LGBTQ+ inclusion in mainstream cinema has taken a troubling downturn, according to GLAAD’s 13th annual Studio Responsibility Index. The study, released this week, reveals that just 23.6% of films from major Hollywood studios released in 2024 included LGBTQ+ characters — the lowest figure in three years.
That’s down from 27.3% in 2023 and 28.5% in 2022, which had marked a record high. The drop comes at a time when LGBTQ+ communities globally, and especially in the United States, are facing escalating political hostility and legislative attacks.
🎥 Study Analysed 250 Studio Releases
The 2024 report examined 250 films distributed by Hollywood’s 10 biggest studios and their streaming subsidiaries, including A24, Amazon, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Only 59 of those 250 films included an LGBTQ+ character.
🚨 Key Findings
- Only two films featured transgender characters — both criticised for including harmful stereotypes or casting issues.
- LGBTQ+ characters of colour accounted for just 36% of LGBTQ+ roles — a sharp drop from 46% in 2023, and the lowest since 2019.
- A24 stood out as the only studio to earn a “Good” rating, with 56% of its 2024 films being LGBTQ-inclusive.
✅ Vito Russo Test Highlights
GLAAD also used its Vito Russo Test — a benchmark for evaluating meaningful LGBTQ+ representation in cinema. Some of the 2024 titles that passed include:
- Love Lies Bleeding
- Problemista
- Mean Girls (2024)
- Queer
- My Old Ass
- Drive-Away Dolls
🗣️ “A Wake-Up Call to the Industry”
GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a sharp rebuke in a statement:
“This year’s findings are a wake-up call to the industry. At a time when LGBTQ people are facing unprecedented attacks in politics and news media, film must be a space for visibility and truth.
Representation isn’t about checking a box — it’s about whose stories get told, whose lives are valued, and creating worlds that mirror our own society today.”
Ellis emphasised that authentic representation not only supports queer communities but can also drive box office and cultural impact.
🎞️ LGBTQ+ Inclusion by Studio in 2024
(Studios listed alphabetically; source: GLAAD)
| Studio | Total Films | LGBTQ+ Films | % Inclusive | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A24 | 16 | 9 | 56% | Good |
| Amazon | 25 | 8 | 32% | Fair |
| Apple TV+ | 4 | 1 | 25% | Insufficient |
| Lionsgate | 44 | 8 | 18% | Poor |
| NBCUniversal | 25 | 4 | 16% | Fair |
| Netflix | 49 | 14 | 29% | Poor |
| Paramount Global | 16 | 3 | 19% | Insufficient |
| Sony Pictures | 33 | 4 | 12% | Insufficient |
| Disney | 23 | 5 | 22% | Poor |
| Warner Bros. | 15 | 3 | 20% | Insufficient |
