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"Sandra Bullock&amp;#039;s success in Gravity proved that actresses over 40 years old still have what it takes to lead movies, breaking down the Hollywood myth that once an actress turns 40 (or sometimes even 30), she&amp;#039;s regulated to supporting or background roles. Bullock&amp;#039;s starring role in Gravity has propelled the film to the number one spot in the US box office three weekends in a row - and it will have another chance in reining the box office as it opens to UK theaters today (November 7).   Bullock also enjoyed box office victory in this year&amp;#039;s buddy comedy The Heat with Melissa McCarthy (another successful fortysomething actress), and her Oscar-winning role in The Blind Side in 2009.  Of course, Bullock isn&amp;#039;t the only actress over the age of 40 who is carrying a movie before the year ends. Here are a host of leading ladies poised for big things in the remaining weeks of 2013.  Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County Audiences can get two &amp;#039;Best Actress&amp;#039; Oscar winners for the price of one in August: Osage County. Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts lead the ensemble cast as the Weston family are brought back together to their Oklahoma home in the wake of a family crisis. While Streep and Roberts go toe-to-toe as mother and daughter, the real winners could be the viewers as they get to watch two of Hollywood&amp;#039;s finest veterans together on screen.  August: Osage County opens on limited release in the US on December 25, and debuts in UK cinemas on January 17.      Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks Emma Thompson shares the screen with Tom Hanks in Saving Mr. Banks, but the drama wouldn&amp;#039;t be anything without her character, Mary Poppins author PL Travers. Saving Mr. Banks follows Travers as she meets with filmmaker Walt Disney as he adapts Mary Poppins for the big screen. Saving Mr. Banks opens in UK cinemas on November 29, and follows on December 20 in the US.   Judi Dench in Philomena Age clearly has not stopped the Hollywood work flowing for Dame Judi Dench. In 2011, she appeared in five movies - from popcorn blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to awards season contenders J. Edgar and My Week with Marilyn. Last year, she reprised her role as M in Skyfall.  While those films have her playing supporting roles, this year we get to see Dench be the leading star. In Philomena, the legendary actress plays the titular character, a woman searching for her son after he was taken from her decades ago. The drama opens to wide release on November 27 in the US, and is now playing in the UK.  Naomi Watts in Sunlight Jr. Naomi Watts&amp;#039;s indie drama Sunlight Jr. doesn&amp;#039;t have the kind of media buzz or interest that surrounds her other recent film Diana, a biopic about the late Princess Diana, but it does have more favorable reviews.  Watts stars in Sunlight Jr  as one half of a troubled couple who have to deal with an unexpected pregnancy while struggling to get by with their minimum wage jobs in Florida. She shines in gritty movies such as 21 Grams and Mother and Child, so Sunlight Jr is right up her acting alley. It also may be what Watts fans need after Diana flopped at box offices in the US and UK on its opening weekend. Sunlight Jr. opens on limited release in the US next Friday (November 15).      Miranda Otto and Gl\u00C3\u00B3ria Pires in Reaching for the Moon Miranda Otto and Gl\u00C3\u00B3ria Pires bring the real love story between two iconic women - American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares - in Reaching for the Moon. The romantic biopic not only gives Lord of the Rings cast member Otto a leading vehicle, but it introduces award-winning Brazilian actress Pires to moviegoers who may not be familiar with her work.  Reaching for the Moon opens to limited theaters in the US tomorrow (Friday, November 8).      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a528783/how-hollywood-is-embracing-actresses-over-40/>