Unless your head has been buried in the sand you couldn’t have missed the seismic shift to the Hollywood landscape in 2017. The #metoo movement has not only shaken up the halls of power, giving women a greater voice within the industry, but this has also been a banner year for female-driven movies. From Atomic Blonde to Lady Bird, women were a driving force at the box office in a way that hasn’t been seen in 59 years.
The top 3 domestic movies of 2017 were all led by women: Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $533M, Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast with $504M, and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman at $412M. The last time this happened was in 1958 with South Pacific starring Mitzi Gaynor, Auntie Mame featuring Rosalind Russell, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof led by Elizabeth Taylor.
I’m curious to see if this lasts, or if Hollywood does what it usually does and reverts back to previous form. Next year should be prime real estate for the trend to continue with Ocean’s 8 coming up, but then we all thought there would be a movement like this in 2016 with the female-led Ghostbusters. It just goes to show that these things can’t be forced, they must happen organically as they did in 2017. [via TheWrap]
