| 100% | NYONGO | 6 | Lupita, star of Us and Twelve Years a Slave |
| 47% | CHIWETELEJIOFOR | 15 | Star of "12 Years a Slave" |
| 44% | YEARS | 5 | "12 ___ a Slave," Oscar-winning 2013 film starring Lupita Nyong'o and Chiwetel Ejiofor |
| 42% | EJIOFOR | 7 | “12 Years a Slave” star |
| 41% | LUPITANYONGO | 12 | "12 Years a Slave," 18-Across, and 32-Across star who was the first Kenyan-Mexican actress to win an Oscar (2 wds.) |
| 41% | NYONGO | 6 | "12 Years a Slave" Oscar winner Lupita __ |
| 40% | TAXRETURNS | 10 | They're filed this time of year, and a hint to portions of the starred answers |
| 40% | MCQUEEN | 7 | Steve __, artist and director of 12 Years a Slave |
| 40% | THEM | 4 | Us and ___ (sides of a conflict) |
| 39% | BRADPITT | 8 | Actor in "12 Years a Slave" and "12 Monkeys" |
| 39% | BIRDMAN | 7 | Best Picture winner between "12 Years a Slave" and "Spotlight" |
| 38% | MONTH | 5 | One of the twelve divisions in a year, and a word that has an obscure perfect rhyme with the word "oneth" |
| 38% | JAMESDEAN | 9 | Star of Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden |
| 38% | HARTLEY | 7 | Justin, star of This Is Us and Revenge |
| 38% | ANOUKAIMEE | 10 | Sultry star of "A Man and a Woman" |
| 37% | SOLOMONNORTHUP | 14 | Abolitionist who wrote "Twelve Years a Slave" |
| 37% | MCQUEEN | 7 | "12 Years a Slave" director Steve or "Bullitt" star Steve (not the same person) |
| 37% | STEVEMCQUEEN | 12 | "Bullitt" star, or the director of "12 Years a Slave": 2 wds. |
| 37% | SOLOMON | 7 | First name of the author of “Twelve Years a Slave” |
| 37% | HORNE | 5 | Star of a 1981 Broadway revue subtitled "The Lady and Her Music" |
| 37% | BRADLEY | 7 | The star of The Hangover and A Star Is Born |
| 37% | ROSAMUND | 8 | Pike, actress star of Gone Girl and A Private War |
| 36% | ALFRE | 5 | Woodard of "12 Years a Slave" |
| 36% | SARAHPAULSON | 12 | "12 Years a Slave" actress who starred in "American Horror Story: Freak Show": 2 wds. |
| 36% | RICHARDGERE | 11 | Star of "Pretty Woman" and "Chicago" who is a practicing Buddhist: 2 wds.. |
| 36% | ASHTON | 6 | ___ Kutcher, star of "That 70s Show" and "Two and a Half Men" |
| 35% | OPEN | 4 | US ___ (name of a tennis tournament and a golf tournament) |
| 35% | NASDAQ | 6 | Acronym and name of a US stock exchange |
| 35% | FIFTY | 5 | Count of stars on a U.S. flag |
| 35% | SIX | 3 | Number of years in a US senator's term |