2018 Female-Led Oscar Contenders — PICS

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December 12, 2017 5:32PM EST

1 of 16

‘Molly’s Game’

‘Molly’s Game’ — The true story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknown to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led people to believe. (Courtesy of Mark Gordon Company)

2 of 16

‘I, Tonya’

‘I, Tonya’ — Tonya Harding rises through the ranks of competitive figure skating only to find disgrace when her husband tries to eliminate her rival. (Courtesy of Clubhouse Pictures)

3 of 16

‘The Florida Project’

‘The Florida Project’ — Set over one summer, the film follows precocious 6-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caringmother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World. (Courtesy of Cre Film)

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‘Wonder Woman’

‘Wonder Woman’ — Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny. (Courtesy of Warner Bros)

5 of 16

‘Lady Bird’

‘Lady Bird’ — Marion McPherson, a California nurse, works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. She also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her — loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated. (Courtesy of Scott Rudin Productions)

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‘Battle of the ‘Sexes’

‘Battle of the ‘Sexes’ — The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past. (Courtesy of Cloud Eight Films)

7 of 16

‘The Beguiled’

‘The Beguiled’ — Cpl. John McBurney is an injured Union soldier who finds himself on the run as a deserter during the Civil War. He seeks refuge at an all-female Southern boarding school where the teachers and students seem more than willing to help. Soon, sexual tensions lead to dangerous rivalries as the women tend to his wounded leg while offering him comfort and companionship. (Courtesy of FR Productions)

8 of 16

‘Colossal’

‘Colossal’ — Gloria is an out-of-work party girl who leaves New York and moves back to her hometown after getting kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend. When news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, South Korea, Gloria gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this far-off phenomenon. As events begin to spiral out of control, she must figure out why her seemingly insignificant existence is having such a colossal effect on the fate of the world. (Courtesy of Brightlight Pictures)

9 of 16

Wonder Wheel

Wonder Wheel — Four peoples’ lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of the Coney Island amusement park in the 1950s: Ginny, an emotionally volatile former actress now working as a waitress in a clam house; Humpty, Ginny’s rough-hewn carousel operator husband; Mickey, a handsome young lifeguard who dreams of becoming a playwright; and Carolina, Humpty’s long-estranged daughter, who is now hiding out from gangsters at her father’s apartment. (Courtesy of Amazon Studios)

10 of 16

‘Girls Trip’

‘Girls Trip’ — Best friends Ryan, Sasha, Lisa and Dina are in for the adventure of a lifetime when they travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival. Along the way, they rekindle their sisterhood and rediscover their wild side by doing enough dancing, drinking, brawling and romancing to make the Big Easy blush. (Courtesy of Universal Pictures)

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‘mother!’

‘mother!’ — A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), mother! stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in this riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.’. (Courtesy of Protozoa Pictures)

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‘Victoria & Abdul’

‘Victoria & Abdul’ — Abdul Karim arrives from India to participate in Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. The young clerk is surprised to find favor with the queen herself. As Victoria questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance that her household and inner circle try to destroy. As their friendship deepens, the queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes, joyfully reclaiming her humanity. (Courtesy of BBC Films)

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‘Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool’

‘Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool’ — Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame finds romance and happiness with a younger man, but her life changes forever when she is diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1970s. (Courtesy of Eon Productions)

14 of 16

‘The Shape Of Water’

‘The Shape Of Water’ — Elisa is a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a hidden, high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab’s classified secret — a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in a water tank. As Elisa develops a unique bond with her new friend, she soon learns that its fate and very survival lies in the hands of a hostile government agent and a marine biologist. (Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)

15 of 16

‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’

‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ — After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command, Officer Dixon — an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence — gets involved, the battle is only exacerbated.(Courtesy of Blueprint Pictures)

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‘The Post’

‘The Post’ — Katharine Graham is the first female publisher of a major American newspaper — The Washington Post. With help from editor Ben Bradlee, Graham races to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents. Together, they must overcome their differences as they risk their careers — and very freedom — to help bring long-buried truths to light. (Courtesy of Dreamworks)

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