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Race in : Quantifying the Effect of Race on Movie Performance

Kaden Lee Brown University

20 December 2014

Abstract I. Introduction This study investigates the effect of a movie’s racial The underrepresentation of minorities in Hollywood composition on three aspects of its performance: ticket films has long been an issue of social discussion and sales, critical reception, and audience satisfaction. Movies discontent. According to the Census Bureau, minorities featuring minority actors are classified as either composed 37.4% of the U.S. population in 2013, ‘nonwhite films’ or ‘black films,’ with black films defined from 32.6% in 2004.3 Despite this, a study from USC’s as movies featuring predominantly black actors with Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative found that white actors playing peripheral roles. After controlling among 600 popular films, only 25.9% of speaking for various production, distribution, and industry factors, characters were from minority groups (Smith, Choueiti the study finds no statistically significant differences & Pieper 2013). Minorities are even more between films starring white and nonwhite leading actors underrepresented in top roles. Only 15.5% of 1,070 in all three aspects of movie performance. In contrast, movies released from 2004-2013 featured a minority black films outperform in estimated ticket sales by actor in the leading role. almost 40% and earn 5-6 more points on ’s Directors and production studios have often been 100-point Metascore, a composite score of various movie criticized for ‘whitewashing’ major films. In December critics’ reviews. 1 However, the black film factor reduces 2014, director Ridley Scott faced scrutiny for his movie the film’s Internet Movie Database (IMDb) user rating 2 by 0.6 points out of a scale of 10. reviews submitted by registered users. Higher scores indicate 1 Metacritic.com calculates a weighted average of reviews from higher user satisfaction with the film. For more, see: critics and publications to create their ‘Metascore.’ For more, http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?votestopfaq refer to: http://www.metacritic.com/about-metascores 3 The term ‘minorities’ refers to all populations excluding 2 The IMDb user rating ranges is calculated using a weighted those of white, non-Hispanic descent. Data source: U.S. average (the weighting scheme is not released by IMDb) of all Census Bureau population estimates 1 Exodus: Gods and Kings which cast white actors for the satisfaction when casting a nonwhite actor in the leading top leading roles in a story featuring Egyptian characters. role? Furthermore, these leading actors performed in an Section II constructs a model that captures the major environment that included black actors as slaves, components of a film’s financial performance. These servants, and lower class civilians. components will also serve as controls and fixed effects to When asked about potentially casting nonwhite actors in isolate the impact of race on movie performance. Section the leading roles, Scott replied: III presents the regression models that will be used to estimate the impact of race on ticket sales, critical I can’t mount a film of this budget, where I have to reception, and audience satisfaction as well as the results rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead of those models. Section IV discusses the significance of actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such the results and offers possible explanations. Section V […] I’m just not going to get it financed. So the examines limitations to the study and suggests potential question doesn’t even come up (Foundas 2014). areas of additional research. Scott’s statement, though it has earned him accusations of racial insensitivity and prejudice, highlights the II. Components of Movie Performance potential financial, and not necessarily ideological, mechanisms behind the underrepresentation of There is a wealth of literature investigating the minorities in Hollywood films. Director , determinants of box office success. Litman’s landmark of and Indiana Jones fame, also found it 1983 study identified production costs, critics’ ratings, difficult to finance his 2012 film , which science fiction genre, major distributor, Christmas featured an all-black cast. Lucas told Jon Stewart on The release, Academy Award nomination, and winning an Daily Show: Academy Award as all significant determinants of a There’s no major white roles in it at all … I showed movie’s theatrical success (Terry, Butler & De’Armond it to all of them and they said no, we don’t know 2005). Levene (1992) surveyed college students to find how to market a movie like this (Martin 2012). that plot, subject, word-of-mouth, theater trailers, and television ads were also important factors that Is there in fact a financial risk or penalty incurred when determined subjects’ movie viewing decisions. Some of casting minority actors? There is certainly a perceived these factors, especially the more social factors identified risk in the industry. Movie producers are often reluctant by Levene, are difficult to quantify or access. to cast more than a few minority actors for fear that white audiences will perceive such movies as ‘not for The model employed in this study will capture the them’ and largely avoid them (Weaver 2011). The following factors: production budget, number of reverse effect does not appear to be as much of a theaters, days in theater, critics’ ratings, amateur or concern.4 viewer ratings, number of viewer ratings, Academy Award nominations, Academy Award wins, main genre, Several studies have investigated the financial impact of secondary genre, production studio, opening month, overall cast diversity, but none have focused on the year, MPAA rating, and whether the movie is a sequel or impact of the race of the leading actor or on black films. subsequent film. The Bunche Center’s 2014 Hollywood Diversity Report found that median global box office revenue peaked for Unless otherwise specified, data was retrieved from the films with a 21-30% minority cast share; revenue was Internet Movie Database (IMDb). The variables are as lower for films with both a smaller and larger minority follows: cast share. BUDGET is the production budget deflated to 2004 5 This study seeks to quantify the financial risk that movie dollars. This information was retrieved from IMDb and studios take by featuring minority actors. Is there an The-Numbers.com. impact on ticket sales, critics’ reviews, or audience THEATERS represents the number of theaters at which the movie was shown at the peak of its distribution. This data was retrieved from 4 In fact, Exodus, while criticized for whitewashing its cast, BoxOfficeMojo.com. fared well with Hispanic and black moviegoers, who composed 18% and 20% of the debut audience, respectively. However, this is likely in part due to the movie’s religious 5 A schedule of inflation rates used for this study can be found appeal to those audiences (Lang 2014). in Appendix A. 2 DAYSINTHEATER is the number of days between the dividing the movie’s gross revenue by the average ticket movie’s release and close. This data was calculated using price in the year of its release.6 ‘Open’ and ‘Close’ dates from BoxOfficeMojo.com. Two variables are used to indicate the movie’s racial METASCORE represents Metacritic.com’s composite composition. score of reviews from various professional critics and NONWHITELEAD indicates whether the movie’s publications. It ranges from 0-100. leading role is played by a nonwhite actor (1 = nonwhite; USERRATING represents viewers’ ratings of the film 0 = white). Actors of Hispanic descent were included in as measured by IMDb’s user rating. We assume that this this nonwhite distinction. ‘Whiteness’ (or nonwhiteness) rating reflects audience satisfaction with the film. was generally determined visually with relative ease, but a survey of at least 43 respondents was administered to USERS is the number of user reviews on IMDb for the clarify perceptions of more ambiguous cases. The leading film. This represents a measure of the film’s word of role was usually determined by the first listed cast mouth effect and viewers’ desire to share their experience member on the film’s IMDb page, but occasional with the film, whether positive or negative. judgments were made if the film’s theatrical poster AANOMS is the number of Academy Award strongly suggested otherwise. nominations the film received. This information was BLACKFILM indicates whether the film features a available from BoxOfficeMojo. predominantly black cast with white actors playing only AAWINS is the number of the film peripheral roles. Filmmakers such as have won. This information was also available from been influential in producing such films.7 BoxOfficeMojo. Summary statistics for selected factors by these racial MAINGENRE is the film’s first listed genre on IMDb. variables are presented in Table 1. Black films are unique The genres include: adventure, animation, biography, in their low budgets (about half that of white and comedy, crime, documentary, drama, fantasy, history, nonwhite films), limited distribution, and weaker horror, music, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, and . ratings. Despite this, their median estimated ticket sales These were represented by dummy variables. remain comparable to nonwhite films. MAINGENRE*SECONDARYGENRE is an Animated films were excluded from data collection. Top interaction term between the film’s first and second grossing domestic films released wide (i.e., in over 500 listed genres. theaters) from 2004-2013 were recorded for a total of 8 STUDIO is the film’s production studio. In total, 52 1,070 observations. studios were represented by dummy variables. This data was retrieved from BoxOfficeMojo. III. Estimation Models MONTH is the month in which the movie opened in the U.S. This corrects for seasonal fluctuations in movie Ticket Sales watching patterns during holidays and the summer. This The first model is of the following form: data was retrieved from BoxOfficeMojo.com. ln(T) = α + β1NONWHITELEAD + δX + ε (1) YEAR is the year of the movie’s release represented by dummy variables. Year fixed effects help capture changing economic conditions as well as industry-wide changes such as the introduction of faster on-demand services and pirating channels.

