Passes the Bechdel test

Black Panther

Name: Black Panther
Released: 2018

2018. Directed by Ryan Coogler, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole and Stan Lee.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
25 women characters. 13 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 12 scenes out of 233.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new king. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

Released: 16 Feb 2018
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.3 / 10
Metascore: 88 / 100
Awards: Won 3 Oscars. 125 wins & 289 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

T'Challa 126 lines, man
Ross 66 lines, man
Nakia 61 lines, woman
Killmonger 60 lines, man
Shuri 55 lines, woman
Okoye 47 lines, woman
Klaue 46 lines, man
Zuri 27 lines, man
Ramonda 23 lines, woman
M'Baku 22 lines, man

Full cast, 67 people

Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther
Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger
Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia
Danai Gurira as Okoye
Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi
Letitia Wright as Shuri
Winston Duke as M'Baku
Sterling K. Brown as N'Jobu
Angela Bassett as Ramonda
Forest Whitaker as Zuri
Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue
Florence Kasumba as Ayo
John Kani as T'Chaka
David S. Lee as Limbani
Nabiyah Be as Linda
Isaach de Bankolé as River Tribe Elder
Connie Chiume as Mining Tribe Elder
Dorothy Steel as Merchant Tribe Elder
Danny Sapani as Border Tribe Elder
Sydelle Noel as Dora Milaje
Marija Abney as Dora Milaje
Zola Williams as Dora Milaje
Janeshia Adams-Ginyard as Dora Milaje
Maria Hippolyte as Dora Milaje
Marie Mouroum as Dora Milaje
Jénel Stevens as Dora Milaje
Sope Aluko as Shaman
Stan Lee as Thirsty Gambler
Atandwa Kani as Young T'Chaka
Ashton Tyler as Young T'Challa
Denzel Whitaker as James / Young Zuri
Shaunette Renée Wilson as Dora Milaje (1992)
Christine Hollingsworth as Dora Milaje (1992)
Lucy Hockings as BBC Reporter
Bambadjan Bamba as Militant Leader
Roland Kilumbu as Young Militant
Jermaine Holt as Driver
Dominique Elijah Smith as Cargo Truck Militant
Jalil Jay Lynch as Nigerian Militant #1
Vaughndio Forbes as Nigerian Militant #2
Sasha Morfaw as Nigerian Woman #1
Alexis Louder as Nigerian Woman #2
Francesca Faridany as Museum Director
Mark Ashworth as Security Guard
Seth Carr as Young Killmonger
Jeremy Sample as Jabari Fisherman
Chad Crumley as South African Tough
Alexis Rhee as Elderly Woman (Sophia)
Danny Chung as Dealer
Liz Elkins Newcomer as CIA Agent
Tony Sears as French Ambassador
Alex C. Riley Hughes as Basketball Kid (1992)
Clifford Gay as Basketball Kid (1992)
Shamel Heath as Basketball Kid (1992)
De'Jon Watts as Hot Dog Kid
Alex R. Hibbert as Young Oakland Kid
Tristan Timmons as Oakland Kid
Tyler Timmons as Oakland Kid
Abraham Clinkscales as Oakland Kid
Thabo Moropane as Wakandan Child
Zani Mogodi as Wakandan Child
Zenzi Williams as Jabari Woman
Trevor Noah as Griot (voice)
T. Love as Jabari Warrior (uncredited)
Sebastian Stan as James 'Bucky' Barnes / Winter Soldier (uncredited)
Shad Gaspard as (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 233

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 5	0	37
6 to 10	3	2
11 to 15	0	2
16 to 20	6	5
21 to 25	8	7
26 to 30	9	17
31 to 35	0	7
36 to 40	0	0
41 to 45	3	27
46 to 50	0	1
51 to 55	7	30
56 to 60	15	22
61 to 65	7	17
66 to 70	10	22
71 to 75	3	1
76 to 80	3	1
81 to 85	2	1
86 to 90	5	2
91 to 95	0	2
96 to 100	2	2
101 to 105	2	0
106 to 110	1	2
111 to 115	0	1
116 to 120	1	6
121 to 125	4	21
126 to 130	0	9
131 to 135	3	3
136 to 140	0	0
141 to 145	10	5
146 to 150	3	32
151 to 155	0	6
156 to 160	6	19
161 to 165	15	39
166 to 170	23	1
171 to 175	1	9
176 to 180	11	11
181 to 185	13	19
186 to 190	9	30
191 to 195	5	8
196 to 200	5	1
201 to 205	0	5
206 to 210	1	12
211 to 215	5	10
216 to 220	0	1
221 to 225	2	4
226 to 230	4	10
231 to 233	5	3

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

OKOYE: You froze . NAKIA: Why are you here? Eesh, you ruined my mission !

SHURI: Are they Jabari? RAMONDA: Yes .

NAKIA: Depends on how quickly we finish the mission ... OKOYE: Thank you .

ON NAKIA: Who changes position from the bar to the CRAPS TABLE where T'Challa was initially standing . NAKIA: I don't see it yet . ON OKOYE: As TWOOF KLAUES TOUGHSpost ' up on either side of her on the balcony . She trie s to play it cool as they look around at the patrons s uspic… OKOYE: I thoug ht there were no weapons allo wed in here .

NAKIA: What are you doing? OKOYE: Just drive . NAKIA: Eesh .

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 31 are women's.

212 lines from women, 472 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

25 women and 35 men in the cast. 13 women and 32 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 44 of 757. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 43 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 27% of the words (2,063), men 73% (5,553). Women have 31% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

5 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Ryan Coogler (man)
Written by: Joe Robert Cole (man), Ryan Coogler (man)
Produced by: Kevin Feige (man)
Shot by: Rachel Morrison (woman)
Edited by: Debbie Berman (woman), Michael P. Shawver (man)
Music by: Ludwig Göransson (man)
Production design by: Hannah Beachler (woman)
Costumes by: Ruth E. Carter (woman)
Cast by: Sarah Halley Finn (woman)

The crew, department by department

Visual Effects

4 women, 26 men, 99 not listed
Other crew

29 women, 49 men, 45 not listed
Costume & Make-Up

10 women, 8 men, 44 not listed
Art

3 women, 21 men, 29 not listed
Production

10 women, 16 men, 26 not listed
Sound

6 women, 36 men, 10 not listed
Camera

2 women, 16 men, 30 not listed
Lighting

0 women, 5 men, 24 not listed

Women
Men
Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 39 on average. Men: 36 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Letitia Wright 24, Lupita Nyong'o 34, Danai Gurira 39, Angela Bassett 59

Men

Daniel Kaluuya 28, Michael B. Jordan 31, Winston Duke 31, Chadwick Boseman 41, Sterling K. Brown 41, Martin Freeman 46

Exhibit H: the money

It made 6.7 times what it cost.

Budget: $200 million
Box office: $1.3 billion

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 233 scenes and 757 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

Related films

Back to the whole shelf