Sarah, remorseful, burns the letters but Anne sends her away from court. She tells Anne that Abigail does not love her. Sarah issues an ultimatum to Queen Anne: change her stance on the war and send Abigail away or Sarah will disclose her correspondence with Anne that details their sexual relationship. When Sarah returns to court, Abigail offers her a truce but is rejected and slapped. Abigail then helps Harley's influence on the Queen's decision about the war grow. Anne, thinking Sarah has abandoned her, takes Abigail into her favour and allows her to marry Colonel Masham, reinstating Abigail's noble standing as a Baroness.
Abigail drugs Sarah's tea, causing her to fall off her horse and be dragged unconscious on the ground. Sarah threatens to throw Abigail back to the streets. Desperate for the comforts of being a lady again, she reconsiders Harley's offer.
Sarah finds out and tries to remove Abigail from her position, which Abigail prevents by earning pity from the Queen. Abigail seduces the Queen, leading to a tryst. With Sarah focused on the war, Abigail kindles a friendship with Anne, who finds Abigail's sweet disposition a break from Sarah's tough love. Abigail refuses, then tells Sarah about this while implying that she knows their secret and that it is safe with her, but receives a veiled warning from Sarah to never betray her. Harley asks Abigail to spy on the two, hoping to circumvent Sarah's authority. One night, Abigail witnesses Sarah and the Queen having sex. Sarah has Abigail whipped for entering the Queen's bedroom without permission but relents and appoints her Lady of the Bedchamber after realising the herbs have helped the Queen. After seeing the Queen's gout, Abigail applies herbs to the Queen's inflamed legs. Abigail is forced to do menial work as a scullery maid in the palace. Abigail's standing has been tainted by her father, who gambled her away in a game of whist. Sarah's efforts to control Anne are undermined by Robert Harley, the Leader of the Opposition, who as a landowner argues against a doubling of property taxes proposed to fund the war.Ībigail Hill, Sarah's impoverished younger cousin, arrives in search of employment. Her confidante, adviser, and furtive lover Sarah Churchill effectively rules the country through her influence over the Queen. Queen Anne is in poor health she shows little interest in governing, preferring activities such as racing ducks and playing with her 17 rabbits, surrogates for the children she miscarried or lost in childhood. In 1711, Great Britain is at war with France. The film also won eight European Film Awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress for Colman. The film was ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2018. Colman won Best Actress at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs. The Favourite also won seven BAFTA Awards (including Best British Film and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Weisz) and ten British Independent Film Awards. The Favourite received critical acclaim, especially for the performances of the three leads and Lanthimos' direction, and it received numerous awards and nominations, including ten Academy Award nominations, tying Roma for the most nominations of that year. The film became a box office success, grossing $95 million worldwide on a $15 million budget. It was theatrically released in the United States on 23 November 2018 by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 1 January 2019.
The Favourite premiered on 30 August 2018 at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Colman. Co-produced by studios based in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States, principal photography lasted from March to May 2017 and took place at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire and at Hampton Court Palace. Set in early 18th century Great Britain, the film's plot examines the relationship between cousins Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough ( Rachel Weisz) and Abigail Masham ( Emma Stone), who are vying to be Court favourite of Queen Anne ( Olivia Colman). The Favourite is a 2018 period black comedy film co-produced and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, from a screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara.