Widows is a 2018 heist film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by McQueen and Gillian Flynn, based upon the 1983 ITV series of the same name.[2] A British-American co-production, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson. The plot follows a group of women who attempt a heist in order to pay back a crime boss after their criminal husbands are killed on a botched job.
The film was announced in March 2015, with Davis joining the cast in September 2016. The rest of the cast was added in the next several months, and filming began in Chicago in May 2017.
Widows premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2018 and in the United States on November 16, by 20th Century Fox. The film has grossed over $55 million worldwide, and received praise for its direction, screenplay and performances (particularly Davis, Debicki and Kaluuya), with critics crediting it for blending “dramatic themes with popcorn thrills.