Representation Gap in UK Cinema: Older Women Outnumbered by Talking Animals

"Women are half the population and we get older. So where are the stories about us?"
— Emma Thompson, age 67

The Study

A survey conducted by the Centre for Ageing Better and Age Without Limits, with academic analysis from the University of West London School of Film, Media and Design, examined the 100 highest-grossing films in the UK for 2023, 2024, and 2025. The analysis identified a striking disparity in the representation of several character types.

Key Findings

The study reported the following counts within the sample of 100 top-grossing films:

• Older Women: Five films featured a woman aged 60 or older as a lead or central character.
• Talking Animals: Approximately 20 films featured a talking animal.
• Male Actors Named Chris: Six films featured a lead actor named Chris. Actor Chris Pratt appeared in three of these films.

In short: talking animals appeared four times more often than older women. Films starring a man named Chris outnumbered those starring a woman over 60.

Films Featuring Older Women

The five films in the top 100 that starred a woman over 60 were identified as:

• Allelujah (2023)
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023)
• Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)
• The Substance (2024)
• Freakier Friday (2025)

Additional films featuring older women appeared outside the top 100, including Hard Truths, I'm Still Here, and Thelma.

The study noted that Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy — the second highest-grossing UK film of 2025 — would have been included in this category if its star, Renée Zellweger, were three years older.

Public Opinion Survey

A poll of 4,000 people was conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better. The results included:

• One in six respondents (approximately 17%) said they would be more likely to see a film with an older female lead.
• 33% of respondents felt that insufficient films star women over 60.
• 3% believed that too many such films exist.
• 39% of female respondents reported feeling that not enough films feature female actors over 60 as a lead.
• 8% of respondents said they would be less likely to see a film with a woman over 60 as a lead.

Nearly twice as many people would be more likely to see a film with an older female lead than would be less likely to see one.

Statements from Campaign Officials and Actors

Dr. Carole Easton, chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, described the lack of representation as "insulting" and noted that up to one in five UK cinema attendees are aged 55 and above.

Harriet Bailiss, co-lead of Age Without Limits, stated that the film industry is "actively participating in the pushing of older people to the margins of society."

Previous Academic Research

A prior study by the University of West London, which sampled 1,200 speaking characters from nearly 50 popular films released between 2010 and 2022, found that:

• Only one in three characters was aged 50 or older.
• Female characters aged 65 or older were more than three times less likely than men of the same age to appear in British films over the last decade.
• Women over 50 spoke 14% less than older men in the sample.
• Characters played by women over 60 were often depicted as "passive, pitiable, ridiculed for failing to act their age and often irrelevant to the main plot."