Ah, Memorial Day Weekend, all across the United States people are firing up their grills, hitting sales, and heading to the theater. This weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, and Hollywood wants to bring people out of the heat and put their butts in theater seats. Something cool and unexpected is happening this particular weekend though, women are killing it at the box office thanks to Pitch Perfect 2 and Disney's Tomorrowland , which is fronted by a STEM loving teen played by Britt Robertson. That's not all— looking further down the list at the top seven movies they all either feature a predominantly female cast, are bringing in more female viewers than male, or they have Black Widow and Scarlet Witch being awesome (that one's for you, Avengers: Age of Ultron fans). How's that for good news on the women in movies front? Hollywood still has a long way to go, but it looks they are finally making progress.
Overall, Hollywood is on track to have a lower Memorial Day Weekend gross than usual, but that is not due to the quality of the movies. History has shown viewers prefer established franchises on Memorial Day Weekend over original films like Tomorrowland. The important thing is, those who are showing up at the theaters are resoundingly choosing women positive films. According to Deadline, Tomorrowland is on track to bring in $40.7 million over the four-day weekend and those numbers could very well increase as word of mouth spreads about the movie's quality. Tomorrowland features a young female protagonist whose belief in the wonders of science and technology allow her to not only envision a bright future, but to visit it as well.
The real aca-mazing news is how completely and utterly Pitch Perfect 2 is kicking box office ass. The Barden Bellas sang so loud they passed the $100 million mark this weekend. May Hollywood never doubt the power of hilarious women to bring people to the theater ever again. Pitch Perfect 2 's out of this world total should make Universal ecstatic considering the studio only paid around $29 million to make it. Currently, the Bellas are still riding high in the number two spot at the box office.
After years of summer belonging to brooding male antiheroes, it is refreshing to see Hollywood embracing a more diverse lineup of films. Tomorrowland and Pitch Perfect 2 are the most high profile examples, but the weekend's number three film, Mad Max: Fury Road is a feminist masterpiece, at number five Avengers: Age of Ultron sparked a fiery debate about the depiction of female superheroes, and numbers six and seven are being held by female buddy comedy Hot Pursuit and Carey Mulligan's exquisite period drama Far From the Madding Crowd. Even the Poltergeist remake is bringing in more female viewers than male with Deadline reporting 56% of the movie's total audience is comprised of women, boosting the movie to its number four spot.
So what does this all mean? It means women have the choice to watch movies featuring strong women singing their hearts out, discovering new worlds, saving the day, hanging out Thelma & Louise style, and falling in love while rebuilding a farm all at the same time. They are all available to viewers right now for the price of admission to your local theater. Go forth and support some awesome actresses this weekend and let Hollywood know they are finally on the right track.
Images: Disney; Giphy (2)
