This Black-Led Film Is The One Virginians Searched For Most

VIRGINIA — A survey of some of the most popular films in recent years — Black Panther, The Hate U Give, and Moonlight — shows that the entertainment industry has taken note of audiences' desire to see greater representation in the movies they watch.

Moviegoers want to see more ethnicities and people of color represented in movies and television, not just as background characters or secondary storylines, but as leads.

In a recent study, Go.Verizon.com took a look at what movies with strong Black lead characters Americans were searching for online. Far and away, Black Panther was the most searched for movie with a Black lead in 17 states, including Virginia, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB):

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Ohio
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Granted, Black Panther does have the benefit of being part of the wildly popular Marvel Universe franchise. But, when news broke about the unexpected death of the movie's star, Chadwick Boseman, people in two additional states sought out his other recent film, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, according to the study.

People aren't just searching for superhero movies with strong Black leads, either. In 12 states, the most searched for movies was Jordan Peele's Get Out:

• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Maine
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Wisconsin

Peele earned an Academy Award for his screenwriting on the 2017 horror flick.

The Hate U Give, which is based on a best-selling young adult novel by Angie Thomas, was the top pick in seven states, and Moonlight, the 2017 Best Picture Oscar winner, was the most searched for Black-led film in Rhode Island.

For its study, Go.Verizon looked at feature films released between Jan. 1 2015, through July 7, 2021. Read the results of the full study online.