![]() The use of live-action animals in film has been prevalent since the inception of motion pictures, and though animal performers were nothing new, their use on screen became an extremely lucrative business. Primates have since played many roles on screen, such as monsters, pets, protagonists, and props, portrayed using different media including live animals, animation, computer-generated imagery (CGI), and even humans in costume. Early 20th century producers Cooper and Schoedsack also exemplified this by heavily featuring primates alongside humans in films, culminating with their blockbuster King Kong (1933). For example, the 1918 film Tarzan of the Apes has had nearly 50 sequels and remakes in 100 years. Non-human primates (primates hereafter), in particular, have long captured the interest of storytellers and filmmakers. With that, animals and animal imagery have been used by the film industry in all genres, time periods, and with every major technological development. While film is a major economic industry, it is also a reflection of human culture and a lens through which we see ourselves. In 2019, the global motion picture industry market surpassed 100 billion United States dollars (USD). Due to the steady increase in the use of the CGI medium and its positive relationship with gross profit and critic consensus, it could have great effects on people’s perceptions of primates and implications for conservation efforts. While animation had no significant relationship to gross profit or critic consensus, both were significantly lower for films that used live primates and were significantly higher for films that used CGI primates. We found that over the 20-year time frame, use of live primates has decreased, CGI has increased, and animations have remained relatively steady. We used structural equation models to depict the highest likelihood of the portrayal aspects on the medium’s relationship to the films gross profit worldwide and film critic consensus scores. For each appearance we recorded aspects of primate portrayals based on accuracy, anthropomorphism, environment, and agency displayed, along with the depiction medium. We observed 151 primates in 101 different English-speaking films that debuted between 20. ![]() We aimed to investigate how the portrayal of primates varied between depiction medium types and how this related to the films’ performance with critics and in the box office. While the effects on human perception of using live primates in film have been studied, little research has been performed on their appearance in animation and none in computer-generated imagery (CGI). Their use in the film industry is of concern due to the negative welfare effects on individuals, the potential for increased pet trade, and the conservation impacts of public perception. For over 100 years, non-human primates (primates) have been a part of the now hundred-billion-dollar global film industry in a variety of capacities.
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