MPAA is the MPAA’s parental guidance rating, which 6 A table of average ticket prices over time can be found in includes PG, PG-13, and R for this dataset. Appendix A. Unfortunately, this measure of ticket price inflation does not distinguish between regular and 3D or SERIES indicates whether the movie is a sequel or part IMAX tickets, which are more expensive. of a series. Standalone films and the first films in a series 7 See Als’ piece “Mama’s Gun” for a rich look into the world are denoted by 0. Sequels and all subsequent films are of Tyler Perry. For a complete list of films considered black denoted by 1. films in this study, see Appendix D. 8 A comprehensive list of included in the study can Financial performance is measured using the estimated be found in Appendix C. The distribution of movies by year is tickets sales (ESTTICKETS). This is calculated by in Appendix B. 3

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Selected Variables by Racial Categorization

Nonwhite Leading Actor, Variable White Leading Actor Not Black Film Black Films

n = 904 104 62 Gross Revenue, mean 73,900,000 63,900,000 47,600,000 Gross Revenue, median 49,900,000 42,900,000 42,600,000 Estimated Ticket Sales, mean 10,200,000 8,837,918 6,668,065 Estimated Ticket Sales, median 6,875,862 6,111,963 6,088,128 Budget, mean 48,200,000 47,700,000 19,700,000 Budget, median 32,400,000 34,800,000 17,400,000 Theaters, mean 2,788 2,714 2,177 Days in Theater, mean 92 91 81 Metascore, mean 52 51 47 IMDb User Rating, mean 6.4 6.2 5.4 Number of User Reviews, mean 129,988 105,730 19,432 Academy Award Nominations, mean .30 .24 .16 Academy Award Wins, mean .06 .08 .06 Main Genre, mode Comedy (30%) Action (52%) Comedy (53%)

where 100 theaters provides a 6.9% increase. Opening in December is estimated to increase ticket sales by 30.4%. T = estimated ticket sales X = a vector of control variables that include all Critical Reception variables described in Section II These models are similar to those for estimated ticket Black films are not included in this model. sales. The second model estimates the effect of race in the For nonwhite films, the model is of the following form: context of black films: METASCORE = α + β1NONWHITELEAD + ln(T) = α + β1BLACKFILM + δX + ε (2) + δX + ε (4) The third model incorporates both race variables: where X includes the following explanatory variables: USERRATING, USERS, AANOMS, AAWINS, ln(T) = α + β1NONWHITELEAD + ESTTICKETS, BUDGET, THEATERS, + β2BLACKFILM + δX + ε (3) DAYSINTHEATER, SERIES, MPAA, MONTH, The results for these models are presented in Table 2. YEAR, STUDIO, MAINGENRE, MAINGENRE*SECONDARYGENRE The three models appear consistent and strong in their explanation of estimated tickets sales (R2 > 0.88). Not all Models (5) and (6) follow in the same way that (2) and variables are significant. In models (1) and (3), the (3) expand upon model (1). nonwhite leading actor variable has no statistically Results are presented in Table 3. Viewers’ ratings, significant effect (p-value equal to 0.761 and 0.699, Academy Award nomination, estimated ticket sales, respectively). However, the black film variable provides a number of theaters, and genre were all significant 38-40% boost in estimated ticket sales. In comparison, a determinants of the Metascore. As it was for estimated $10,000,000 increase in a film’s budget is estimated to ticket sales, in models (4) and (6), the casting of a increase ticket sales by 1.4%. Increasing distribution by nonwhite actor in a non-black film has no significant

