The latest instalment of the epic space opera was bettered only by 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the first movie in the saga’s sequel trilogy which took $248 million on its debut weekend and a total gross of $937 million.

But despite a “certified fresh” rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and lofty comparisons to “The Empire Strikes Back,” widely seen as the best film in the franchise, 95,000 movie-goers were less enthused, bestowing it a 56 percent average that was colder than the ice planet Hoth.

The numbers could still converge, but the discrepancy so far is unusual.

By comparison, “The Force Awakens” received a 93 percent critic score and 88 percent audience rating, while 2016 spin-off “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” got 85 and 87 percent respectively.

“The Last Jedi” sees the return of the characters introduced in J.J. Abrams’s first entry in the rebooted trilogy, and is also the last outing for character Leia Organa, played by Carrie Fisher, who died last December.

Box office figures are a poor measure of a film’s popularity compared to older releases because they do not take inflation into account.

“The Last Jedi” was followed in second place by “Ferdinand,” a computer-animated comedy about a bull with a big heart often mistaken for a dangerous beast, which took $13 million on what was also its debut weekend.

Last weekend’s number one “Coco,” a colorful Pixar movie set in Mexico, was beat out to third place with $10 million.

It has now earned $150.8 million in North America since its release four weeks ago, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Feel-good film “Wonder” starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay slid to fourth, taking $5.4 million.

The movie tells the story of a determined fifth-grade boy with a facial deformity who must deal with rudeness and bullying by schoolmates.

Warner Bros. superhero film “Justice League,” featuring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman, plus Ciaran Hinds as a supervillain, fell to fifth with $4.2 million.

The figures from Exhibitor Relations are industry projections released prior to the conclusion of the weekend.

Rounding out the top ten were:

“Daddy’s Home 2” ($3.8 million)

“Thor: Ragnarok” ($2.9 million)

“The Disaster Artist” ($2.6 million)

“Murder On The Orient Express” ($2.5 million)

“Lady Bird” ($2.1 million)

“We are thrilled that Larry will be back with his uniquely acerbic wit and comedic sensibility,” said Bloys.

And Larry David added:  “As I’ve said many times, when one has the opportunity to annoy someone, one should do so.”

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” has just received two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (Larry David) and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Debuting on HBO in 2001 and presenting 90 episodes to date, “Seinfeld” co-creator David plays an over-the-top version of himself in an unsparing but tongue-in-cheek depiction of his fictionalised life.

Season nine brought back series veterans Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

The latest season is also streaming on HBO GO via AIS PLAY and AIS PLAYBOX.

The brothers have brought to Bangkok the holiday spirit from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in a touring exhibition featuring magical experiences from the film, which will run from today until March 2.

It has been over 10 years since the last Harry Potter book was published, and six years since the final film in the series. Since then, the now 31-year-old English actors have grown up and ditched their red hair, but they were both happy to take a walk down memory lane to revisit their wizarding days.

They told The Nation that they had been looking forward to coming to Thailand since they heard about the project a year ago.

“We feel lucky to be here. This is very different – you won’t see it anywhere else,” said Oliver of the themed retail experience.

“This is a massive world that essentially makes you feel like you are in Hogsmeade [the wizards’ village]. You can go into Ollivanders’ wand shop and have the wand experience,” said James. “It’s not you choosing the wand, the wand chooses you – just as in the film. So anything like that is a unique experience [for Thailand]. Normally you’d have to travel very far to get this.

“Even when you line up to come in, there are a lot of things going on. The windows are moving and you can interact with them.”

James also said he was especially impressed with one fan’s reaction yesterday when they were exploring the city. “She called me James, not even Fred. She said ‘Welcome to Thailand’ and smiled.”

The holiday exhibition also features the newest Harry Potter-themed retail experience, which is reminiscent of the atmosphere of wintry Hogsmeade village and Diagon Alley, the fictional London shopping street for wizards.

Complete with an extensive wand assortment, film-inspired window displays and interactive elements for muggles, Wizarding World is certain to be a hit with fans of JK Rowling’s magical creations.

The exhibition has been brought to Bangkok by Warner Bros Consumer Products and international exhibition organiser GES.

“Christmas in the Wizarding World is very special here because it is the only one in Asia. The other one is in the United States,” said Robin Stapley, vice president of design and creative for GES.

