The Luang Prabang Film Festival, taking place in the former capital of Laos from December 8 to 13, will have a bumper crop of Thai movies, including Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Rak Ti Khon Kaen” (“Cemetery of Splendour”) and the international hit “Chalard Games Gong” (“Bad Genius”).

“Dao Khanong” (“By the Time It Gets Dark”) – which won the Subhanahongsa Award for best picture and was Thailand’s bid for a foreign-language Oscar – will be screened. So will Pimpaka Towira’s “Mahasamut Lae Susan” (“The Island Funeral”), the independent documentary “Mon Rotfai” (“Railway Sleepers”) and the 1954 classic “SantiVina”.

The others are “The Couple”, “Heart Attack”, “In My Hometown”, “Legend of the Broken Sword”, “Snap” and “Wandering”.

The festival’s “Spotlight on Thailand” segment will see Bangkok Post film critic Kong Rithdee – who serves as the festival’s “Motion Picture Ambassador for Thailand” – leading the daylong programme of Thai films and a discussion about contemporary Thai cinema.

Opening the festival will be “The Anniversary”, a new Lao feature directed by Chilasak Saysanith, the trailer for which is posted on the website – LPFilmFest.org.

Set in Vientiane, it’s about Vin, a young man whose bad timing combines with unexpected events to sabotage his romantic relationships before they can get to the first anniversary. Enter Vahn, whose disdain for the higher social classes force Vin to hide his wealth.

The festival will show both features and short films, including a selection from this year’s Vientianale, and – at the day venue in the Sofitel Luang Prabang – will host discussions on film preservation in the digital age, “Muslim voices” in Southeast Asia, and financing non-fiction projects.

There’ll be a Talent Lab led by the Tribeca Film Institute on pitching concepts, after which one project will be selected for marketing in New York as part of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

All participants in the Talent Lab will get preferential consideration for TFI grants, with Aurora Media Holdings offering production startup funds of Bt340,000.

A documentary-production workshop is also planned, sponsored by the US Mission to Southeast Asia and the American Film Showcase and led by Filipino-American director Ramona Diaz (“Imelda”, “Don’t Stop Believin’”).

As happens every year, the official film selections will have directors, producers and actors in attendance who participate in numerous festival events, including post-screening Q&A sessions.

Visitors can also enjoy an exhibition of the photographs of Philip Jablon, who in 2008 began his Southeast Asia Movie Theatre Project, creating the single most comprehensive collection of the region’s cinematic theatres ever compiled.

The photos on display at this year’s festival will depict some of the theatres captured during Jablon’s tour of Mon State in Myanmar in February and March this year.

Find out more at LPFilmFest.org and keep up to date at Facebook.com/lpfilmfest.

THE FULL FILM ROSTER

– “2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten” (Philippines)

– “The Anniversary” (Laos)

– “Bad Genius” (Thailand)

– “Blood Road” (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia)

– “Burma Storybook” (Myanmar)

– “By the Time It Gets Dark” (Thailand)

– “Cemetery of Splendour” (Thailand)

– “The Couple” (Thailand)

– “Die Beautiful” (Philippines)

– “Fanatic” (Vietnam)

– “Father and Son” (Vietnam)

– “Heart Attack” (Thailand)

– “In Exile” (Myanmar)

– “In My Hometown” (Thailand)

– “The Island Funeral” (Thailand)

– “Jailbreak” (Cambodia)

– “Khuannang” (Laos)

– “Legend of the Broken Sword” (Thailand)

– “Mind Cage” (Cambodia)

– “Motherland (Philippines)

– “Ordinary People” (Philippines)

– “Railway Sleepers” (Thailand)

– “Redha” (Malaysia)

– “Rina 2” (Brunei, Laos)

– “Santi-Vina” (Thailand)

– “Saving Sally” (Philippines)

– “Snap” (Thailand)

– “Turah” (Indonesia)

– “Unlucky Plaza” (Singapore)

– “Wandering” (Thailand)

– “Women of the Weeping River” (Philippines)

– “You Mean the World to Me” (Malaysia)

Taika Waititi, the New Zealand director at the helm of Marvel Studios’ third instalment in the “Thor” franchise —“Thor: Ragnarok” has a confession to make.