4

Table 2 Regression Results for Selected Explanatory Variables on ln(Estimated Ticket Sales)

Description OLS (1) OLS (2) OLS (3)

n = 999 1,060 1,060 .0133 .0169 Nonwhite Leading Actor − (.0438) (.0436) .3344*** .3203*** Black Film − (.0678) (.0778) .0140** .0147** .0147** Budget (in $10,000,000s) (.0046) (.0046) (.0046) .0664*** .0654*** .0654*** Theaters (in 100s) (.0046) (.0044) (.0043) .0102*** .0101*** .0101*** Days in Theater (.0009) (.0009) (.0009) .0023 .0025 .0024 Metascore (.0014) (.0014) (.0014) .0567* .0486 .0490 IMDb User Rating (.0278) (.0258) (.0260) .0007* .0007* .0007** Number of User Reviews (in 1,000s) (.0003) (.0003) (.0003) .0484* .0515* .0517* Academy Award Nomination (.0208) (.0205) (.0205) -.1040 -.1004 -.1008 Academy Award Win (.0681) (.0667) (.0668) .4145** .4311** .4307** Main Genre: Horror (.1285) (.1278) (.1277) .2654*** .2696*** .2693*** Opening in December (.0565) (.0544) (.0544) .1234* .1282* .1211* Opening in July (.0601) (.0718) (.0584) .1926*** .1996*** .1991*** Sequel or Subsequent Film (.0373) (.0357) (.0358) 11.9075*** 11.8592*** 11.8521*** Constant (.3282) (.3179) (.3199)

R2 .8875 .8815 .8815

* p < 0.050, ** p < 0.010, *** p < 0.001 effect on the film’s Metascore (p-value = 0.233 and where X includes the following explanatory variables: 0.323, respectively). Black films, however, score 5.4–6.4 USERS, METASCORE, AANOMS, AAWINS, points (out of a scale of 100) higher than comparable ESTTICKETS, BUDGET, THEATERS, films. DAYSINTHEATER, SERIES, MPAA, MONTH, YEAR, STUDIO, MAINGENRE, Audience Satisfaction MAINGENRE*SECONDARYGENRE IMDb’s user rating will be used to represent the Again, models (8) and (9) follow in the same way that (2) audience’s satisfaction with the film. and (3) expand upon model (1). For nonwhite films, the following model is used: See Table 4 for regression results. The results for IMBb users’ ratings suggest that amateur audiences evaluate USERRATING = α + β1NONWHITELEAD + movies in a differently from professional critics, which is + δX + ε (7) 5 Table 3 Regression Results for Selected Explanatory Variables on Metascore

Description OLS (4) OLS (5) OLS (6)

n = 999 1,060 1,060 1.3273 1.0835 Nonwhite Leading Actor − (1.1131) (1.0957) 6.3560*** 5.4470*** Black Film − (1.5793) (1.7695) 9.8285*** 9.3003*** 9.3134*** IMDb User Rating (.6244) (.5834) (.5838) .0061 .0091 .0094 Number of User Reviews (in 1,000s) (.0058) (.0058) (.0058) 2.8019*** 2.8221*** 2.8311*** Academy Award Nomination (.4534) (.4506) (.4508) -.7593 -.6402 -.6691 Academy Award Win (1.0268) (.9783) (.9800) 1.4211* 1.4622* 1.4582* Estimated Ticket Sales (in 10,000,000s) (.6814) (.6674) (.6698) -.0808 -.0880 -.0864 Budget (in $10,000,000s) (.0816) (.1330) (.1330) -.2657** -.2683** -.2657** Theaters (in 100s) (.0816) (.0794) (.0798) .0321* .0272 .0265 Days in Theater (.0156) (.0145) (.0147) -.6810 -.7201 -.6922 Sequel or Subsequent Film (1.0713) (1.0019) (1.0036) -10.6405*** -10.8269*** -10.8279*** Main Genre: Comedy (2.4160) (2.3583) (2.3533) 33.3492*** 33.8347*** 33.3466*** Constant (6.9725) (6.3989) (6.4352)

R2 .7232 .7136 .7139

* p < 0.050, ** p < 0.010, *** p < 0.001

not surprising. Whereas the Metascore favored black There are several possible explanations for this boost. On films, the IMDb user rating is lower for black films. average, only about 6 black films were released annually While there is no significant difference for nonwhite from 2004-2013. Therefore, when black films are released, films, the black film variable is estimated to decrease the they face relatively little competition among comparable IMDb user rating by 0.60-0.67 points (out of 10). options and are able to capture more of their market.

