The final number for the 2017 North American box office haul will decline by about 2.5% from last year’s record-setting $11.38 billion — even with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” adding more than $400 million.

As of Christmas Day, the domestic total for the year was $10.68 billion, or 2.7% behind the same time frame a year ago. The final six days of 2017 are likely to generate somewhere between last year’s six-day total of $408 million and 2015’s six-day haul of $431 million, according to box office tracker comScore.

So the final 2017 number will be between $11.09 billion and $11.11 billion — about $270 million behind last year’s final total.

“We will most likely wind up with a number around $11.1 billion,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, told Variety on Tuesday.

That would mean that the final domestic earnings will also finish slightly behind 2015’s $11.14 billion — the second-highest year on record. It will be only the third time that the industry has made it to $11 billion

Wednesday Update: A forceful Tuesday globally saw Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi rise to $844.2M worldwide. As domestic saw the Resistance pass Wonder Woman on Tuesday to make Jedi the No. 2 film of 2017 at $424M, results at the international box office jumped to $420.2M. The overseas Tuesday was worth $24.2M to rep 32% of the weekend’s bounty. That’s a higher percentage than The Force Awakens two years ago whose second Tuesday counted as 28% of the sophomore…

Mark Hamill is remembering his late Star Wars co-star Carrie Fisher on the one-year anniversary of her death. Quoting a piece of dialogue from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Fisher’s final film in the franchise, Hamill wrote on Instagram “No one’s ever really gone” followed by the hashtags #AlwaysWithUs and #CarrieOnForever. The post was accompanied by photos of Hamill and Fisher as well as a sketch of Fisher famously flipping the bird as she holds her beloved dog Gary. In The…

For the second year in a row, Disney has nabbed the domestic box office crown, with $2.27 billion already banked in 2017 thanks to its one-two punch of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

As of Dec. 25, Disney had a 21.3% market share compared with Warner Bros. at 18.9% and $2.02 billion, according to box office tracker comScore. That gap will widen during the final days of 2017, with “The Last Jedi” dominating moviegoing.

The two studios also finished first and second in 2016, when Disney took in $2.85 billion and Warner Bros. followed with $1.88 billion. And in both years, Disney released far fewer titles than other Hollywood studios with 16 in 2016 and only 12 this year, led by its live-action “Beauty and the Beast” reboot, which remains the top domestic grosser of the year with $504 million.

Disney-Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” was the studio’s third-highest earner with $389.8 million, “Thor: Ragnarok” with $309.1 million, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” with $172.6 million

Jack Blessing, an actor best known for his roles on “Moonlighting,” “The Naked Truth” and “George Lopez,” died at his home in Chatsworth, California at age 66. Blessing’s death, which occurred on November 14, was confirmed in a Facebook post by his son, Ian Blessing, who told The Hollywood Reporter that his father had been battling pancreatic cancer. Ian Blessing did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2017 (Photos) Blessing may be best remembered as MacGillicuddy from the 1980s crime dramedy “Moonlighting.” The character worked at the Blue Moon Detective Agency run by

MTV Unplugged co-creator Jim Burns died Tuesday after being struck by a taxi in Manhattan. He was 65. Burns, who had vision problems, was struck Saturday while crossing Fifth Avenue with his seeing-eye dog when a taxi driver turned on to the roadway and accidentally hit him, police told The Associated Press. Burns was rushed to a hospital with a serious head injury and died Tuesday. The taxi driver remained at the scene. A police investigation is underway, but criminal…

Americans seem to prefer Obama over Trump. Sad! According to Gallup’s Most Admired Man and Woman poll published Wednesday, former president Barack Obama remains America’s most admired man, besting current Potus Donald Trump. This marks the first time a sitting president didn’t win the annual survey, with Obama beating Trump 17 percent to 14 percent. Also Read: Mike Huckabee Faces Darkest Hour After Comparing Trump to Churchill: 'What a Clown' “Trump’s unpopularity is holding him back from winning the most admired distinction,” Gallup’s Jeffrey Jones wrote. “The incumbent president is the usual winner, since he is arguably

