Add Movieguide® as preferred on Google
By Movieguide® Staff
For the third year in a row, the number of LGBTQ+ characters in feature films has declined.
“Of the 225 films released last year, 46 contained LGBTQ characters, or 20.4 percent. That marked a dip from 2024, when 59 out of 250 films contained LGBTQ characters, or 23.6 percent,” The Hollywood Reporter shared, referring to statistics from a study conducted by GLAAD. “It was a third straight drop from the record counted in 2023, when 28.5 percent of films featured a LGBTQ character. The number of characters also dropped, down to 112 from 181 the year before.”
THR also noted that “there were no LGBTQ characters in the 19 films categorized as animated/family films rated PG and under, and no transgender characters featured in the crop of 225 films from the 10 largest studio distributors.”
Many studio heads have shared their intention to steer away from these themes. Earlier this year, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter spoke to the Wall Street Journal about his decision to cut LGBTQ+ storylines from recent projects.
Related: Pixar Boss Doesn’t Want LGBT Themes in His Movies
“We’re making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy,” he explained. “As time’s gone on, I realized my job is to make sure the films appeal to everybody.”
In 2025, it was reported that Disney had removed an LGBTQ+ storyline from the show WIN OR LOSE.
A Disney spokesperson confirmed the removal to THR, saying, “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
Movieguide®’s Dr. Ted Baehr has written about this topic, explaining that family-friendly movies without excessive content will always win out at the box office.
“People mistakenly think that if they put more violence, more sex, more language in their movies that it will attract a broader audience when the opposite is true,” he said while announcing the nominees for the 2021 Movieguide® Awards. “The movies that bring in the most people are pictures that promote inspirational elements such as kindness, self-sacrifice, faith, forgiveness, redemption, honoring parents, courage, teamwork, and honesty.”
In an article he penned for Movieguide®, Dr. Baehr wrote of their success in changing the entertainment industry: “When we started in 1985, less than 6% of the major movies were aimed at families. In the past 20 years, movies marketed to families have increased to more than 35% of the top movies released in your local movie theaters.”
This latest report shows that Hollywood is listening to what audiences really want and turning away from excessive content.
Read Next: Why We Must Redeem Hollywood
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
Add Movieguide® as preferred on GoogleShare:
- Content: +4
- Content: 
- Content: +4