“There is such an amazing fan base for Harry Potter here – and we have been around the world. We’ve recreated the magical settings of Hogsmeade and the snow experience, so they can experience this innovative environment inspired by Harry Potter.”

Along with Ollivanders Wand Shop, which is outfitted with soaring shelves of hundreds of precariously stacked wands boxes, there are also recreations of Honeydukes sweet shop, Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, and Dervish and Banges, which sells magical instruments. Also on sale are Hogwarts school robes, fan-favourite plush owls and other themed merchandise. 

Other activities include a memorable photo opportunity, featuring a selection of background options from the “Harry Potter” films as well as an interactive “quaffle toss” game, where guests can score a goal amid a colourful display of Quidditch-themed items.

Entry is free, but space is limited. Customers can avoid queuing and reserve a specific entry time by paying a pre-booking service fee of Bt100.

This year is the first Netflix speaks Thai and Thailand led the binge racing trend in APAC, especially with Stranger Things new season 2. A member in Thailand watched Sex and the City: The Movie 162 times in 2017.

This year streaming on TV devices has grown with 41 per cent of Netflix viewing hours through connected TVs in Thailand. Within six months of subscription, 50 per cent of accounts’ primary viewing device has become connected TVs. Apart from this, with the HDR quality available on mobiles, more and more Thais then watch Netflix in public and ranked among the top downloaders in the world, the company said.

Netflix compiled two top lists of its Thai watchers based on the length of viewing per day, The Shows Thais Devoured in 2017 and The Shows Thais Savoured in 2017 as following:

The Shows Thais Devoured in 2017

Members in Thailand devoured (watching more than two hours per day) action crime series like El Chapo, Marvel’s Iron Fist, Marvel’s The Defenders and Ingobernable

1. My Only Love Song

2. Marvel’s Iron Fist

3. The Mist

4. El Chapo

5. Riverdale

6. Shooter

7. Ingobernable

8. Greenleaf

9. American Vandal

10. Marvel’s The Defender

Globally, the show members devoured the most in 2017 is American Vandal.

The Shows Thais Savored in 2017

Thais found solace in savoring comedy shows (watching less than two hours per day). Members in Thailand savored comedies like GLOW, Neo Yokio, Big Mouth, Friends from College and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.

1. Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

2. Samurai Gourmet

3. Big Mouth

4. Neo Yokio

5. Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

6. The Crown

7. One Day at a Time

8. A Series of Unfortunate Events

9. GLOW

10. Friends from College

Netflix said that members around the world love historical shows with realistic moods like The Crown. “The global data also reveals that the show that got cheated the most in the world and we all love to watch ahead of our streaming partner is Narcos and the show that was so good it brought us all together is Stranger Things,” Netflix said.

Disney agreed Thursday to buy key film and television assets from Fox in a $52.4 billion deal set to step up its challenge to Netflix and emerging rivals in the streaming wars.

“It’s certainly a historic merger but this is not the first time two studios have come together — 20th Century Fox is itself the result of a merger,” filmmaker Jean-Luc de Fanti, who co-produced “Good Time” and “American Made” this year, told AFP.

Disney will take over billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s prestigious movie distribution businesses, which racked up 27 Golden Globes nominations on Monday, comfortably more than its big six rivals combined.

One important question for film buffs is whether Disney, which offloaded indie subsidiary Miramax in 2010, has the stomach to keep much-admired arthouse label Fox Searchlight going after the acquisition.

The distributor has turned heads this awards season with a production line of critical darlings like “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Shape of Water” and “Battle of the Sexes.”

But it doesn’t have the box office clout of its blockbuster stable mate 20th Century Fox, which made $826 million in 2017 from three movies alone — “Logan,” “The Boss Baby” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”

On the small screen, the deal would offer Disney the chance to double its stake in streaming service Hulu to a controlling 60 percent, allowing it to fold the up-and-coming platform into its own streaming services being launched in 2019.

‘Avengers vs X-Men’?

It could also add content from Fox’s FX — which produced hit series “The Americans” — and National Geographic cable channels, and movies such as “The Revenant” and the “Avatar” franchise, to give it a running start in its bid to challenge Netflix.

In the only aspect of the deal the fanboys will really care about, the marriage provides the opportunity for a meeting of minds between the costumed superheroes of Disney-owned Marvel and the mutants of Fox’s comic book division.

