Female-Led Films Won at the Box Office for the First Time in 59 Years

published 1 January 2018

This year has seen a lot of landmarks for women in Hollywood. Not only did several of the biggest female celebrities speak out against Hollywood's sexual misconduct problem, but women led sales at the box office for the first time in almost sixty years.

As The Wrap (opens in new tab) reports, female-led movies were the top three highest-grossing domestic films for the first time since 1958. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder Woman, starring Daisy Ridley, Emma Watson, and Gal Gadot, respectively, topped the box office this year.

In 1958, the top three spots were held by South Pacific, starring Mitzi Gaynor, Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, starring Elizabeth Taylor. The 2018 film slate promises a slew of female-led movies as well, including Taraji P. Henson’s Proud Mary, Alicia Vikander's Tomb Raider reboot, and Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling taking the lead in Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time adaptation.

Yes. To. This.

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.