Charlize Theron exposes systemic sexism in the action genre as female-led blockbusters face harsher standards and quicker cancellations

Charlize Theron may be leading Netflix’s current number-one film, The Old Guard 2, but the action icon has a grim message for Hollywood: female-led action movies are still treated like a gamble, and women rarely get a second chance.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Theron cut through the congratulatory buzz around box office diversity. Despite gains on paper — 54% of last year’s top 100 films had a female lead or co-lead — the reality behind the camera remains bleak. When it comes to big-budget action, Theron says, “guys will get a free ride. When women do this and the movie may not hit fully, they don’t necessarily get the chance again.”

Her comments expose a long-standing, largely unspoken truth in the industry. While male stars like Tom Cruise, Ryan Reynolds and Will Smith churn out sequel after sequel — some hits, many not — women are expected to deliver perfection in one go. If they don’t, the franchise is often scrapped, and the actor quietly moves on.

Theron knows this firsthand. She was praised for her ferocious turn in Mad Max: Fury Road, but didn’t return for the prequel Furiosa, which starred Anya Taylor-Joy. That film underperformed, and any talk of a sequel evaporated. Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible is on its eighth entry and Deadpool on its third — both still led by the same men.

And when women do get to lead an action tentpole? The pressure is stifling. Take Ballerina, which cast Ana de Armas as the lead in a John Wick spinoff. Box office receipts were underwhelming. Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web flopped so hard it became a meme. Bryce Dallas Howard’s Argylle barely made a dent. None are likely to return.

The message from studios is clear: men can fail upward; women must nail it, or vanish.

Even successful female-led action projects rarely position women as franchise faces. This year’s Jurassic World Rebirth starred Scarlett Johansson — in a reboot she didn’t headline before. Twisters, Alien: Romulus, and Godzilla x Kong all featured female stars but relied on pre-existing universes and brands. These are not career-launching opportunities like Iron Man was for Robert Downey Jr. or Top Gun was for Cruise. They’re one-offs. Disposable.

Theron put it bluntly: “Studios will take that risk many times on the same guy who might have a string of action movies that did not do so well. But not with us.”

The Old Guard 2, in which Theron stars opposite Uma Thurman, is doing well on Netflix. But streaming comes with fewer expectations — and, crucially, less transparency. No box office. No weekend deathwatch. That’s a shield, but also a prison. These films don’t get the same budget, the same spotlight, or the same awards momentum.

Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back for incremental wins. A woman leads an action movie? That’s progress! But Theron’s words are a sobering reminder: progress without permanence is just PR.

“We were very aware that eyes were on us,” Theron said. “It’s not a risk studios want to take.”

It shouldn’t still be a “risk” in 2025. But it is. And unless Hollywood dismantles its baked-in bias — the unspoken rules that make failure a career-ender for women but a speed bump for men — the path from star to legend will remain open only to one gender.

Theron is still fighting. But why should she have to fight alone?