
Katherine impresses Harrison by solving a complex mathematical equation from redacted documents, as the Soviet Union's successful launch of Yuri Gagarin increases pressure to send American astronauts into space. The Mercury 7 astronauts visit Langley, and astronaut John Glenn goes out of his way to greet the West Area women. He later apologizes and begins spending time with Katherine and her three daughters. Jim Johnson, who voices skepticism about women's mathematical abilities. Katherine meets African-American National Guard Lt. Pleading her case in court, she wins over the local judge by appealing to his sense of history, allowing her to attend night classes. Mary files a petition for permission to attend all-white Hampton High School, despite her husband's opposition. She is told by Mitchell that, regardless of her mathematics and physical science degree, the position requires additional courses. Encouraged by her team leader Karl Zielinski, a Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivor, Mary applies for a NASA engineer position. Mary is assigned to the space capsule heat shield team, where she immediately identifies a design flaw. She becomes the first Black woman on the team head engineer Paul Stafford is especially dismissive. White supervisor Vivian Mitchell assigns Katherine to assist Al Harrison's Space Task Group, given her skills in analytic geometry. All of them are African-American women the unit is segregated by race and sex. Katherine Johnson works at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in 1961, alongside her colleagues Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan, as lowly " computers", performing math calculations without being told what they are for. It also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2016 and received various awards and nominations, including three nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Deadline Hollywood noted it as one of the most profitable releases of 2016, and estimated that it made a net profit of $95.5 million. The film was a commercial success, grossing $236 million worldwide against its $25 million production budget. The film received critical acclaim, with praise for the performances (particularly Henson, Spencer and Monáe), the writing, direction, cinematography, emotional tone, and historical accuracy, although some argued it featured a white savior narrative. Hidden Figures had a limited release on December 25, 2016, by 20th Century Fox, before going wide in North America on January 6, 2017. Other filming locations included several other locations in Georgia, including East Point, Canton, Monroe, Columbus, and Madison. Principal photography began in March 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped up in May 2016.

Other stars include Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan ( Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson ( Janelle Monáe), who worked at NASA during the Space Race.

It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about three female African-American mathematicians: Katherine Goble Johnson ( Taraji P.

Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder.
