Octavia Spencer spread a whole lot of good will on Friday by buying out a movie theater in Baldwin Hills, California and treating families in need to a free showing of her hit film “Hidden Figures.”
The gesture was in honor of her mother, Dellsena Spencer, who worked as a maid and other small jobs to single-handedly support her seven children. Dellsena passed away when her famous daughter was just 18.
“If you know a family in need that would like to see our movie but can’t afford it have them come. It’s first come first served. My mom would not have been able to afford to take me and my siblings. So, I’m honoring her and all single parents this #mlkweekend Pass the word,” she wrote.
And pass the word is exactly what her “Hidden Figures” co-star Taraji P. Henson did by reposting the message on her own Instagram account:
“This is how phenomenal this woman is @therealoctaviaspencer bought out the movie theatre for TONIGHT’S 8pm showing of #hiddenfigures at Rave cinemas Baldwin Hills in Los Angeles California for poverty stricken families who want to see this movie with their children on #MLK day. If you are in #LA & don’t have the money to see the movie with your children go watch for free tonight! 1st come first serve so get there early. #blackfamilies #spreadtheword #realhistory #history #blackgirlsrock #octaviaspencer #tarajiphenson #janellemonae #baldwinhills”
“Hidden Figures” is doing gangbusters at the box office, having overtaken “Rogue One” and “La La Land” in ticket sales, and bringing in a projected $25.3 million MLK Day holiday weekend — a fact that Spencer deems worthy of celebrating.
Sunday, she once again took to Instagram, but this time to praise her co-star and friend.
Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s film starring Henson, Spencer and Janelle Monae follows the story of three female mathematicians at NASA during the 1960s who helped launch John Glenn into orbit. The film, with a budget of $25 million, has a CinemaScore of A+ and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93 percent.