That could pave the way for a new “Avengers vs X-Men”-style franchise featuring Thor battling Deadpool for galactic supremacy, or perhaps Captain America bickering with the Fantastic Four.

Meanwhile “Star Wars” fans should be able to buy a box set of all nine movies for the first time, since the rights for the original films and prequel trilogy — made before Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 — have always belonged to Fox.

The deal adds the 50 acres (20 hectares) of production and pre-production facilities at the Fox studios in west Los Angeles to Disney’s own expansive lot in Burbank, although the company is planning to lease the studio back to Fox for the coming years, according to Variety magazine.

Redundancies are expected, although Variety reported that 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice reassured employees at a meeting Thursday that staff laid off would get “big severance packages.”

‘Meaningful negative’

Regulatory approval may not come until as late as 2019 — a relief to some analysts who see the proposals as an alarm bell over the health of the film industry.

“Even Fox, with all its resources… is looking at the increasingly expensive future of moviemaking and considering taking itself out of the picture,” said David Sims of The Atlantic in a commentary before the deal was signed.

If Fox can’t hack it anymore, Sims argues, it is difficult to see how Universal, Sony and Paramount are going to manage, given that they already rely heavily on other revenue streams such as television.

The Writers Guild of America West Writers Union said the antitrust concerns raised by the deal were “obvious and significant” while Jeremy Slater, creator of Fox’s “The Exorcist” on Fox, tweeted that the deal was “awful for several reasons.”

Richard Greenfield, a media and tech analyst for San Francisco-based financial services firm BTIG, told AFP the move may not be music to the ears of movie theater operators either.

Disney is already able to leverage its influence to drive tough revenue-sharing deals with theaters, as demonstrated most recently in its demand for a bigger-than-normal 65 percent of ticket sales for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

Disney reported profits of $2.5 billion in 2016, when it distributed the top three movies — and five of the top ten — and adding Fox’s contribution will only give it more clout.

“We would expect Disney’s increased scale to be a meaningful negative to exhibition chains around the world,” said Greenfield.

Commemorating 120 years of Thai-Russian diplomatic relations, Russian Film Week from Tuesday (December 19) to December 24 promises such a variety of movies that everyone will find something to appeal.

Both countries’ culture ministries are sponsoring the event at SF World Cinema at Central World, along with production firm FestFilm, the Russian Embassy and Jamaican Eatz.

The last Russian Film Week held in Bangkok, in 2012, acquainted the Thai audience with Russian cinema. This year’s programme is much broader, designed in a way that everyone can find a movie that will appeal to his or her taste.

The grand opening on Tuesday includes a screening of “The Spacewalker”. Free tickets for all movies will be available up to 30 minutes before screen time.

There will be six screenings of new and popular Russian movies in genres ranging from science fiction and comedy to sport and historical. All movies will have English and Thai subtitles.

On the bill is “Attraction”, made just this year, in which an alien spaceship is forced into Earth’s atmosphere, is attacked by Russian fighter jets and crashlands in Moscow, killing several hundred people. A schoolgirl saves the life of one of the aliens and, together, they must deal with humans intent on harming them.

“The Spacewalker”, also shot this year, is set in the 1960s during the Cold War, when the USSR and US duelled in a space race. The Russians plan to send a man into space, but face many obstacles and dangers.

“Friday”, from 2016, explores the many surprises that a Friday night can bring. A millionaire becomes a waiter for one night, an office loser becomes the star of the party, and two friends have to look for an escaped kangaroo in a forest near Moscow.

“Sparta” (2016) places two teams of fighters in opposition in a rectangular arena for “a spectacular new kind of martial art”. For former MMA champion Nikolay, this is his chance for a comeback. He can fight for his friend’s honour and avenge his coach’s refusal to take him back on the team.

“The Dragon” (2015) sees Princess Miroslava kidnapped in the middle of her wedding by a dragon and carried off into its castle on the remote island. She has left everything behind – family, friends and groom – and now has only a stone cage and a mysterious young man named Arman. Who is he and what is he doing there? She’ll learn the bitter truth when she learns to love the dragon.

Nominated for a Golden Eagle Award, “The Icebreaker” (2016) is based on actual events in 1985, when the icebreaker vessel Mikhail Gromov was moving a huge iceberg. A collision leaves the ship drifting near the Antarctic coast with fuel running low. The crew has no margin for error – a wrong decision and the ship will be crushed in ice.

