Bryce Dallas Howard Calls Out Gender Gap in Film Directing
At Variety's Power of Women event, Bryce Dallas Howard highlighted a 2025 study showing women directed just 8.1% of top-grossing films, down from 13.4% in 2024.
Bryce Dallas Howard used her appearance at Variety's L.A. Power of Women event in Beverly Hills on Wednesday to spotlight the persistent gender gap in film directing. She pointed to a 2025 study finding that women directed only nine of the 100 top-grossing films at the U.S. box office, or 8.1%.
The figure marks a decline from 2024, when women accounted for 13.4% of directors on those same top-grossing films.
Howard's own directing credits span both television and documentary. She has directed episodes of the Star Wars series Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and The Skeleton Crew. On the feature side, she directed the documentaries Dads in 2019 and Pets in 2025.
She also directed two episodes of Ahsoka Season 2, and said working on the Star Wars show starring Rosario Dawson was one of the best summers of her life.
In 2021, Howard was announced to direct a reboot of Disney's Flight of the Navigator, which remains in pre-production.
Quick answers
What did Bryce Dallas Howard say about women directors?
She highlighted a 2025 study showing women directed nine of the 100 top-grossing films at the U.S. box office, or 8.1%.
What Star Wars shows has Bryce Dallas Howard directed?
She has directed episodes of Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and The Skeleton Crew, including two episodes of Ahsoka Season 2.
What films has Bryce Dallas Howard directed?
She directed the documentaries Dads in 2019 and Pets in 2025, and is attached to a reboot of Flight of the Navigator that is still in pre-production.