“I said ‘yes’ to the film because I so wanted to immerse myself in another world and in another culture. I’ve wanted to be a space Viking or an Asgardian since I was a kid. I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also the Marvel Comic Universe,” he says with a grin.

Not only was Waititi inspired from a fan perspective, his creative side was also up for the challenge to do something new and different. “I come from humble background, and I am more known for independent storytelling or storytelling on a budget,” the director says. “I’ve made my mark in that world, and I thought it was time for me to expand.”

Waititi has brought his signature comedic sensibility but says he wanted to “have a balance or a mix that’s hopefully very funny but also resonates and connects with an audience on some sort of deeper level.

“I thought that the way that I would approach this film would be very different from the first two films. And Marvel was okay with that. One of the things that also attracted me to the project was when Marvel told me that they wanted to really charge up the franchise. They wanted to take Thor in a new direction and put him into outer space with as little time on Earth as possible. They wanted to make him fun and have an adventure.”

Asked about the meaning of the word “Ragnarok”, Waititi says: “Ragnarok is from Norse mythology and it’s sort of like the end of the world – the Apocalypse or Armageddon. But I think what Ragnarok really signifies is a rebirth. It’s the start of a new cycle in the life of the world or the realms of the universe. It’s the destruction of the old and the rebirth of the new.”

In the film, even Bruce Banner/the Hulk gets Waititi’s brand of Ragnarok. “To me, the old Banner died and was rebirthed into this new, energetic, wide-eyed and very adventurous and curious Banner,” remarks the director. “Mark Ruffalo is going to bring something very different to the Bruce that what we’ve come to know from the other films. When he finally comes back from being the Hulk, it’s been two years since he’s actually been Bruce Banner. So in a sense Bruce has been locked away in the Hulk’s subconscious for two years.”

A new character in the film is Hela, played by Cate Blanchett. Hela holds a special place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the director explains, “Hela is the first female villain that we’ve had in a Marvel film.

“She’s destroyed the idea of your typical villain. She’s not only strong and all of that and beautiful but she’s also funny. And she’s also flawed. She has layers; she’s tormented. She’s got a lot more going on than some of the more typical villains that you see in these kinds of films. She’s not just about taking over the world or owning the universe; she wants something that I think a lot of people can relate to – recognition.”

Also new is Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson. “Valkyrie is one of the most popular characters from the Thor comics,” says Waititi. “She’s a strong woman from the warrior class. It’s actually fantastic because the fans have been wanting this character for a long time, and it’s amazing to be able to give it to them.”

Describing another new character, the Grandmaster, played by Jeff Goldblum, Waititi says: “The Grandmaster is a fantastic character. He’s quite an eccentric character and a bit of a game player. One of the big things that he would do in the comics was a thing called the contest of champions where you would pit favourite heroes against each other and make them play games or make them fight. We’re doing our own spin on that where he is the master of Sakaar, the world that Thor finds himself on. And Thor must fight through this contest of champions really to get out of Sakaar and win his freedom. So, Thor must win his freedom by fighting his old friend, the Incredible Hulk.”

In “Thor: Ragnarok” Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth are reprising their roles of Loki and Thor. “The relationship between the two brothers is similar to before with a lot of bickering, but I think underneath it all there’s also a lot of love,” Waititi says.

“If you think about family relations, there always is that dynamic. It’s a dynamic of someone who you know almost better than yourself, someone who’s your best friend and your worst enemy. And that continues. We’re going to see some further development where they trust each other a little more.”

Thor also goes through some changes in the new movie. “In this film, you’re also going to see Thor in a way that no one’s ever seen him before. He’s brash. He’s adventurous. He’s all the things we’ve come to love. But then we’ve also added more. We’ve expanded him.”

