Can Latinos Save Hollywood? Box Office Numbers Down, But Latino Viewership Continues to Grow

Hollywood blockbuster franchises and big summer films have traditionally -- as a rule -- catered to white audiences, particularly in their casting of caucasian actors in lead roles.

Case in point was last weekend's Comic Con, where the major studios trotted out the casts of their upcoming big budget films--and the majority of them were white. Whether it was Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman cast, with Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill, or The Avengers: Age of Ultron, there weren't many minority actors on display--apologies to Sam Jackson, of course. 

But all of that might be about to change--or at least, it probably should. 

You see Hollywood has a problem. And that's because this summer's box office attendance is dropping like a rock.

According to the Guardian, this year's Fourth of July weekend take was 42 percent less than last year, and that's in spite of movies aimed at appealing to both international audiences (Transformers: Age of Extinction) and to women as well (Tammy).

It's not just 4th of July either, this whole month's box office take is a jaw-dropping 50 percent less than a year ago. So basically, not a lot of people are rushing to the movies this summer.

Except for one demographic group: Latino women. 

Yeah, you heard right. In a recent poll by The Wrap, audiences from this summer's biggest films apparently had as many Latino viewers as all the other demographic groups combined.

Movies like X-Men, Godzilla and Rio 2 all had nearly 25 percent of their sales come from a minority that they most surely weren't specifically targeting. Rio 2 takes place in South America, other than that, there isn't really anything Latin about the films that Latinas have been flocking to in droves. 

This shift in audience makeup hasn't gone completely unnoticed, either. The head of the National Association of Theatre Owners is quoted by Guardian as stating: "Hispanics are far and away the most important consumer at our cinemas."  

Yet studios, who no doubt are also aware of exactly who is seeing their films, are still reluctant to make any adjustments to their blockbuster casts to either more accurately reflect or cater to what is likely the fastest growing theater-going population. 

Hollywood certainly can't ignore its ever-expanding Latino audience forever. It's simply too rich a resource to leave untapped--particularly when ticket sales are dwindling and many studio executives are no doubt looking for answers as well as new revenue streams. 

It makes sense that if a Latino moviegoer can identify with Robert Downey Jr., then why can't white audiences identify with Latino actors in some of the lead roles of summer films?

Obviously they can and will if they don't have a choice, but it's unclear how long we will have to wait until a studio is bold enough to finally make that change.