Women directors account for 12% of the top 100 U.S. box office hits in 2019

According to foreign media reports, in 2019, 12% of the top 100 films in the US box office were directed by female directors, which is the best result for female directors in Hollywood since the survey began in 2007. In the past 13 years, the total proportion of female directors in the "top 100 box office" (all referring to the United States, the same below) is 4.8%.

The highest-ranking female director on this year's list is Jennifer Lee, who co-directed Frozen 2 with Chris Buck, which ranked fourth at the U.S. box office. Universal Pictures accounted for five of the 12 "Top 100" films directed by women this year: Abominable by Jill Carlton (co-directed with Todd Wildman), Queen & Slim by Melina Matsoukas, Little People by Tina Gordon Chism, A Dog's Purpose 2 by Gail Mancuso, and Harriet by Kasi Lemmons (released by Universal's Focus Features).

Other films directed by women on the list include Captain Marvel, directed by Anna Boden (with Ryan Fleck), Hustlers, directed by Lauren Scafaria, Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig, On the Basis of Sex, directed by Mimi Leder, and Booksmart, directed by Olivia Wilde.

Of the 12 films directed by women, four were directed by women of color : Tina Gordon Chism, Kasi Lemmons, Melina Matsoukas and Roxanne Dawson for The Impossible.

According to the same survey, there is no clear distinction between the average ratings of films directed by men or women, or white and non-white directors. Films directed by women of color have the highest average ratings, but this group appears least in the "Top 100 Box Office" each year. In 2019, the proportion of female directors in traditional Hollywood studios was 15%, while that of Netflix was 20%.

The survey also noted the performance of female-directed films during the award season. In the past 13 years, only 5.1% of the nominations for "Best Director" given by the Golden Globe Awards, Oscars, Directors Guild Awards, and Critics' Choice Awards were for women, and only four films directed by women were nominated independently - Kathryn Bigelow, Ava DuVernay, Angelina Jolie and Greta Gerwig. Among them, only Kathryn Bigelow actually won the award - she won the "Best Director" of the Directors Guild Awards in 2009 for "The Hurt Locker".