Working with Chris Hemsworth was a positive experience for the director, who says of the actor: “It was exciting to work with Chris on this film and have him doing what he does best, which is a multitude of things.

“Not only is he a great action star but he’s also a great actor. He has great ideas and he really cares about the character. Chris bares it all. He puts his whole personality out there on the screen. He puts his heart out there. He’s professional and a perfectionist.

“I love what Chris does with Thor. I love the excitement and the exhilaration that we all get from seeing him fight and throw the hammer and fly and do all these incredible super human feats. But he also makes the character very human and relatable in this film as well,” concludes Waititi.

Waititi had a style on set that created camaraderie from the getgo. Explaining how he brought everyone together, he offers, “Every single person on a set is vital and is a very integral part of the process. So I try to instil some love and some pride in what we’re doing and make the whole process enjoyable.

“I’ve heard about these sets where everyone’s stressed out, and it’s often completely silent. You could hear a pin drop. I don’t want to hear a pin drop. Who’s interested in that? I’ve heard a pin drop, and there’s nothing interesting about that. I want to hear noise, and I want to hear music.

“I want to hear a cacophony of stuff going on.”

Summing up what he wants audiences to experience, Waititi says, “I want this film to be a fantastic cosmic adventure that is a fun ride but also has high stakes and emotional truth. When films have an emotional authenticity that is when an audience invests emotionally. An audience wants to be part of the journey, and they want to see it through.

“That’s what I want to bring to this film. I want to really engage the audience and give them a thrill ride, which is both dramatic and emotional but also funny and exciting. And by the end of the film you feel like you’ve have been to different worlds and had many crazy experiences.

“And you will have really gone through the fire with Thor.”

Titled Gong Shou Dao, which means the art of guard and defense, the 20-minute movie, which will not be seen in cinemas, is set to be released on November 11.

“That night … that dream,” Ma wrote in a post attached the movie’s poster on China’s microblogging platform Weibo on Saturday, without giving any details of the plot.

Jet Li, the movie’s executive producer, told Sina, one of China’s leading Internet-based media groups, “We all have the same dream to use the movie to promote traditional Chinese culture and pay a tribute to the predecessors in the field of Chinese kung fu.”

Other big names among the film’s crew include action stars Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Wu Jing and Sammo Hung Kam-bo, boxing star Zou Shiming, Thai actor Tony Jaa and retired Mongolian sumo champion Asashoryu Akinori.

Ma, the executive chairman of the Alibaba Group, has long expressed interest in traditional Chinese culture, especially kung fu, and has practiced tai chi for many years.

In a recent interview, Hemsworth offered some insight as to where we find Thor at the start of the film and how he felt working on the set in his native Australia. Excerpts:

How do you perceive your character today after playing him for so long?

I’ve been playing the character seven years now, which on one hand seems like a lifetime ago yet it seems like only yesterday that we were shooting the first film. The first film was so much fun because it was one of my first big jobs. It was all so new. I was in the hands of Ken Branagh, which was just wonderful. He brought the Shakespearian tone, history and the comic books to life in a way that I don’t think anyone else could have.

This film in particular is the biggest character shift and a gearshift tonally in the storytelling, so that affects my approach. That was all birthed through Taika’s vision and his sense of humour, his attitude and his need for exploration. Doing something different really paralleled what I wanted to achieve in this and what the studio wanted to do. Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel wanted to see where we could take it, and it’s been of the most exciting and fun sets I’ve ever been on.

Where do we find Thor in this story?

The last time we saw Thor on screen was in “Avengers: Age of Ultron”. At the end of that film, Thor basically sets off to search deeper into the villain who seems to be orchestrating all of the problems that are affecting the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in this, we don’t really get bogged down with a lot of that back story. We made this one a unique story of its own. At the beginning we find Thor in a bit of a journey of self-discovery. He’s from Asgard but turned down being king and lived on Earth. But still he’s not from Earth, so he doesn’t quite fit in there. So, he’s off searching for answers.

