A new study has found that Hollywood’s decision to undervalue Black-led projects costs the film and television industry $10 billion a year.
Deadline reports that a study released by McKinsey & Company found that media and entertainment make revenues of up to $150 billion a year. This means Hollywood has the potential to earn an additional $10 billion in revenues, which would come to nearly 7 percent more than its baseline if racial inequalities weren’t prevalent.
The study, prepared with the use of analyzed data of more than 2,000 films, goes on to state that Black-led projects have been underfunded and undervalued despite evidence showing that Black-led films outperform and outshine other bodies of content in terms of the money made off the investment in the Black-led film or television show.
According to the publication, there were dozens of industry professionals who participated in interviews for this study. Some of those professionals included writers, producers, agents, actors, directors, and executives. The study was also a collaborative effort with the BlackLight Collective, a coalition of Black executives and talent in the industry.
The study also found that up-and-coming Black actors are less likely to receive opportunities to get their big break as leading roles than white actors. Emerging Black actors get an average of six leading roles while white actors get nine. Also, the study highlights that 87 percent of TV executives and 92 percent of film executives are white. This is also the case for the agents and executive staff at the industry’s top three talent agencies; about 90 percent are white, and the partners at these agencies are 97 percent white.
