possible for women and people of color on streaming platforms, and that it may be indicative of an “industry-wide chilling effect.”
“This is an industry in flux — and in reverse, especially when it comes to diversification,” said Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, who co-founded the report. “Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with theatrical films, we’re now seeing the impact of this current political climate in very meaningful and concrete ways. As budgets tighten, opportunities for filmmakers of underrepresented backgrounds are always the first to be squeezed out.”
