Movies with Strong Female Roles Made More Money in 2013 [Chart]

The top 50 movies of 2013 were put to the test — the Bechdel Test, to be exact.

The Bechdel Test was named after cartoonist Alison Bechdel and in order to pass, a film must meet the following three criteria:

It has to have (1) at least two women in it, who (2) talk to each other about (3) something besides a man.

It’s not a hard rule, as the Sandra Bullock-George Clooney blockbuster Gravity *technically* didn’t pass the test, but it is not included on the Fail list (but it’s not on the Pass list, either).

The findings?

Out of 50 total movies we looked at, 17, or 36 percent, passed with flying colors. An additional seven technically passed, but are deemed “dubious” by Bechdel-watchers because of the dialogue (some of it was about a man, some of it wasn’t, but not much).

What we found is this: The grand total domestic box office number for the movies that passed is significantly higher than the domestic box office total for the movies that didn’t. We’re talking billions.

What’s also interesting is all 50 movies were directed by men.

[via Vocativ]