On his way, he discovers all sorts of chaos throughout the realms and villains that have been unleashed. And no one’s stopping them, so he returns home to ask his father what’s going on and why the fires are not being put out. As we know from the last film, his father may not be his father. It may be Loki doing some sort of illusion. So we have some fun with that and then it really kicks off from there into the rest of the story. But that’s where we pick it up, and that’s where Thor starts.

What are Thor’s physical transformations?

There are a few physical changes with the character in this film. The first one is he loses his hair. He’s in a gladiator world where part of their processing is to chop the hair off, which happens off screen. And he turns up with his hair hacked off. It certainly gave me a different attitude. Different costumes, different weapons, different, cast of characters to work off give you a different energy. And so even having a different haircut can affect the way you move.

Then he also loses his hammer. It’s destroyed by Hela, the villain in this film. That forces him to question everything in existence and his own strength and his own history and past, and sends him again on a different journey. It was about stripping him back physically, but also emotionally, in order to rebuild him in some way or have him have to rediscover something. So that is a great way to break him down.

Does losing his hair and hammer affect his strength?

Initially Thor thinks it’s going to affect his power. He feels that the hammer is the source of his power. It’s that classic idea that the power is really within you. The hammer was just something that orchestrated it.

What is Ragnarok?

Ragnarok is the end of all things; the end of the universe. Life itself as we know it ends. Ragnarok in this film applies to Asgard and the ticking time bomb was to prevent Ragnarok from occurring in order to save Asgard.

What does Thor encounter in this film?

He’s from a world where he is by far the most able and strong and powerful character. He then is thrust into the world of the planet Sakaar where one no one cares that he is a prince of Asgard. So that doesn’t buy him any power or value. His powers are reduced due to obedience discs that are attached to him. He’s an equal now. He doesn’t sit above the normal folk of the town. And that was a very smart way of stripping back his powers and making him relatable.

Talk about Hela, the first female villain.

Cate [Blanchett] is just brilliant as Hela. She is one of the greatest actors that has ever been. I was so excited to see what she was going to do with Hela. I had ideas of what she might do but I was completely blindsided by the outcome. She just has this insane off-kilter attitude or look or kind of movement to her character. At times you find yourself empathising with Hela and then you remember that she is slaughtering people and destroying everything. That kind of conflict within an audience makes for a far more interesting film and journey to watch.

What is the relationship between Thor and Loki in this story?

Thor has always given Loki a second chance and trusted him time and again but in this one it’s different. He accepts what Loki is and leaves him at that. And maybe that’s out of a more intelligent attempt to bring him back. Or maybe Thor truly has run out of options and ideas to bring him back.

And it seems to get through to Loki this time. Who knows for how long? I think inherently there is good in Loki but he has a warped view and an entitlement of where he should be and what he should be given. But it was fun to play that change in Thor’s attitude and to do something different, yet we still have great brotherly moments in amongst that attitude.

How did the production wind up in Australia?

I asked if we could shoot in Australia and thankfully the Marvel guys said they would look into it but couldn’t promise anything. To me, being home again for more than two weeks would be fantastic. And it worked out.

It was so good. It was so nice being there. There’s just such a familiarity with the crew and everything here. And I get to sleep in my own bed. But I also t think there’s such wonderful talent here as well, in the cast and crew across the board. So it was fantastic. And the weather was brilliant. I don’t think we got rained out at all. It’s just been one of the best shoots I’ve been part of.

Describe a day on set with the director, Taika Waititi.

There’s lots of music and usually some dancing, lots of jokes, lots of craziness, lots of insanity and lots of fun. Lots of exploration, lots of just trying things and then seeing where we could push it, and so on. I’ve got to say it’s definitely the most light-hearted and fun set I’ve been on. The tone of the film is responsible for the environment that Taika created. It makes you feel okay about trying something you might not have tried before or taken outside the box. You feel in safe hands. And you’ve got to trust the director to do that. I think everyone’s felt like that on this film. It’s been great.

