The Facts
Representation, budgets, and recognition.
These visuals cover who scores the top 300 U.S. box-office films each year, how representation shifts with budget scale, and how recognition maps against awards history.
Women composers
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Composers of color
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Women and Composers of Color Remained Nearly Absent from Film Composition for Two Decades, With Only Modest Post-2018 Gains
Share of feature films scored by women composers and composers of color across the top 300 U.S. box-office films.
Line chart showing yearly share of films scored by women composers and People of Color (PoC).
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| Year | Women composers | People of Color (PoC) |
|---|
High-Budget Films Are Less Likely to Be Scored by Women
Women or composers of color share by production budget.
Line chart showing yearly share of films by production budget.
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| Year | All films | Under $10M | $10M - $50M | Over $50M |
|---|
Music Department Roles Show Persistent Gender and Racial Gaps
Women and People of Color (PoC) share by role.
Line chart showing yearly share of women composers and People of Color (PoC) by music department role.
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| Year | Women composers | People of Color (PoC) |
|---|
Major Film Music Awards Have Largely Excluded Women and PoC for Nearly a Century
Share of women composers and composers of color nominated at major awards.
Line chart showing yearly award share for women composers and composers of color.
View data
| Year | Women composers | Composers of color |
|---|
What These Patterns Show
Persistent gaps
Representation of women and composers of color remains low across the period analyzed.
Limited recent movement
Recent increases in representation are visible but modest in scale.
Concentration at the top
Representation is lowest among the highest-grossing and highest-budget films.