Willa Needham | March 11, 2026

Ana-Christina Ramón, founding director of the UCLA Entertainment and Media Research Initiative (EMRI), had an epiphany that would shape her career in an unlikely setting: a screening of “E.T.,” aged seven. 

Seeing other kids on screen, centered as protagonists with full agency, was transformative: 

“I just felt transported,” Ramón remembered. From then on, Ramón understood the power of media to shape perceptions and allow audiences to experience circumstances different from their own. 

As the co-founder and co-author of UCLA’s influential Hollywood Diversity Report, Ramón has spent more than a decade analyzing the films and TV series that are seen most widely, crucially uncovering who is making, starring in and watching the stories that shape culture and power the entertainment industry. 

The newest installment of the report, “2026 Hollywood Diversity Report Part 1: Theatrical,” will be released this Thursday, March 12. The report will reveal the latest diversity trends for 2025’s most popular cinematic releases, including audience and award favorites like “Sinners.” 

Learn more about the process behind the report, its history and what makes it unique below. 

About the Hollywood Diversity Report

Launched in 2014, the bi-annual Hollywood Diversity Report is unlike any other source tracking diversity in the entertainment industry. Ramón developed the report in partnership with Darnell Hunt, a scholar of race and media who is now UCLA’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. Ramón and Hunt founded the report to offer the public a more comprehensive look at diversity in Hollywood, for the first time, illustrating the connection between representation and the bottom line.

The report examines key employment categories in film and television production for inclusivity in terms of race, gender, sexuality and ability. Beyond these metrics, the report analyzes how a film or television series’ level of diversity correlates with its economic success. The report also tracks audience demographics, revealing who is buying movie tickets and investing in streaming services. 

Ramón developed a unique research methodology that looks beyond commonly-referenced data provided by studios. Instead, Ramón and her team conduct rigorous original research, compiling datasets from production credits, subscription databases, audience viewership measurement, movie ticket buying behavior and box office reporting to create a report unlike anything else in the market. 

Measuring how diversity influences the industry 

In the twelve years since its launch, the Hollywood Diversity Report has become a highly trusted source on representation and the bottom line in the industry, widely referenced by journalists, studios and filmmakers. 

The report has consistently found that diverse films and television series are popular with audiences. Movies that reflect the racial diversity of this country, with 41-50% non-white actors, tend to perform the best at the box office. The 2025 theatrical report found films with population-representative casts hit the peak for median return on investment, while those with the least diverse casts (0% to 20% people of color) posted the lowest median ROI. 

“Studios often claimed diversity was risky or worried that casting unknown actors of color would hurt performance,” Ramón said. “Our research shows that it’s no riskier than the alternative. Diversity is not a guarantee of success, but it certainly doesn’t harm profitability and can often enhance it.” 

Recent box office successes like “Wicked” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” both featured in the report in their respective release years, exemplify the broad appeal of films with diverse casts. 

The report highlights how diverse audiences could be key to Hollywood’s prosperity and, ostensibly, the future of the entertainment industry at a precarious moment. But despite diverse audiences’ demand for representation, studios have historically deprioritized inclusive content:

“In times of contraction, diversity is often the first thing sacrificed. Economic uncertainty becomes an excuse. When opportunities shrink, people of color and women are disproportionately affected because of existing systemic biases,” Ramón explained.

Challenging times and the road ahead

Part I of the 2026 Hollywood Diversity Report, to be released this Thursday, arrives at an uncertain time for the industry and a politically charged moment for diversity initiatives across the United States. Since President Trump began his second term, the federal government has cut funding for research initiatives seeking to benefit marginalized people and ideas.

“The word ‘diversity’ itself is under attack,” Ramón said. “Last year, I was asked multiple times whether my colleagues and I would consider renaming the report. I said no. Diversity is not a negative thing.” 

Facing a politically contentious environment, Ramón remains grounded in her original inspiration behind the report, the transformative power of media: 

“I know that the images people see on screen shape perceptions, influence policy conversations and affect society in meaningful ways,” she said. 

The Hollywood Diversity report is rigorous and time-intensive, but Ramón plans to continue the series and make it widely available to readers for as long as possible: 

“From the beginning, Dr. Hunt and I were committed to making the report free and publicly accessible. As a public institution, we want everyone to benefit from the information. I am committed to doing this work because I know it is important.”