The first six episodes of “Star Trek: Discovery” are currently available to stream on Netflix. All new episodes are available weekly on Mondays, exclusively for Netflix subscribers globally (except US and Canada). As previously announced, “Star Trek: Discovery” will air in two chapters. The final episode of chapter one will debut on Monday, Nov 13, and the second chapter, featuring the remaining six episodes, will return in January 2018.

“Star Trek: Discovery” follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

The new series will feature a new ship and new characters, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers.

Star Trek: Discovery’s cast includes Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Jason Isaacs, Anthony Rapp, Michelle Yeoh, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Mary Chieffo and James Frain.

Star Trek: Discovery is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Living Dead Guy Productions and Roddenberry Entertainment. The series released in the US and Canada via CBS All Access and outside the US on Netflix.

New accusations of sexual assault have continued to pour in since investigations in the New York Times and New Yorker three weeks ago exposed the tycoon as a relentless, bullying sexual predator.

More than 50 women including stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Mira Sorvino have accused 65-year-old Weinstein of sexual abuse and harassment, although he denies forcing himself on anyone.

“In light of Mr. Weinstein’s widely reported behavior — with new reports continuing to surface even now — the Producers Guild’s national board has voted unanimously to enact a lifetime ban on Mr. Weinstein, permanently barring him from PGA membership,” the guild said in a statement.

“This unprecedented step is a reflection of the seriousness with which the guild regards the numerous reports of Mr. Weinstein’s decades of reprehensible conduct. Sexual harassment can no longer be tolerated in our industry or within the ranks of Producers Guild membership.”

The announcement came as accusations of serious sexual assault continued to pile up against Weinstein, whose films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.

Hope Exiner d’Amore has accused Weinstein of raping her in a hotel room in the 1970s, according to a Times article published Monday, while Cynthia Burr said he attacked her in an encounter that ended with forced oral sex in a hallway.

A third complainant, Ashley Matthau, a dancer with a bit part in one of his movies, says he pushed her down on a bed in a 2004 attack, masturbating while straddling her.

On Saturday the New Yorker ran an interview in which actress Annabella Sciorra — an Emmy nominee for her role in the acclaimed television series “The Sopranos” — accused Weinstein of forcing his way into her apartment and violently raping her in the 1990s.

Last week, according to the Times, the actress Dominique Huett filed a lawsuit claiming that in 2010, Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her, while Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant, told a news conference in New York he had attacked her in 2006.

Police in New York, Los Angeles and London have all confirmed criminal investigations into Weinstein’s activities.

The toppled tycoon was sacked as co-chairman of The Weinstein Company and also resigned from its board.

The 58-year-old double Oscar winner, who plays ruthless President Francis Underwood in the hit show, is facing claims from actor Anthony Rapp that he “made a sexual advance” at a party 31 years ago while Rapp was underage.

“Season six is our last season,” a spokeswoman told AFP.

A source with knowledge of the issue told AFP however that the decision to end the series was unrelated to the allegations, having been made before they came to light.

Starring alongside Robin Wright, Spacey is also executive producer of the platform’s flagship series, which is adapted from a BBC drama of the same name and has earned 46 Emmy nominations and Golden Globes for its lead couple.

Netflix doesn’t release viewing figures. But the show has marked out its place in television history as the company’s debut in original programming, which has grown to include other highly regarded shows such as “Stranger Things” and “Orange is the New Black.”

Filming for season six is under way in Maryland, with season six expected to drop next year. No premiere date has yet been set but “House of Cards” has never debuted later than May.

Rapp, 46, told Buzzfeed that in 1986, while both he and Spacey were performing on Broadway, Spacey invited the then 14-year-old to a party at his New York home. Spacey would have been 26 at the time.

Rapp said he was in Spacey’s bedroom watching TV when Spacey, apparently drunk, came in after all the other guests had left, and lay on top of him.

“He was trying to seduce me,” Rapp told Buzzfeed. “I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”

Spacey apologized on Twitter, and went on to say that Rapp’s accusation “encouraged me to address other things about my life” before confirming that he was gay.

