It could be seen as a fitting response to a year in which Hollywood has been rocked by sexual harassment accusations against powerful men – the three most popular movies of 2017 in North America all featured female actors in their lead roles. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – the latest installment of the long-running space saga – overtook Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast on New Year’s Eve to become the top grossing film of the year in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates. Wonder Woman, the first world world war-set superhero tale that has so far been DC Comics’ only critical hit, came in at No 3. The last time the top three films were fronted by women was in 1958, when South Pacific, Auntie Mame, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof were the most popular American movies, according to box-office tracking websites.