DECEMBER 21, 2009

Women with Box Office Buying Power

Here's one last reason to toast 2009. Women in the prime of their lives are also making prime time – and box office history. If you're in the mood for a movie over your holiday break, there's a romantic comedy in theaters featuring a 60-year-old bombshell! And tonight Diane Sawyer (who turns 64 tomorrow) will become anchor of ABC's World News.

In an industry that primarily targets young men, Meryl Streep, who stars in the new romantic comedy, It's Complicated (opening Christmas Day), has disproven Hollywood's assumption that women don't buy movie tickets. Julie and Julia, The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia! grossed a combined $1 billion. "It's so gratifying because it's the audience nobody really [cares] about," she tells Vanity Fair in its January issue.

You could argue that Streep's genius made these films profitable; she has won more Oscars and Golden Globes than any other actor. But these aren't the first films about love and women over 50 to garner awards and profits. Check out:

Last Chance Harvey (2008): Emma Thompson, 50, received a Golden Globe nomination for this flick about a lonely statistician and a down-on-his-luck musician (Dustin Hoffman) who prove that love often finds us when we least expect it.

The Upside of Anger (2005): In this award-winning dramedy, Joan Allen, 53, plays a mother of three young women, whose husband disappears. She reluctantly builds a relationship with a drinking buddy, Kevin Costner.

Something's Gotta Give (2003): Diane Keaton, 63, and Jack Nicholson star in this film (from the director of It's Complicated) where an aging playboy falls for one fling's brilliant, dynamic mother.

Bonus PINK Link: Here are 99 of our favorite films for strong, successful women.