--- title: Octavia Spencer Free 'Hidden Figures' Screening description: 'Hidden Figures' star Octavia Spencer bought out a theater so more people could see her film this Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. canonical: https://time.com/4634404/octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-free-screening/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-13T19:18:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:23.647Z og:title: Octavia Spencer Buys Out Theater for 'Hidden Figures’ Screening og:description: In part to honor MLK Jr. Day og:url: https://time.com/4634404/octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-free-screening/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4efb89da046bbff5/6988b58d8fd2ee805635563f/hidden-figures-octavia-spencer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: "Hidden Figures" New York Special Screening og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Octavia Spencer Buys Out Theater for 'Hidden Figures’ Screening twitter:description: In part to honor MLK Jr. Day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4efb89da046bbff5/6988b58d8fd2ee805635563f/hidden-figures-octavia-spencer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Octavia Spencer Buys Out Theater for 'Hidden Figures’ Screening > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=afabab61-e96a-4a52-8b19-ea9d8b793a0c&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Jan 13, 2017 7:18 PM UTC  Actress Octavia Spencer attends the "Hidden Figures" New York special screening on December 10, 2016 in New York City. Actress Octavia Spencer attends the "Hidden Figures" New York special screening on December 10, 2016 in New York City. Noam Galai—WireImage/Getty Images by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Jan 13, 2017 7:18 PM UTC [_Hidden Figures_](http://time.com/4623401/hidden-figures-movie/)is already being called a monumental film,[ well-received by critics](http://ew.com/movies/2017/01/05/hidden-figures-ew-review/) and fans alike. But [star Octavia Spencer](http://motto.time.com/4628509/octavia-spencer-golden-globes-ring/) doesn’t want it to only reach people who can afford to see movies. So in order to make the film available to all, Spencer bought out a movie theater showing the flick and opened it up to the public. “Tomorrow I’ve bought the 8pm showing of #hiddenfigures the rave Baldwin hills,” the Oscar-winning actress [posted on Instagram](http://www.etonline.com/movies/207432%5Foctavia%5Fspencer%5Fbuys%5Fout%5Fhidden%5Ffigures%5Fscreening%5Ffor%5Fless%5Ffortunate%5Ffamilies%5Fla/). “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.” [Spencer](http://motto.time.com/4608958/octavia-spencer-diversity-hollywood/) added that the move to buy out the screening was motivated by her late mother and the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. “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.” \[h/t [ET](http://www.etonline.com/movies/207432%5Foctavia%5Fspencer%5Fbuys%5Fout%5Fhidden%5Ffigures%5Fscreening%5Ffor%5Fless%5Ffortunate%5Ffamilies%5Fla/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4634404/octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-free-screening/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4634404/octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-free-screening/"},"headline":"Octavia Spencer Buys Out Theater for 'Hidden Figures’ Screening","datePublished":"2017-01-13T19:18:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:23.647Z","description":"In part to honor MLK Jr. Day","url":"https://time.com/4634404/octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-free-screening/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4efb89da046bbff5/6988b58d8fd2ee805635563f/hidden-figures-octavia-spencer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4efb89da046bbff5/6988b58d8fd2ee805635563f/hidden-figures-octavia-spencer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Hidden Figures\" New York Special Screening","caption":"Actress Octavia Spencer attends the \"Hidden Figures\" New York special screening on December 10, 2016 in New York City.","creditText":"Noam Galai—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4634404/octavia-spencer-hidden-figures-free-screening/","name":"Octavia Spencer Buys Out Theater for 'Hidden Figures’ Screening"}}]}] ```