This 2018 action thriller featuring Florence Kasumba, Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright embodies emancipation on multiple levels, highlighting empowered black characters as well as women warriors. Set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, "Black Panther" pays attention to modern-day sensitivities with regard to gender roles and social identities.

Former Miss Israel Gal Gadot's performance transformed the DC Extended Universe thriller "Wonder Woman" into a feminist manifesto. Grossing $822 million (€720 million) at box offices worldwide, it was the 10th most successful movie of 2017, topping cinema charts for weeks-on-end.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" was the second most successful movie of 2016, trailing just behind another superhero film, "Captain America: Civil War." The sci-fi thriller passed the so-called Bechdel test; first developed in 1985, this qualitative measurement examines whether movies featuring at least two women who talk to each other actually speak about something other than a man.

US actress Scarlett Johansson played the character of the Black Widow in several of the "Avengers" films. In 2015, she portrayed the S.H.I.E.L.D. spy with the arachnid name in "Avengers: The Age of Ultron," which also passed the Bechdel test. That movie grossed more than $1.4 billion, proving once and for all that intelligent female characters with depth matter more than just pretty faces.

It's not just female superheros that score at the box office. Emma Watson's 2017 portrayal of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" grossed $1.26 billion and garnered two Oscar nominations (best costume design and best production design). This adaptation of the Disney classic was the second most successful movie in 2017.

For the world premiere of the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody in October 2018, Freddie Mercury fans filled London's 12,500-seat Wembley Arena, where Queen's Live Aid concert was also held in 1985. The hit movie went on to become a surprise winner at the Golden Globes: Rami Malek (above) picked up the best actor award for his portrayal of the legendary singer, while the musical was also crowned best film.

There's never been a rock star like Freddie Mercury, whose voice spanned four octaves and added a decidedly campy flavor to rock music. With his chest pushed forward like a rooster, Mercury managed to attract male and female followers alike while shaking his hips in hot pants. Even greater than his vocal talent was his personality — both on and off stage: confident, nonchalant and flamboyant.

Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar on September 5, 1946 but grew up mainly in India. At age 17, he and his parents moved to London, where he studied art while dabbling in music. That's when he met guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Initially, he worked as a roadie for the two musicians before sharing the limelight with them under his future stage name, Freddie Mercury.

In 1970, May and Taylor took bassist John Deacon on board and released Queen's first album — with Freddie (left) on vocals. The track "My Fairy King" features the following lyrics: "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me." The lyrics completed Freddie's nom de plume. Asked if he meant to address his actual mother with those words, he replied, "Yes, and from now on, I am Freddie Mercury."

During their early days, it proved quite difficult for the new band to get any recognition. It wasn't until 1974 that tracks like "Killer Queen" and "Now I'm Here" put Queen on the map and in the charts. The big breakthrough came with "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1975. To this day, the award-winning hit single remains Mercury's signature song.

Queen dominated the British music charts with their fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera, and managed to gain recognition in the US and beyond. The group became one of the most successful rock bands in history. Celebrated not just for their songs but also for Mercury's stage antics, Queen toured the world to sold-out venues.

As much as he reveled in his public persona, Freddie Mercury kept his personal life under lock and key. In the late 1970s, he split up with his long-term girlfriend Mary Austin, telling her in private that he would seek male companions in the future. Mercury explored his homosexuality freely before HIV and AIDS started making headline news, affecting gay communities around the world.

Denying rumors that he had contracted HIV, Mercury kept the diagnosis to himself in the late 1980s, continuing to record new tracks despite looking increasingly tired and gaunt. Many thought Queen's 1989 album, The Miracle, would be their last studio recording — with the mystery surrounding Mercury's health remaining until the last moment.

Freddie Mercury hit the recording studio with Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballé to record the operatic duet "Barcelona." Released in 1987, the song initially reached no. 8 in the UK charts. But five years later, one year after Mercury's death in 1991, it resurfaced during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, catapulting the track to the upper regions of the charts in several countries.

The Brit Awards ceremony on February 18, 1990, was the last time Mercury was seen in public. A shadow of his former self, he accepted an honorary award for Queen and their Outstanding Contribution to Music. As though in denial about the limited time he had left, Mercury went back to the studio to record Queen's last album, Innuendo.

The night before his death, Mercury finally made a public announcement admitting that he had been suffering from AIDS. Mercury died November 24, 1991 due to bronchial pneumonia brought on by the disease. After his death, Queen released one more album using material recorded in his final months. The record, released in 1995, is titled Made in Heaven.