Hidden Figures surpassed Best Picture frontrunner La La Land at the box office this week to become the top-grossing Best Picture Oscar nominee of the year, Entertainment Weekly reports.
The film has earned $120 million domestically to date, slightly more than the musical over the same number of weeks. La La Land, which stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, took in $118.8 million.
Hidden Figures tells the incredible true story of unsung heroes Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who overcame racial discrimination to blaze trails at NASA’s segregated Virginia facilities. ESSENCE’s February cover stars, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, portray the groundbreaking women in the film.
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In addition to being up for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Hidden Figures is also nominated for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and Octavia Spencer is up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
The film recently snagged a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture, where Henson emotionally delivered the message: “The shoulders of the women that we stand on are three American heroes …this story is about unity, this story is about what happens when we put our differences aside.”