With the dawn of a new year, it's always good to take some time and reflect on where we’ve been and to look back on some of the box office hits from last year. In 2017, three films in particular smashed box office records, united by a common thread—three leading ladies. 

In the spring, Disney's live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast" crushed box office records. Starring Emma Watson as Belle, the film inspired waves of childhood nostalgia and delighted audiences of all ages. Watson, who is best known for her role as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter films, received some criticism for the editing of her vocal skills. However, the film brought in millions at the box office, both domestically and internationally.

From events like the Women's March to the horrifying exposure of sexual abuse, 2017 will be remembered as a powerful one for all things related to girl power. According to Box Office Mojo, it's been decades since female-led films have made a dent in the box office. In fact, in 1958, films like "South Pacific", "Auntie Mame" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" were the three top movies of the year, and they all featured female leads.In June of last year, Wonder Woman rocked the box office with a smashing debut for DC Comics. Starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince, director Patty Jenkins scored big with her film focusing on the Amazon warrior. Wonder Woman held the lead for most of the summer, but has since been dethroned by Disney's recent release of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

This year, set your sights on other female-led films such as "Proud Mary" with Taraji P. Henson and Natalie Portman in the upcoming film, "Annihilation". Fans are also anticipating Alicia Vikander's debut as Lara Croft in the "Tomb Raider" reboot, along with Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling in director Ava DuVernay's book-to-screen adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time".

That being said, fans are still eagerly awaiting any news about more female-led Marvel films. Some rumors have circulated that there may be a Black Widow film on the horizon, starring actress Scarlett Johansson, but so far, no official announcement has been made. Instead, fans will need to look forward to next year, when Marvel will release Captain Marvel, starring actress Brie Larson on March 6, 2019.

According to Comic Book Resources, actress Tessa Thompson has already been vying for a female-led movie to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In November, Thompson recently made her debut as Valkyrie, opposite of actor Chris Hemsworth, in Thor: Ragnarok. “I think in that group was Brie Larson, myself, Zoe Saldana, although she ran off to the bathroom, I think, so she came midway through the pitch but she had been in the rev-up to it,” Thompson said in an interview with CBR. “Scarlett Johansson. Pom and Karen, who are both in the Guardians movies. Yeah, I think it was that group. We were just sort of all in a semicircle talking, and it just came up, because none of us really worked together – well, I suppose Zoe, and Karen, and Pom – and wouldn’t it be nice if we could all work together? And we were sort of speculating on they ways in which it might happen in Infinity War, or might not happen. And we thought, ‘No, we should just have a whole movie where we know every day we’re going to arrive and get to work together.’ So we just ran right up to Kevin Feige and started talking about it.” Could we see more of Thompson in the MCU sometime soon? Stay tuned for more updates and nerd news here on our blog!

Happy New Year!

Written by Jade Nicolette

Twitter: @nicolette_style