Discover more through the SF Call Centre at (02) 268 8888 or from http://www.SFCinemaCity.com or http://www.Facebook.com/Welovesf.

This is the third time Apichatpong has been honoured as a commander of France’s Order of the Arts and Letters.

The medal presentation kicks off Apichatpong Weekend, during which his movies will be screened along with his own favourite French film.

There will also be two compilations of short films rarely shown in Thailand, as selected by the director, and a discussion about “ghosts, cinema and society”.

The Alliance will stage an outdoor screening of Apichatpong’s “Sud Saneha” (“Tropical Malady”), which won him an award at the Cannes International Film Festival. He also won the top prize at Cannes in 2010 for “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”.

Tickets for the Apichatpong Weekend are available at http://AFThailande.org/en/cinema-agenda.

The full schedule:

FRIDAY, 8pm (tomorrow, December 15) – Apichatpong will be present to show short films he selected, in Thai with English subtitles. They are “The Anthem” (2006), a trailer for “Cindi” (2011), “Empire” (2010), “Luminous People” (2007), “Monsoon” (2011), “Cactus River” (2012), “Footprints” (2014) and “Worldly Desires” (2005)

SATURDAY, 3pm – Discussion with Apichatpong on “The Figuration and Modality of the Ghostly Figures” in his movies, moderated by Srinakharinwirot University visiting lecturer Vimolnat Thongsaard.

SATURDAY, 6pm – More of Apichatpong’s selected short films: “The Anthem”, “La Punta” (2013), “Mobile Men” (2008), “Ablaze” (2016), “Vampire” (2008) and “Haunted Houses” (2001).

SUNDAY – “Echoes of French Cinema” features a screening at 4pm of “Bad Blood”, the director’s favourite French movie, and at 7pm his own “Tropical Malady”.

The second season of “Divorce” looks at the aftermath of Frances (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Robert’s (Thomas Haden Church) explosive separation, as they learn to rebuild their lives independently while staying entangled through their kids and mutual friends.

Focusing on careers, new relationships and finding ways to be happy again, they learn that pursuing the next chapter will be more complicated than they imagined.

In “Crashing”, created by Pete Holmes, the new season follows Pete (Holmes) as he starts to question his faith and find his voice after an enlightening conversation with an atheist that sends him into a night of debauchery.

The series draws on Holmes’ own experiences as a comedian, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the world of stand-up comedy.

Both series will also stream on HBO and HBO Go on AIS Play and AIS Playbox

The 45-year-old football player turned wrestling pro and then actor sported a sharp black suit and was joined by longtime partner Lauren Hashian and their almost two-year-old daughter Jasmine at the ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard.

“I didn’t want to write anything down. I figured this is such a monumental moment and significant time for me it’s probably best I just speak from the heart and from my gut,” the Herculean father-of-two said.

He told cheering fans the 2,624th star on the Walk was the result of years of hard work, voicing gratitude for the opportunities he’d been afforded and the friends and family who’d helped him along the way.

“This moment is so significant because it’s full circle. 2018 will mark 18 years in Hollywood and that is a very long time of blood, sweat and earning respect,” he added.

Johnson announced Monday on Instagram that he and Hashian were expecting a second child, hours before they stepped out for the premiere of his latest movie “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.”

Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, paid tribute to the actor, who has entertained the possibility that he might run for president in 2020.

“Dwayne said he would use me as a bar bell if I didn’t show up,” Rothman joked, before describing his friend as a “global superstar with hundreds of millions of fans and billions of dollars in box office.”

Johnson’s recent work includes “Baywatch,” “The Fate of The Furious,” “Central Intelligence” and “San Andreas,” as well as the HBO comedy “Ballers.”

Reputed to be one of the hardest-working stars in Hollywood, he has been in 14 movies in just four years, including previous installments of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, “Hercules,” “Snitch,” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “Empire State,” “Pain and Gain,” and “Moana.”

Born on May 2, 1972, in the San Francisco Bay Area and raised in Hawaii and Pennsylvania, Johnson grew to six foot five inches (196 centimeters) and weighs 245 pounds (111 kilograms).

He played defensive tackle at the University of Miami and went on to a stint on the practice roster of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 1995.

Johnson became a professional wrestler in 1996, following his father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia. He would become an eight-time World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment champion.

Nicknamed “The Rock” due to his strength in the ring and roughhewn features, he was declared “sexiest man alive” by People magazine in November 2016.

It was a good year for the actor, who was also named the world’s highest paid film star by Forbes magazine.

Building on the first iteration of the Talent Lab in 2016, this year’s Lab was expanded to two days, and included a pitching workshop and pitch forum with feedback from a panel of film professionals.

The jury selected Xaisongkham’s “Raising a Beast”, to attend the TFI Network market at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival (April 18-29, 2018). Xaisongkham attended the Talent Lab with his Filipino producer, Abigail Lazaro.

Hosted annually by TFI, the industry market gives filmmakers the opportunity to build connections with a wide range of industry insiders who can potentially help them advance their projects.

TFI will mentor Xaisongkham through the completion of the project. All participants in this year’s Talent Lab will also receive preferential consideration for any of TFI’s grants.

“Raising a Beast”, co-produced by American Steve Arounsack, tells the story of two Hmong siblings, Ying and Neng, who are blessed with beautiful voices and dream of moving to the city to become singers. When their father refuses to sell the family’s prized bull to help pay for Neng’s education in the city, Ying becomes a bull trainer to cover her brother’s expenses.

Singapore-based media investment firm Aurora Media Holdings, represented on the jury by Jeremy Sim, selected Ledesma’s “Cat Island” as the recipient of their Aurora Producing Award. Ledesma, who attended the Talent Lab with her producer Alemberg Ang, will receive US$10,000 (Bt327,000) to help produce her film.

“Cat Island” follows Catherine, who after dedicating almost two decades of her life to the care of her asthmatic, albeit feisty and cat-loving mother, finds herself alone and purposeless when her mother dies. On the eve of her 40th birthday, the ghost of Catherine’s mother returns to ask for Catherine’s help in completing her “unfinished business”: have her remains cremated and scattered over Cat Island, Japan. With a renewed sense of purpose, Catherine travels to Japan to complete her mission on the rural island.

Founded by Justin Deimen, Terence Kong, and Sim, Aurora Media is one of Southeast Asia’s leading media and entertainment asset incubation, investment and management specialists.

The announcement of the winning projects was made in a uniquely Luang Prabang fashion: while cruising down the Mekong River at sunset.

Following the afternoon pitch forum, the jury and Talent Lab fellows from the 10 participating projects boarded a boat manned by Mekong Kingdoms, a stylish new boat company that opened operations earlier this year. Fellows took in Luang Prabang’s magical mountain views and attempted to relax while the jury deliberated in a private room in the stern.

The jury was comprised of filmmaking professionals from around the world, including Sim; Kenneth Lipper, the Oscar-winning American producer; Victor William of Rokki, AirAsia’s in-flight entertainment provider; and Ho Hock Doong and Siti Helaliana Chumiran, both from the Malaysian distribution company, Astro.

The 10 projects that LPFF selected to participate, which are in various stages of production, come from six countries from the ASEAN region: Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. The pool was equal parts documentary and narrative features, with five projects of both genres participating. Attendees taking part in the Talent Lab included directors, writers, and producers behind the films.

The participating projects were:

“Autobiography” (Indonesia), represented by Makbul Mubarak (director) and Yulia Evina Bharas (producer)

“Bai Bibyaon, Lady Warrior of the Lumad” (Philippines), represented by Cenon Obispo Palomares (director, writer)

“Cat Island” (Philippines), represented by Siege Ledesma (director, writer) and Ang Alemberg (producer)

“Doi Boy” (Thailand), represented by Nontawat Numbenchapol (director, writer)

“Going Straight” (Philippines), represented by Kristoffer Brugada (director)

“It Wasn’t an Accident” (Myanmar), represented by Soe Moe Aung (director)

“Luzviminda” (Philippines), represented by Inshallah Montero (director)

“Raising a Beast” (Laos), represented by Xaisongkham Induangchanthy (director, writer) and Abigail Lazaro (producer)

“Song of the Homeland” (Thailand), represented by Preecha Srisuwan (director, cinematographer)

“Wilderness” (Malaysia), represented by Nadira Ilana (director, scriptwriter)

Find out more at the LPFF at http://www.lpfilmfest.org.