On this quietest of news days, it may interest you to know that the Sandra Bullock-starring The Blind Side has become the highest-grossing female-led film of all time at the US box office, passing the $200m mark for a running total of $208.5m.
Of course other films starring women have made over $200m in the US, but this is the first one with a sole female lead and few other recognisable names of note. Yes, it's bigger than Mamma Mia! over there ($144.1m) and Pretty Woman ($178.4, which might push it higher adjusted for inflation but did also have a well-known male lead).
This is a rather depressing statistic for feminists, but at the same time cheering news, since it may encourage Hollywood's dawning realisation that there be money in tham there films aimed at women. Films like Twilight, Sex and the City, the aforementioned Mamma Mia! and The Devil Wears Prada keep chipping away at the notion that only men aged 16-24 go to see films, and long may they continue to do so.
The Blind Side is out in the UK on March 5, at which point we'll get to see if its American football-centric plot ( Bullock plays a middle-class woman whose family adopts a talented but impoverished player) translates overseea. In the meantime, congratulations to Bullock on a very good year.