Ua new search for movement Age Without Limits reignites the debate on ageism in cinema: in the films of highest grossing in the UK in the last three years, women over 60 continue to be severely underrepresented. Really, successful films they have four times more likely to have as protagonist is a talking animal rather than a woman over 60.
Talking animals and “Chris” are the box office stars
Between the 100 successful films analyzed between 2023 and 2025, 20 include paranti animals and only 5 women over 60 with central roles. After the talking animals, another curious fact concerns the male protagonists: 6 films star actors named Chrisincluding Chris Pratt, Chris Pine And Chris Hemsworthconfirming a certain homogeneity in the casting of major blockbusters. A result curious, worrying and even a little sad.
When women over 60 dominate the screen
The 5 successful films with one female protagonist over 60 am: Allelujah, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, Book Club: The Next Chapter, The Substance And Freakier Friday. To these would also have been added Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boysecond grosser of 2025 in the UK, if the protagonist Renée Zellweger was just three years older. Why were they so successful? They are almost all sequels, stories already known to the public and familiar. In films like Book Club, the protagonists are a group of famous actresses, not a single woman over 60. The most particular case is The Substance, the most original, but has a star like Demi Moore at the center of the story and it is a film that directly addresses the theme of age with special effects and an almost science fiction plot. It couldn’t not work.
Emma Thompson: «Mature women are invisible, but full of stories»
British actress Emma Thompson, 67 years old, commented on the results by defining “absurd” the scarce presence of stories centered on older women. «Women make up half the population and we are getting older. So where are the stories about us?“Thompson said. «The older we get, the more interesting we are. Older women don’t need permission to exist on screen. They already exist in the world, cinema just needs to keep up». Her speech is part of a broader campaign against ageism and discrimination related to age and gender in the cultural industry, which according to experts tends to progressively marginalize actresses as they age.
Is the public ready to change?
A survey linked to the research shows opening signals: around a third of the public believes that there are too few stories with protagonists over 60, while one in six people would be more likely to go to the cinema if the film had an older woman at the center of the narrative. This suggests a potential that is still little explored by the industry. In recent years there have been some signs of change, also thanks to important awards given to more mature actresses. However, the average age of the protagonists and those nominated for the most prestigious awards remains relatively low. The debate remains open: the public is there, the stories too. The question remains: why is cinema so afraid of women over 60?
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