His comments prompted a backlash from critics who accused him of deflecting from his misdeed by finally coming out, while reports suggested that he may face other accusers.

Netflix and “House of Cards” production company Media Rights Capital issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply troubled” the allegations against Spacey, who is currently not scheduled to be on set.

“In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported,” it said.

Despite typhoon Lan’s best efforts to disrupt life in the Japanese capital last week, the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival kicked off as scheduled on Wednesday successfully with the screening of a 10-minute excerpt from Chinese auteur Chen Kaige’s latest, “Legend of the Demon Cat”, slated for release next year, and Fumihiko Sori’s live action version of the well-known anime “Full Metal Alchemist”.

Thai movies were once again in evidence at this year’s event, with three selected for screening in festival programmes outside the main competition. The Asian Future competition, which focuses on first and second time Asian filmmakers, saw the premiere on Sunday of Prabda Yoon’s second feature “Someone from Nowhere”. Also showing in the section are Wichanon Somunjarn’s “In April the Following Year, There was a Fire” and Kirsten Tan’s “Pop-Aye”. Cinema enthusiasts will remember that in 2015, Pimpaka Towira’s “The Island Funeral” picked up the Best Asian Future Film Award.

A low-budget project produced by Cattleya Paosrijaroen and Soros Sukhum’s 185 Films, “Someone from Nowhere” takes place in a single room. At a condominium somewhere in Bangkok, Napatsorn (Chayanit Chansangavej), a young woman in her 20s, is about to go to work when she finds a man (Peerapol Kijreunpiromsuk) lying injured in front of her door.

As the man enters her room, Napatsorn starts to realise that he isn’t there by accident. He intends to reclaim his ownership of the room, even though Napatsorn insists she bought the studio apartment and is the rightful owner. The confrontation between the two culminates in an unexpected situation.

“This film stems from an idea that has been with me for a long time”, says Prabda of his inspiration for the feature. “I wanted to write a story about someone who takes over the front doorstep of other people’s houses and then intrudes, developing a relationship with the owner without the two knowing each other before.”

“Somewhere from Nowhere” is in essence a film about ownership and the right to ownership, a situation that can happen to both an individual and a nation. “As an artist, I use the film to question ownership of imagination and the borders between truth and reality. And even while I was writing the screenplay, disputes flared up all over the world, like with Japan’s ownership of an island,” Prabda explains.

One of the most important props is the print of Henri Rousseau’s painting “The Snake Charmer”.

“Rousseau had very an interesting background. He wasn’t trained professionally as an artist and I think it’s interesting how he never went anywhere, but was able to paint things he had never seen in his real life. It fits with the concept of the film. I also like his works and finally I am able to use his work in my film,” Prabda says.

Just as in his previous picture, “Motel Mist”, Prabda decided to work with new faces rather than big stars, choosing for “Someone From Nowhere”, Chayanit “Pat” Chansangavej, a new generation actress from GDH’s television series “Project S”.

Chayanit, who is making her feature film debut in “Someone from Nowhere”, came to Tokyo to walk the red carpet, but left early as she was committed to filming a TV show in Korea.

“This film has many limitations in time and budget. I had very short time for the casting process. I had seen Chayanit’s work and asked her to come for the casting. I decided very fast that it had to be her,” Prabda says.

The mysterious man is portrayed by stage actor Peerapol “Apom” Kijreunpiromsuk.

“I had seen Apom’s performance and felt he would understand the concept of this film, and I asked Apom and Chayanit to act together. They had the kind of on-screen chemistry I was looking for so I decided to choose them.”

Apom adds that working with Prabda was a dream. “Some directors are not always clear about what they want to do, but with Prabda, we talked about what he wanted in the film before we started work. Prabda guided me well during the filming and working with him was easy.”

The world premiere of “Someone from Nowhere” at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills was packed. Ishizaka Kenji, the programming director of Asian Future section at Tokyo International Film Festival. said he was excited to have one of Prabda’s works in his selection.

