Does it pay to be more socially inclusive and diverse in cultural industries? We examine this research question in the context of the Hollywood movie industry by looking at the impact of women’s representation and ethnic diversity of actors on the international box office success of movies. We argue that diversity is multifaceted and thus needs to be examined in a nuanced manner when it comes to cultural products. While a greater representation of women may be appreciated by the global audience, the same is not true for ethnic minorities due to the historically negative portrayal of ethnic minorities in Hollywood movies. Our findings, based on 20 years of data from 2000 to 2021 for more than 3000 Hollywood movies, suggest that representation of women has a positive impact, but representation of ethnic minorities has a negative impact on the international success of Hollywood movies. The relationship between gender and ethnic diversity and international success is, however, contingent on the movie genre (culture neutral versus culture sensitive) and the internationalization co-production of movies.