Furthermore, 26% of black films evaluated in this study IV. Discussion of Results were produced by Tyler Perry, the most financially successful African American in the American film This study was designed to quantify the potential cost of industry. Perry’s brand name has built a loyal fan base casting minority actors. In the presence of various around iconic characters such as Mabel ‘’ Simmons controls and fixed effects, the results have shown no (Als 2010). His films are often of a lower budget as Perry significant differences between films that star white and writes, directs, produces, and stars in most of his nonwhite leading actors. productions. Lastly, black films are on average distributed In contrast, black films earn 38-40% more tickets than to a smaller number of theaters compared to other films. comparable films by budget, genre, distribution, etc. There is a possibility that distribution may have been 6 Table 4 Regression Results for Selected Explanatory Variables on IMDb User Rating

Description OLS (7) OLS (8) OLS (9)

n = 999 1,060 1,060 -.0843 -.0779 Nonwhite Leading Actor − (.0824) (.0815) -.6689*** -.6028*** Black Film − (.1171) (.1400) .0034*** .0033*** .0032*** Number of User Reviews (in 1,000s) (.0003) (.0003) (.0003) .0301*** .0307*** .0307*** Metascore (.0020) (.0019) (.0019) -.0765** -.0815** -.0822** Academy Award Nomination (.0247) (.0249) (.0250) -.1283 -.1185 -.1162 Academy Award Win (.0663) (.0655) (.0654) -.1264** -.1236** -.1232** Estimated Ticket Sales (in 10,000,000s) (.0433) (.0433) (.0433) -.0061 -.0060 -.0061 Budget (in $10,000,000s) (.0076) (.0076) (.0076) -.0021 -.0030 -.0031 Theaters (in 100s) (.0055) (.0055) (.0056) .0023** .0024** .0024** Days in Theater (.0008) (.0008) (.0008) -.0027 -.0389 -.0369 Sequel or Subsequent Film (.0608) (.0587) (.0592) .8465*** .9197*** .9191*** Main Genre: Comedy (.1263) (.1253) (.1254) .9170 .7817 .8129 Constant (.6232) (.5995) (.5945)

R2 .7599 .7551 .7139

* p < 0.050, ** p < 0.010, *** p < 0.001 targeted to communities where they would be well- to remember that black films extend beyond the work of received. Together, these factors may explain the Tyler Perry. Ray (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), and Precious: relatively higher ticket sales of black films. Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (2009) are all Academy Award winning black films. The results regarding the critical reception of black films may appear surprising considering that many black films, Lastly, the results find that black films may be more namely Tyler Perry’s oeuvre, have earned a reputation of poorly received by audiences. This interpretation should poor cinematic quality.9 The average Metascore for black be tempered by possibility that IMDb’s user rating may films is 47 compared to 51 and 52 for nonwhite and not be an accurate measure of audience satisfaction. white films, respectively. However, these results must be Several points suggest that this may be the case. First, a interpreted in the context of the present study. Relative to cursory survey of another movie rating service, Rotten the black films’ budget, genre, and other control factors, Tomatoes, finds that many black films have high “liked black films earn a higher Metascore. It is also important it” percentages by audiences though their critics’ scores are often very poor. Second, IMDb’s users may not be 9 See Priceonomics.com’s “Why Movie Critics Hate Tyler representative of the movie-watching market. The Perry”: http://priceonomics.com/why-movie-critics-hate-tyler- average number of user reviews for black films is less than perry/ 7

one-fifth that of nonwhite and white films. Assuming Table 5 that users write reviews after watching the movie, this gap Distribution of Films by Main Genre is inconsistent with the difference in estimated ticket Nonwhite sales (average ticket sales are about two-thirds that of White Leading nonwhite and white films). Therefore, it may be that Leading Actor, Not audiences for black films are not as likely to write reviews Genre Actor Black Film Black Films for films on IMDb as audiences of nonwhite and white Action 27% 52% 5% films. If these nonwhite and white film audiences are Adventure 8% 5% 5% more active on IMDb, then the results of this study Biography 4% 9% 10% would suggest that black films do in fact appeal less to Comedy 30% 10% 53% mainstream audiences, regardless of how they fare with Crime 5% 3% 3% their own audiences. Documentary 1% 1% 2% While this study has found that there are no significant Drama 15% 16% 23% differences between films that star white and nonwhite Fantasy 0% 0% 0% leading actors, this is after introducing a comprehensive History 0% 0% 0% set of theoretical controls. The reality is that movies featuring nonwhite actors are in fact limited in their Horror 8% 3% 0% financial success, theater distribution, and range of Music 0% 0% 0% genres. The most successful movie starring a nonwhite Mystery 1% 0% 0% th actor is I Am Legend (2007), ranked 34 by ticket sales. Sci-Fi 0% 0% 0% Second and third are The Blind Side (2009)10 at 43rd and Thriller 0% 0% 0% Hancock (2008) at 55th, respectively. Western 0% 1% 0% Genre distribution is also very different for nonwhite and black films compared to films starring white leading identification. For example, Negron-Mutaner’s report on actors (see Table 5). Though this study did not examine the Latino Media Gap identified actress the nature of the role, social and cultural associations as a Latina, but visual cues and interviews with various around race can and do limit the types of characters that college students identified her as white. As a result, the minorities are offered.11 concept of whiteness introduces room for interpretation, However, it is worth noting that almost all of the films which could alter the results of this study. with greater ticket sales are theatrical renditions of In particular, the inaccurate categorization of popular popular books and superheroes with established white stars such as Vin Diesel or Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson characters such as the Series, the Twilight could affect a large number of observations. To mitigate Saga, the Hunger Games, Batman, and Iron Man. this risk, a survey was administered to college-aged Without creative reinvention or the popularization of students asking them to identify the race and Hispanic nonwhite pop culture icons, it may be difficult for origin of 26 potentially racially ambiguous actors. The minority actors to star in the industry’s most lucrative results of this survey were used to supplement and correct films. the racial categorization process. It is also interesting to