“His books have been translated into Japanese and we all are very interested to see what he comes up with for the big screen. Maybe he can create a trend like Apichatpong Weerasethakul. I think it will be interesting to see what he makes in the future.”

“We are so proud to have Prabda film in the selection as the movie is very charismatic. It is very unique, very artistic and I enjoyed it a lot,” added Yoshi Yatabe, the programming director of Main competition section of Tokyo International Film Festival.

“He is already a well-known Thai writer and through his film, the Japanese audience will discover more about him.”

The 30th Tokyo International Film Festival ends on Friday with the announcement of the winners in all programmes. The film that takes home the Best Asian Future Film Award will also receive US$10,000 (Bt340,000).

“Jigsaw,” the eighth chapter in Lionsgate’s “Saw” horror franchise, took in an estimated $16.3 million over the three-day weekend, according to industry website Exhibitor Relations. It beat out the same studio’s “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween,” with $10 million.

But after that, no film in the top 10 made as much as $6 million, with audiences distracted by baseball’s World Series and the hugely popular Netflix series “Stranger Things.” Even “Jigsaw” fell some $4 million below expectations in its opening weekend, Variety.com reported.

That movie, the first “Saw” sequel in seven years, has police investigating a string of horrific murders committed in the style of the supposedly long-dead killer Jigsaw. Made for just $10 million, the film is already in the black.

“Boo 2” strikes a somewhat lighter tone. The comedy horror sequel has Tyler Perry (who also wrote, directed and produced it) and his gang heading to a haunted campground, where — no surprise — monsters lurk.

“Geostorm,” a new release from Warner Bros., took third place, earning $5.7 million. The sci-fi disaster thriller follows Gerard Butler as a satellite designer tasked with saving the world from an apocalyptic storm caused by climate-controlling satellites run amok.

“Happy Death Day,” another comedy horror flick, took in $5.1 million. The Universal film stars Jessica Rothe as a college student who repeatedly relives the day she was murdered until she discovers who killed her.

In fifth place was sci-fi reboot “Blade Runner: 2049,” taking $4 million.

The film features Ryan Gosling as a Los Angeles Police Department “blade runner” charged with killing bioengineered androids who are becoming too much like humans. He goes on a search for Harrison Ford’s character — the original blade runner — who had disappeared years earlier.

With ticket sales in October some 5 percent below the same month last year, Hollywood is eagerly awaiting next week’s domestic premiere of Marvel and Disney’s “Thor: Ragnarok.” It took in an impressive $108 million in its international opening.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“Thank You for Your Service” ($3.7 million)

“Only the Brave” ($3.5 million)

“The Foreigner” ($3.2 million)

“Suburbicon” ($2.8 million)

“It” ($2.5 million)

Inarritu will receive the golden statuette for his six-minute immersive experience “Carne y Arena” (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible), describing it as “a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling.”

The award will be presented to the director and his cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki at the 9th Annual Governors Awards in Hollywood on November 11.

“Carne y Arena,” which is currently on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as well as the Fondazione Prada in Milan and Tlatelolco Cultural Center in Mexico City, takes viewers on the harrowing trek many migrants undertake through the Sonoran desert in the US.

As sirens wail, each participant — barefoot on the sandy ground and wearing VR goggles — experiences the journey alone, joined only by a small band of virtual people hoping to reach America.

Border guards armed to the teeth separate the men from the women and the children. Their abandoned shoes litter the ground, as one person screams out in pain and a tragedy looms.

The exhibit has proven a huge hit and tickets in Los Angeles have been sold out for months.

“Inarritu’s multimedia art and cinema experience is a deeply emotional and physically immersive venture into the world of migrants crossing the desert of the American southwest in early dawn light,” Academy president John Bailey said in a statement.

“More than even a creative breakthrough in the still emerging form of virtual reality, it viscerally connects us to the hot-button political and social realities of the US-Mexico border,” he added.

The Mexican filmmaker won back-to-back Oscars for “Birdman” in 2015 and “The Revenant” in 2016, becoming only the third director to accomplish such a feat.