Yes, Barbie has won, but only a battle; the war is still lost

Barbie is gonna be the ultimate box office queen of 2023! This movie is seriously amazing and the absolute biggest triumph for female-driven films.

But hold up, Barbie's win doesn't necessarily mean that all female-led movies are gonna be victorious. Actually, out of the top 100 highest-grossing films worldwide in 2023, only 12 of them have female leads.

Unfortunately, in these 12 films, more than half of the female leads can't really be considered "women".

Looking at the top 50 highest-grossing films worldwide with female leads, there are a total of 5 films where the main characters are, say, women, but not so exactly. Barbie is a toy, the Little Mermaid is a fish. The female lead in Elemental is a fire. The Nun is a female ghost. Carol is a non-human superheroin.

When, finally, some real women show up, it's hard to say that these female characters are there because of the creators in the film industry. Just see Taylor Swift's Concert Film The Eras Tour, for example.

I think we can roughly categorize these films into three types that correspond to common female character types on the movie screen.

【1】The Heroes of Children's Movies, the Epitome of Kindness and Purity

The Little Mermaid/ Elemental/Wish/Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

I always feel that female characters in children's movies are irreplaceable by male characters. When targeting young audiences, the natura

l connection, kindness, and warmth that female protagonists exude are hard to replicate with male characters. That's why Disney has so many "princesses". Thanks to these princess-like characters, female roles often take center stage in animated movies.

However, these characters often fall into the stereotype of women on screen. For instance, the self-perception of women portrayed by the Little Mermaid feels somewhat outdated in today's era. After all, how can young girls, who have been obsessed with Elsa for a decade, embrace an aged female character who sacrifices her voice for love? Therefore, despite their good box office results due to the studio's established market, the four works don’t achieve outstanding reputation. What a pity.

【2】 Witch, the "Other" who is Wild and Strong

The Nun II / Talk To Me / The Marvels / Smuggles

In horror movies, female protagonists are often shown as sources of fear or even fear itself, and because of that, they are usually given central roles. Robin Wood, in a series of articles exploring horror films in the 1970s, suggested that the common theme in horror movies is the danger posed by the "Other" to the "normal." This "normal" includes things like heterosexual order, moral order, and gender roles, among others. The "Other" is often portrayed as the sexual Other, which includes women and bisexual individuals. That's why, in horror films, female characters can’t be replaced with male ones when they represent fear. The female characters in The Nun II and Talk To Me also embody this "wild and strong" Other.

On the other hand, the female character Carol Danvers in Marvels and the one involved in smuggling in Smuggles are others with nothing do to with "horror." But unlike regular women, they are incredibly powerful and destructive, therefore still represent typical female images on screen as the "Other."

【3】 Versatile Sex Symbols

No Hard Feelings/ 80 for Brady

These two comedies, relying on the star power of Jennifer Lawrence and Jane Fonda, have done pretty well at the box office. They are light-hearted and joyful, with female characters serving as decorative elements and also being portrayed as versatile and sex symbols. That's why, in No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence has a (in my opinion, unnecessary) full frontal nude scene. And in 80 for Brady, Jane Fonda's every appearance is meant to showcase her "youthful appearance" that defies her age. The audience watching these films also wants to feel beautiful and sexy at different stages of their lives. So, the idea of women as "sex symbols" is constantly reinforced in these movies.

But let me give some props to 80 for Brady. In a youth-obsessed Hollywood, it's extremely rare for female actors over 80 to have leading roles. According to a 2022 report from Variety, Hollywood is still fixated on youth, especially when it comes to casting female characters. Women in movies are portrayed as younger than men, and only 7% of female characters are over 60. In this context, 80 for Brady, along with Jane Fonda's another film Bookclub, can be seen as a reminder of the age issue in Hollywood.

【4】A rare type: As the subject of the film

Missing 2023

Among these 12 films, I think that besides Barbie, the most revolutionary in the portrayal of female characters is Missing 2. As a desktop film, Missing 2023 follows the style of exploring the world through the internet from the previous installment. What sets it apart is that the main focus of exploration is a girl. This time, the girl takes charge and drives the action instead of being saved or objectified. She remains in control throughout the film. I think this is a smart setup that deserves further exploration.

12 films may not be enough to draw firm conclusions, but we can still see the long-standing issue in the film industry: the lack of representation of women. In real life, women make up half of the global population, but in fictional film worlds, they are only given about a third of the spotlight. According to a report from Variety in 2022, only 11% of films had more female characters than male characters, and 9% of films featured an equal number of male and female characters. Achieving box office success is even rarer for these films. The success of Barbie is just the beginning, and female creators still need to continue their efforts.