note the high attrition rate (over 50%) over the course of V. Limitations and Additional Research the survey. The length was surely one factor, but many Racial Identification comments were made that the survey was difficult and/or frustrating for some subjects. This only reinforces the A key procedure during data collection for this study was idea that race is ultimately a fluid and complex concept. the determination of actors as white or nonwhite. This process was carried out visually, which did not always Race in Context align with the actor’s biological heritage or personal It may be that casting nonwhite actors in roles and settings that extend beyond what was evaluated in this 10 Admittedly, it is debatable whether The Blind Side can be study could have a negative impact on a movie’s considered a nonwhite film as actress became performance. As mentioned earlier, source material with the star of the movie. established races for roles can be a severe limiting factor 11 For more on this topic, see Smith et al. (2013) and Negron- to increasing the representation of minorities in film. Mutaner (2014). 8 Historical context can also provide limitations. For Conclusion example, just as Exodus sparked outrage for casting white actors in an Egyptian setting, casting black actors in a After correcting for production, distribution, genre, and industry factors, this study finds that there is no Viking epic would cause confusion at the very least. significant difference in estimated ticket sales, critics’ Even in race-neutral roles, race still has an effect on reviews, or audience ratings between movies that cast audiences’ viewing preferences, and therefore studios’ white and nonwhite leading actors. Films that feature a casting decisions. For romantic movies, regardless of majority of black actors with only peripheral white roles racial attitudes, white participants showed significantly outperform in ticket sales by 38-40%. However, because less interest in seeing movies with mostly black casts than most black films are of a lower budget and limited in seeing movies with mostly white casts (Weaver 2011). distribution, this is in comparison to other low budget, Furthermore, racial taboos persist even among modern limited release films starring white casts. Ceteris paribus, audiences. In 2005, producers of the film Hitch struggled black films also earn 5-6 more points on Metacritic’s to find a suitable female actress to play opposite Will Metascore while losing 0.6 points on IMDb’s user rating. Smith, a black actor. Casting a white actress was seen as a significant risk because of a lingering discomfort among some audiences with interracial relationships (Weaver References 2011). The producers resolved the issue by casting Eva Mendes, a Cuban American, as the female romantic ALS, Hilton. 2010. “Mama’s Gun.” , 26 April. interest. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/26/mama s-gun. Global Appeal DUKE, Alan. 2014. “Denzel Blacklisted! Sony Execs Warned Smith also commented during the casting issue, Not To Cast Washington In Big Flicks Because Black Leads ‘Don’t Play Well’ – Latest Shocking Email Leak.” There’s sort of an accepted myth that if you have two Radar Online, 17 December. Black actors, a male and a female, in the lead of a http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/12/sony-email- , that people around the world don’t hack-denzel-washington-black-leads-international- want to see it. We spend $50 something million audience-racist/ making this movie and the studio would think that FOUNDAS, Scott. 2014. “‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ Director was tough on their investment (qtd. in Weaver 2011). Ridley Scott on Creating His Vision of Moses.” Variety, 25 November. http://variety.com/ Whether this is indeed a myth or a reality has yet to be 2014/film/news/ridley-scott-exodus-gods-and-kings- empirically tested. Regardless, these ideas continue to christian-bale-1201363668/. surface in Hollywood discussions. The latest leak from HUNT, Darnell, Ana-Christina Ramon, and Zachary Price. December 2014’s cyberattack on Sony revealed that 2014. 2014 Hollywood Diversity Report: Making Sense of executives had hesitations about casting black actor the Disconnect. : UCLA Bunche Center. in The Equalizer (2014). The film http://www.bunchecenter.ucla.edu grossed $191 million worldwide with 47% of ticket sales /wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2014-Hollywood- coming from outside the U.S. However, this falls short of Diversity-Report-2-12-14.pdf. studio expectations that are closer to 65%. The producer LANG, Brent. 2014. “Box Office: ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ of the film attributed the shortfall to Washington’s race: Tops Charts With $24.5 Million.” Variety, December 14. https://variety.com/2014/film/news/ I believe the international motion picture audience is box-office-exodus-gods-kings-tops-charts-with-24-5- racist – in general pictures with an African American million-1201379097/ lead don’t play well overseas (Duke 2014). LEVENE, Catherine. 1992. Marketing Art-films to College Students. Working Paper, The Wharton School, While this study focused solely on the domestic movie University of Pennsylvania. market, conditions are likely to be different in other countries. Further research into the impact of race in LITMAN, Barry R. 1983. Predicting Success of Theatrical Movies: An Empirical Study. Journal of Popular Culture American movies marketed abroad would help debunk 16 (Spring): 159-175 these myths or provide empirical evidence to justify major movie studios’ rational strategies. MARTIN, Roland. 2012. “Hollywood’s irrational allergy to ‘black’ films.” CNN Opinion, 14 January.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/opinion/martin-red- tails-hollywood/

9 NEGRON-MUTANER, Frances. 2014. The Latino Media Gap. New York: Columbia University Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cser/downloads/Latino_Me dia_Gap_Report.pdf SMITH, Stacy L., Marc Choueiti, and Katherine Pieper. 2013. Race/Ethnicity in 600 Popular Films: Examining On Screen Portrayals and Behind the Camera Diversity. Los Angeles: USC Annenberg Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative. http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/Racial %20Inequality%20in%20Film%202007- 2013%20Final.ashx TERRY, Neil, Michael Butler, and De’Arno De’Armond. 2005. The determinants of domestic box office performance in the motion picture industry. Southwestern Economic Review 32: 137-148

WALLACE, W. Timothy, Alan Seigerman, and Morris B. Holbrook. 1993. The role of actors and actresses in the success of films: how much is a movie star worth? Journal of Cultural Economics 17 (June): 1-27 WEAVER, Andrew J. 2011. The role of actors’ race in white audiences’ selective exposure to movies. Journal of Communication 61 (2011): 369-385

10 APPENDICES

Appendix A Schedule of Inflation Rates for 2004-2013 Year $1 in 2004 Dollars Average Ticket Price 2004 $1.00 $8.13 2005 $0.97 $7.96 2006 $0.94 $7.93 2007 $0.91 $7.89 2008 $0.88 $7.50 2009 $0.88 $7.18 2010 $0.87 $6.88 2011 $0.84 $6.55 2012 $0.82 $6.41 2013 $0.81 $6.21 Source: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/ http://natoonline.org/data/ticket-price/

