There’s been a long prevalent myth that movies with women as leads don’t do well at the Box Office.  Studios are often reluctant to produce and fund movies with female leads unless the movie falls under the genre of romance. What studios don’t comprehend is that by making this assumption they are, in fact, closing out a huge market of potential profit. 

Part of the problem is that since there are so few movies starring female leads, when one does badly, it makes it appear as if audiences simply won’t see a movie with a female lead. However history has also showed that movies marketed specifically to women have done very well. 

If romance is the obvious go-to genre for women, then take a look at some of the highest grossing romance movies of all time. Oscar winning movie Ghost, starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, grossed about two hundred seventeen million.  Julia Robert’s now classic Pretty Woman grossed around one hundred seventy-eight million. More recent movies such as, The Notebook garnered a total of one hundred fifteen million worldwide. The Vow, which also starred Rachel McAdams, grossed a total of one hundred ninety-six million worldwide. 

So what does this mean? That women will pay, but only to see romance movies? Not at all. If the success and prevalence of the romance genre has proven anything, it’s that women are a valuable market to target when making and selling movies.