A new analysis of the top-grossing U.K. films of the past three years has unveiled that they are more likely to star actors named Chris or feature a talking animal in the lead role than a woman over the age of 60.
The study, conducted by the Centre for Aging Better as part of the nation’s first anti-ageism campaign, found that among the 100 highest-earning films for 2023, 2024 and 2025, six films featured someone named Chris as opposed to just five centering on older women. Movies are also four times more likely to include a talking animal as a lead character than an actress over the age of 60, per research from the Age Without Limits campaign.
Emma Thompson, among the supporters of the campaign, commented on the findings: “Women are half the population and we get older. So where are the stories about us? The older we get, the more interesting we are. I want to see more films center aging women; we are compelling, relatable, and overdue for center stage. Older women don’t need permission to exist on screen. They already exist in the world; cinema just needs to catch up.”
The five films starring an older woman that made the Top 100 list over the three year period — with British Box Office gross figures sourced from Box Office Mojo — were: Allelujah (2023) with Jennifer Saunders, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023) with Nia Vardalos, Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) with the late Diane Keaton, The Substance (2024) with Demi Moore and Freakier Friday (2025) with Jamie Lee Curtis.
Meanwhile, Chris Pratt composed half of the six top-grossing films of the past three years: 2023’s The Super Mario Bros Movie, 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and 2024’s The Garfield Movie. The rest were made up by Chris Pine (2023’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), Chris Hemsworth (2024’s Transformers One) and Christian Friedel (2024’s The Zone of Interest).