Appendix B Distribution of Movies by Year Year Number of Observations 2004 90 2005 92 2006 82 2007 84 2008 85 2009 128 2010 124 2011 125 2012 126 2013 134 Total 1,070

11 Appendix C List of Films Included in Study

Films Starring White Leading Blue Jasmine Clash of the Titans (2010) Actors Body of Lies Click 21 Amelia Boogeyman Closed Circuit 300 : Cultural Learnings of Closer America for Make Benefit 1408 American Reunion Glorious Nation of Cloud Atlas 2012 (500) Days of Summer Anchorman 2: The Legend Breach Collateral Continues 10,000 B.C. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Confessions of a Shopaholic 12 Rounds Burgundy Bridesmaids Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen 127 Hours Angels & Demons Bridge to Terabithia Constantine Apollo 18 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Contagion 16 Blocks Argo Contraband 17 Again Arthur (2011) Broken City Conviction 2016 Obama's America Atlas Shrugged: Part II Brooklyn's Finest Cop Out 21 and Over Atonement Brothers Country Strong 21 Jump Street August Rush Bruno Couples Retreat Australia Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star Courageous 28 Weeks Later Avatar Cowboys & Aliens 3:10 to Yuma (2007) Babel Burlesque Crank: High Voltage 30 Days of Night Baby Mama Burn After Reading 30 Minutes or Less Crazy, Stupid, Love. 47 Ronin Capote Buyers Club Balls of Fury Captain America: The First Dan in Real Life 50/50 Avenger Dark Shadows A Cinderella Story Batman Begins Captain Phillips Dark Skies A Good Day to Battle of the Year Carrie (2013) Dark Water Battle: Los Angeles Case 39 A Nightmare on Elm Street Battleship Casino Royale (2010) Cellular A Perfect Getaway Dawn of the Dead Beautiful Creatures (2013) Changeling About Time Charlie and the Chocolate Daybreakers Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Because I Said So Factory Dead Man Down Hunter Because of Winn-Dixie Charlie St. Cloud Dear John Accepted Bedtime Stories Charlie Wilson's War Race Across the Universe Before Midnight Chasing Mavericks Deck the Halls Act of Valor Believe 2 Defiance Admission Beowulf Diaries Definitely, Maybe Adventureland Bewitched Delivery Man After the Sunset Big Fish Agent Cody Banks 2: Christmas with the Kranks Derailed Destination Big Miracle Chronicle (2012) Devil Alexander Black Swan Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Alice in Wonderland (2010) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Assistant Aliens Vs. Predator - Requiem Days 12 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Failure to Launch Good Luck Chuck Hostage Rules Did You Hear About the Fame (2009) Good Night, and Good Luck. Hot Fuzz Morgans? Fantastic Four Hot Tub Time Machine Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Gravity House at the End of The Street Surfer Green Lantern House of Wax Fever Pitch Disturbia Green Zone 3 DodgeBall: A True Underdog Grindhouse Hugo Story Grown Ups I Am Number Four Dolphin Tale Finding Neverland I Don't Know How She Does It Don Jon Fired Up I Love You Beth Cooper Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Fireproof Guess Who I Love You, Man Doom Firewall Gulliver's Travels I Now Pronounce You Chuck Doubt Flags of Our Fathers and Larry Hairspray (2007) Drag Me to Hell Hall Pass Fool's Gold Immortals Halloween (2007) Dream House Footloose (2011) In Good Company Halloween II (2009) Dreamer: Inspired by a True Forgetting Sarah Marshall In Her Shoes Story Hanna Four Brothers In Time The Movie Drillbit Taylor Hannah Montana/: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Fracture Best of Both Worlds Concert Drive (2011) of the Crystal Skull Tour Drive Angry Hannibal Rising Hansel and Gretel: Witch Inkheart Friday Night Lights Duplicity Hunters Insidious Friday the 13th (2009) Harry Potter and the Deathly Eagle Eye Insidious Chapter 2 Friends with Benefits Hallows Part 1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Invincible Friends with Kids Hallows Part 2 Iron Man Fright Night (2011) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Edge of Darkness Fire From Paris with Love Eight Below Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Iron Man 3 Frost/Nixon Prince Elizabethtown It's Complicated Fun Size Harry Potter and the Order of Ella Enchanted the Phoenix It's Kind of a Funny Story Fun with Dick and Jane Harry Potter and of Elysium J. Edgar Azkaban Employee of the Month Jack and Jill Haywire End of Watch Jack Reacher G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra He's Just Not That Into You Ender's Game Jack the Giant Slayer Gamer Herbie: Fully Loaded 3-D Gangster Squad Eragon Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Garden State Hereafter Escape Plan Jarhead Hidalgo Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Jennifer's Body Mind Get Smart Hide and Seek 3: Senior Jersey Girl Everybody's Fine Getaway (2013) Year Jobs Evil Dead (2013) Ghost Rider Hit and Run John Carter Exorcist: The Beginning Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Hitman John Tucker Must Die Extract Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Homefront Reborn Extraordinary Measures Going the Distance Hope Springs Jonah Hex Extremely Loud & Incredibly Gone Close Journey to the Center of the 13 Earth Live Free or Die Hard Judy Moody and the NOT Lockout Must Love Dogs Paranormal Activity 2 Bummer Summer Looper My Bloody Valentine 3-D Paranormal Activity 3 Julie & Julia Love and Other Drugs My Life in Ruins Jumper Love Happens My Sister's Keeper Parental Guidance Juno MacGruber My to Take Parker Made of Honor Paul Magic Mike Nancy Drew Paul Blart: Mall Cop Just Like Heaven Mama Nanny McPhee People Like Us : Never Say Never Mamma Mia! Nanny McPhee Returns Percy Jackson & The Olympians: : Part of Me The Lightning Thief Man of Steel Kick-Ass Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Man of the Year National Treasure Kick-Ass 2 Phantom (2013) Man on a Ledge National Treasure: Book of Kicking and Screaming Secrets Philomena Marley and Me Kill Bill Vol. 2 New in Town Pirate Radio Marvel's The Avengers Killer Elite New Year's : At Max Payne World's End Killers Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Mean Girls Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest King Arthur Night at the Museum: Battle of Pirates of the Caribbean: On the Smithsonian Stranger Tides King Kong Miami Vice Nights in Rodanthe Kingdom of Heaven Nim's Island Playing for Keeps Knight & Day Nine Poseidon Knowing Milk No Country for Old Men Post Grad Ladder 49 No Reservations Predators Lady in the Water Miracle No Strings Attached Premium Rush Land of the Lost Mirror Mirror Now You See Me Premonition Larry Crowne Mirrors Oblivion Pride and Prejudice Last Vegas Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Priest Fabulous Prince of Persia: The Sands of Ocean's Thirteen Lawless Miss March Time Ocean's Twelve Leap Year Mission: Impossible - Ghost Prisoners Old Dogs Leatherheads Protocol Project X Olympus Has Fallen Leaves of Grass Mission: Impossible III Prom One Day Legion (2010) Moneyball Prom Night (2008) One Direction: This is Us Lemony Snicket's A Series of Monster Prometheus Unfortunate Events One For the Money Moonrise Kingdom Promised Land (2012) Les Miserables (2012) Open Water Morning Glory Public Enemies Let Me In Orphan Push Letters to Our Idiot Brother Mr. & Mrs. Smith Quantum of Solace Mr. Bean's Holiday Quarantine Mr. Magorium's Wonder Oz The Great and Powerful Quartet Life as We Know It Emporium P.S. I Love You R.I.P.D. Limitless Mr. Popper's Penguins Pacific Rim Raising Helen Lincoln Mr. Woodcock Pain and Gain Mud Pandorum Ramona and Beezus Munich Paranoia 14 Seeking a Friend for the End of Starsky and Hutch The Bourne Legacy the World Red State of Play The Bourne Supremacy Serenity Red 2 Stealth The Bourne Ultimatum Seven Psychopaths Red Dawn (2012) Step Brothers The Box Sex and the City Red Eye Step Up The Brave One Red Riding Hood Step Up 2 the Streets The Break-Up Shall We Dance Remember Me Straw Dogs (2011) The Brothers Grimm Shark Night 3D Sucker Punch The Bucket List She's Out of My League Resident Evil: Afterlife Sunshine Cleaning The Butterfly Effect She's the Man Resident Evil: Apocalypse Super 8 The Cabin in the Woods Sherlock Holmes Resident Evil: Extinction The Campaign Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Resident Evil: Retribution Shadows Returns The Change-Up : Prince Revolutionary Road Shooter Surrogates Caspian Rise of the Planet of the Apes Shorts Sweeney Todd: The Demon The Chronicles of Narnia: The Barber of Fleet Street Robin Hood Shutter Island Lion, the Witch and the Syriana Wardrobe Rock of Ages Side Effects (2013) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Take Me Home Tonight Balboa Voyage of the Dawn Treader Taken Role Models Silent Hill The Cold Light of Day Rumor Has It Silent Hill: Revelation 3D The Collection Takers Runner Runner Silent House The Collector Taking Lives Rush (2013) The Company You Keep Taking Woodstock RV Sin City The Conjuring Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Safe (2012) Sinister Ricky Bobby The Conspirator Sky Captain and the World of Safe Haven Ted The Constant Gardener Tomorrow Sahara The Counselor Sky High Salt Chainsaw 3D The Crazies The Curious Case of Benjamin Sanctum That's My Boy Skyline Button Savages (2012) The 40-Year-Old Virgin The Da Vinci Code Saving Mr. Banks The A-Team Smokin' Aces The Dark Knight The Adjustment Bureau Snow White and the Huntsman The Dark Knight Rises Saw 3D The Alamo (2004) Something Borrowed The Darkest Hour Saw II The Amazing Spider-Man Sorority Row The Day After Tomorrow Saw III The American Soul Surfer The Day the Earth Stood Still Saw IV The Amityville Horror (2005) (2008) Source Code Saw V The Debt Spanglish Saw VI The Art of Getting By Speed Racer 4 The Artist The Descendants Spider-Man 2 Scary Movie 5 The Aviator The Devil Inside Spider-Man 3 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters The Bank Job The Devil Wears Prada Unleashed Splice The Dictator Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Stand Up Guys The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 4 Star Trek The Big Wedding The Dukes of Hazzard Season of the Witch Star Trek Into Darkness The Big Year The Eagle Secret Window Star Wars: Episode III - of the Sith The Book Thief The Exorcism of Emily Rose Secretariat Stardust The Bounty Hunter The Expendables 15 The Expendables 2 The Imaginarium of Doctor The Odd Life of Timothy Green The Thing (2011) Parnassus The Family (2013) (2006) The Three Musketeers (2011) The Impossible The Family Stone The Incredible Burt The Other Guys The Three Stooges The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Wonderstone The Passion of the Christ The Time Traveler's Wife Drift The Incredible Hulk The Perks of Being a Wallflower The Tourist The Fifth Estate The Informant! The Phantom of the Opera The Town The International The Pink Panther (2006) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 The Pink Panther 2 The Twilight Saga: Breaking The Five-Year Engagement The Interpreter The Place Beyond the Pines Dawn Part 2 The Fog (2005) The Invention of Lying The Possession The Twilight Saga: Eclipse The Forgotten The Iron Lady The Prestige The Twilight Saga: New Moon The Fourth Kind The Island The Prince and Me The Ugly Truth The Ghost Writer The Kids Are All Right The Princess Diaries 2: Royal The Village The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Engagement (2011) The King's Speech The Virginity Hit The Proposal The Golden Compass The Ladykillers The Vow The Punisher The Good Shepherd The Lake House The Warrior's Way The Purge The Great Gatsby (2013) The Last Airbender The Watch The Queen The Green Hornet The Way Back The Raven The Grey The Last Exorcism Part II The Way, Way Back The Last House on the Left The Reader The Grudge The Wedding Date (2009) The Grudge 2 The Wolf of The Last Song The Wolverine The Last Stand The Ringer The Trip The Woman in Black The Life Aquatic with Steve The Rite Zissou The Women (2008) The Roommate The Hangover Part II The Lincoln Lawyer The Words The Rum Diary The Hangover Part III The Lone Ranger The World's End The Santa Clause 3: The Escape The Wrestler The Happening The Longest Yard Clause There Will Be Blood The Haunting in Connecticut The Secret Life of Walter Mitty The Heartbreak Kid The Lovely Bones The Sentinel The Heat The Lucky One The Shaggy Dog The Help The Man with the Iron Fists The Sisterhood of the Traveling This Means War The Hills Have Eyes The Master Pants Thor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the The Mechanic The Sitter Thor: The Dark World Galaxy The Men Who Stare at Goats The Skeleton Key Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : An Unexpected To Rome with Love Journey The Messengers The Hobbit: The Desolation of The Mighty Macs The Sorcerer's Apprentice Total (2012) Smaug The Mist The Spectacular Now The Mortal Instruments: City of The Spiderwick Chronicles Transformers The Host (2013) Bones The Stepfather (2009) Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Mummy: Tomb of the The Stepford Wives Transformers: Revenge of the Dragon Emperor Fallen The Hunger Games The Strangers The Nanny Diaries The Hunger Games: Catching The Switch Fire The Terminal The Ides of March The Next Three Days The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Legacy The Illusionist The Beginning The Number 23 16 Trouble with the Curve X-Men Origins: Wolverine Spy Kids: All the Time in the Troy X-Men: First Class Fast & Furious 6 World Step Up 3-D True Grit X-Men: The Last Stand Fast and Furious Twilight Year One Fast Five Step Up Revolution : The Legend of Twisted Yes Man Faster Chun-Li Underworld Awakening You Again Flight Take the Lead Underworld: Evolution You Don't Mess with the Zohan For Greater Glory Taxi Underworld: Rise of the Lycans You, Me and Dupree G.I. Joe: Retaliation The Adventures of Sharkboy and United 93 Young Adult Hancock Lavagirl in 3D Unknown Harold and Kumar Escape from The Back-Up Plan Guantanamo Bay Up in the Air Yours, Mine and Ours The Blind Side Hero V for Vendetta Youth in Revolt The Bling Ring Hitch Valentine's Day Zack and Miri Make a Porno Hostel Valkyrie Zathura The Call I Am Legend The Chronicles of Riddick I, Robot Van Helsing Zodiac The Eye Imagine That Walk the Line Zombieland Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Zookeeper The Game Plan Instructions Not Included Wanderlust The Grandmaster Invictus Wanted Nonwhite Films The Karate Kid Joyful Noise War Horse 42 The Kingdom Lakeview Terrace War of the Worlds 12 Years a Slave Lee Daniels' The Butler Warm Bodies 2 Guns The Losers Life of Pi Warrior A Very Harold & Kumar 3D The Manchurian Candidate Christmas Machete Watchmen Abduction Machete Kills Water for Elephants Man on Fire We Are Marshall The Raid: Redemption Alex Cross Mandela: Long Walk to We Bought a Zoo Freedom The Sisterhood of the Traveling Alien Vs. Predator Pants 2 We Own the Night Memoirs of a Geisha American Gangster The Soloist We're the Millers MIB 3 Anacondas: The Hunt for the The Spy Next Door Wedding Crashers Blood Orchid 's This Is It The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Apocalypto Monster-in-Law What to Expect When You're The Unborn (2009) Armored Monte Carlo Expecting The Wolfman Around the World in 80 Days What's Your Number? Tooth Fairy Beastly Pan's Labyrinth When a Stranger Calls Unleashed Blade: Trinity Race to Witch Mountain Whip It Unstoppable Catwoman Rent Down Walking Tall Colombiana Riddick White Noise WAR the Barbarian (2011) Whiteout Won't Back Down Crash Safe House Wild Hogs XXX: State of the Union Creature (2011) Seven Pounds Without a Paddle You're Next Snakes on a Plane World Trade Center Deja Vu Snitch World War Z Black Films Wrath of the Titans Dylan Dog: Dead of Night A Haunted House 17 A Thousand Words Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls Are We Done Yet? Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman Are We There Yet? Tyler Perry's Baggage Claim Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All 2: Back in Business By Myself Beauty Shop Tyler Perry's Big Momma's House 2 Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Family Son Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Black Nativity Reunion Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection Death at a Funeral (2010) Tyler Perry's Tyler Perry's Temptation: Dreamgirls Confessions of a Marriage Fat Albert Counselor First Sunday Tyler Perry's Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Fruitvale Station Married Too? Get Rich or Die Tryin' Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Gridiron Gang Married? Guess Who Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins Johnson Family Vacation Jumping the Broom You Got Served

Just Wright : Let Me Explain Last Holiday Lottery Ticket Next Day Air Norbit Not Easily Broken Notorious (2009) Obsessed Our Family Wedding Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Ray Red Tails Sparkle (2012) Stomp the Yard The Best Man Holiday The Secret Life of Bees This Christmas Tyler Perry Presents Peeples Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas 18