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The cast of the movie 'Fast and Furious 5' (from left) director and producer Justin Lin, US actors Tyrese Gibson and Vin Diesel, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, US actor Paul Walker, Israeli actress Gal Gadot and US actor Dwayne Johnson

UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center published a report proving the “movies don’t sell well with minority actors” myth is a lie. In a study that examined 163 films released in 2014, films that featured at least 40% minority casts had “the highest median return on investment.”

“Films with a cast made up of more than 50 percent minority actors had almost exactly the same median global box-office returns as films with casts of ten percent or less minority actors. And over the last few years, the story has been similar. In 2011 and 2013, the highest median global box-office returns came from movies with 21 to 30 percent minority casts, and in 2012, it was movies with 31 to 40 percent minority casts.”

Hollywood’s lack of diversity was also put on blast.

“Minorities only held 12.9 percent of the lead roles in these movies, down from 16.7 percent in 2013. With minorities making up 37.9 percent of the U.S. population in 2014, that means actors of color were underrepresented by a factor of nearly three to one. 

Minorities were underrepresented by a factor of three to one among directors and five to one among writers.”

Here’s to hoping Hollywood wises up and realizes that diverse casts aren’t just good for representation. They’re good for business, period. As the #OscarsSoWhite movement has proven, people of color pay attention to what’s happening with movies and it might do well for Hollywood to make a better effort for diversity in the future.

SOURCE: Vulture | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

Diverse Hollywood Casts Do Better At The Box Office  was originally published on globalgrind.com