When it comes to strong female lead characters, we have seen plenty of them on the big screen so far this year... and there's more to come as we head into the autumn.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
According to the CEO of National Theatre Owners, films with female leads are enticing more women into cinemas. The year of the woman sees a higher number of females in leading roles than ever before, including Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials which features not one, but two female leads.
To celebrate the release of the film today, we take a look at some of this year's strongest female characters on film.
- Jennifer Lawrence in Mockingjay: Part 2
When it comes to strong female characters on the big screen, Jennifer Lawrence is one of the best with her stunning performance as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games franchise.
Katniss is the role that has shot Lawrence to super-stardom but, sadly, Mockingjay - Part 2 is set to be the final time that we see her take on this great literary role.
What started out as a fight to survive, has now become a fight to overturn the Capitol and bring equality to Panem. Katniss has become the spearhead and the symbol of that revolution as fought back against the oppression of the Capitol as a tribute in the first film.
Mockingjay - Part 2 will see the battle reach its climax as Katniss has her eye on the Capitol and President Snow. The Hunger Games has been a terrific film series and a very faithful adaptation of the books. Lawrence has captured the strength and vulnerability of this great character and it is going to be sad to see her leave Katniss behind.
- Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Mad Max: Fury Road
Throughout her career we have seen Charlize Theron take on a wide range of roles and many strong female characters... she continued that trend earlier this year when she took on the role of Imperator Furiosa in the highly anticipated Mad Max: Fury Road.
A damsel in distress Imperator Furiosa was not, a shaven-headed, one-armed warrior who was more than a match for the central character, Max Rockatansky - played by Tom Hardy.
Imperator Furiosa may be lieutenant to villain Immortan Joe, but she uses her position to help his five wives - who were selected for breeding - to escape, without any regard for her own safety or future.
This is one of the most exciting roles that we have ever seen Theron tackle and it is great to see her really throw herself into a major action role. We don't often see such strong women in these kinds of movies and the character of Imperator Furiosa was a real breath of fresh air.
- Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World
Bryce Dallas Howard is another actress who has taken on a wide range of roles during her career and is no stranger to the blockbuster.
This summer she returned to that genre as she took on the role of Claire in Jurassic World, a movie that went on to gross over $1 billion at the global box office and is the highest grossing film of the year so far.
Director Colin Trevorrow stated that Howard is the true heroine of the recently released Jurassic World, saying that "The real protagonist of the movie is Claire, and we embrace her femininity in the story's progression."
Claire Dearing is the operation's manager of the park who, at the beginning of the movie, is driven by the new dinosaur attraction that is on the horizon that will boast park numbers. However, we see a tougher side of this character when she and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) are forced into action when the dinosaur escapes.
The Jurassic Park franchise is no stranger to strong female characters as it all started with Dr. Ellie Sattler back in Jurassic Park - who was not afraid to fight for those she loved - and that trend has continued with the new film.
- Reese Witherspoon in Wild
It is not just in the blockbusters where we have seen some really strong female characters as we were treated to one at the beginning of the year in Wild.
Wild saw Reese Witherspoon back on the big screen leading the adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Cheryl Strayed. Witherspoon took on the role of Strayed in the film, who set off to walk the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail to deal with her divorce and the death of her mother.
Witherspoon really got under the skin of this character and you really felt the pain she was in after the team of her mother. Wild really is a movie that explores the impact of grief and how it manifests in different ways in different people. For Strayed, it was self-destruction as she got into drugs and lost her marriage along the way.
Wild is a film that explores themes of guilt, regret, grief and redemption and Cheryl deals with and accepts all of these during her journey. This a journey that strengths and heals Cheryl and helps her to get on the path to become the woman that her mother would have wanted her to be.
Wild is a beautiful and personal movie with Witherspoon giving a performance that will both make you laugh and break your heart.
- Kaya Scodelario and Rosa Salazar in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
UK actress Kaya sprung to fame with her breakthrough performance of Effy Stonem in teen drama series Skins. The actress plays Teresa, who was the only female in the cast of the first Maze Runner.
We were introduced to the character of Teresa in Maze Runner, the only girl to have been put in the Glade... and yet she was more then a match for any of the boys. She too has fought hard for freedom and will stop and nothing to know the truth.
Rosa Salazar is one of the new additions to the cast of the Scorch Trials and will take on the role of Brenda in the film. These two strong women are sure to play a huge part in keeping many of the group alive as they face the Scorch.
Other strong female lead characters include Melissa McCarthy in Spy, Anna Kendrick and co in Pitch Perfect 2, and Shailene Woodley in Insurgent.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is out in UK cinemas now.
Tagged in The Hunger Games