| VIOLADESMOND | Businesswoman who challenged segregation at a Nova Scotia movie theater in 1946 |
| SNAREDRUM | Instrument killing a Nova Scotia running back (5,4) |
| PASSION | ___ pit (drive-in movie theater, in older slang) |
| REEL | Spool; as used in movie theatres in times gone by? |
| KINO | Movie theater, in Europe |
| CINEMA | Movie theater, in Manchester |
| CINE | Movie theater, in Marseille |
| REDWOOD | John, Conservative politician who challenged John Major in a party leadership contest in 1995 (7) |
| ARACHNE | In mythology, a talented weaver who challenged Athena and was turned into a spider (7) |
| TOPGUN | Tom Cruise franchise that saved movie theaters in 2022 |
| ARDEN | Elizabeth, professional name of Canadian-born U.S. businesswoman who founded a cosmetics company in 1910 (5) |
| NIGELSHORT | English chess player who challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess Championship in 1993 |
| MILLS | Heather, English former model and businesswoman who divorced Paul McCartney in 2008 (5) |
| MEADEN | Deborah, British businesswoman who became an investor on TV show Dragons' Den in 2006 (6) |
| PETER | Hilary _, late businesswoman who was a Dragons' Den dragon (5) |
| HUNT | Jeremy, Conservative politician who challenged Boris Johnson for the party leadership in 2019 (4) |
| HESELTINE | Surname of the politician who challenged Margaret Thatcher in the 1990 leadership contest (9) |
| MICHELLE | ____ Dewberry, businesswoman who won the second series of The Apprentice in 2006 (8) |
| MARTHA | ____ Lane Fox, businesswoman who co-founded lastminute.com in 1998 (6) |
| RUTHHANDLER | US businesswoman who invented the Barbie doll in 1959 (4,7) |