Call it a royal international kerfuffle. In an open letter Wednesday, Israel’s ambassador to New Zealand has asked pop star Lorde to meet with him after she cancelled an upcoming show in Tel Aviv. The “Royals” singer, who is a New Zealand native, announced Sunday she was cancelling a scheduled concert in Israel after pro-Palestinian activists launched a sustained social media campaign citing Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. Also Read: Lorde Cancels Tel Aviv Concert, Caves to Critics of Israel In a Facebook message, Ambassador Itzhak Gerberg wrote, “It is regrettable that you have cancelled your concert in Tel

Jenna Fischer has issued an apology for a tweet about the Republican tax reform bill using outdated information. “I feel genuinely bad about getting my facts wrong and I’m sorry,” Fischer wrote in her statement on Wednesday. “I did not mean to spread misinformation. I was well-intentioned, but I was behind on my research.” “So, I’ve deleted the tweet,” the actress continued. “Because, I believe accuracy is important.” Also Read: Jenna Fischer Admits: 'My First Acting Job Was in a Sexual Education Video' Fischer commented on the bill on Saturday, mistakenly saying that it would revoke a tax deduction for teachers who purchase.

Billie Lourd paid tribute to her late mother, Carrie Fisher, with a trip to see the Northern Lights.

“My momby had an otherworldly obsession with the northern lights, but I never got to see them with her,” she posted on Instagram Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of Fisher’s death. “We journeyed to northern Norway to see if we might ‘see the heavens lift up her dark skirts and flash her dazzling privates across [our] unworthy irises.’ And she did.”

Along with a photo of her father, Bryan Lourd, and the bright green northern lights, Billie Lourd wrote, “I love you times infinity.”

Fisher died last December of cardiac arrest at 60 years old. Her last on-screen appearance was in the recently released “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which also featured Lourd in a small role.

Earlier in December, Lourd posted another social media tribute to her mother on the day of the film’s release, spelling out “I

The Television Academy announced the newly elected members to its Board of Governors on Wednesday. The new additions will serve two-year terms beginning on Jan. 1, 2018 and ending Dec. 31, 2019. The governors who were chosen to serve their first-ever two-year term include: Lesley Aletter, Brenda Brkusic, Jeff Calderon, Rich Carter, Terri Carter, John Debney, Keiren Fisher, Greg Kupiec, Eboni Nichols, Laurie Parres, Christopher Reeves, Glenn Rigberg, Jill Sanford, John Simmons, Halina Siwolop, Steven Spignese and Michael Spiller. Members who were elected to serve another two-year term after a one or multiple-year absence from the Television Academy’s board are Bob...

Since Lucasfilm started making “Star Wars” films again, the production company has been taking a page from other major franchises like Marvel and selecting indie directors to direct the series’ latest installments. But “Alien” and “Blade Runner” creator Ridley Scott doesn’t think that’s such a good idea. In a candid (and profane) interview with Vulture to promote his latest film “All The Money In The World,” Scott was asked if he would be willing to direct a “Star Wars” film. With a laugh, Scott said he’s too “dangerous” to do a “Star Wars” film and suggested that Lucasfilm only wants.

It’s that time of year when your favorite sites bombard you with an avalanche of pithy end-of-year videos designed to get you clicking. But Vanity Fair may have gotten itself into a pickle Wednesday thanks to its latest offering that had readers doing a double take. The magazine posted a minute-long video straight out of the 1950s, showing writers and editors sipping champagne while coming up with all sorts of things Hillary Clinton could be doing now that she’s no longer a presidential hopeful. Also Read: Hillary Clinton Makes Cameo on ‘The Daily Show”s ‘Song For Women 2017’ (Video) The video,

From fellow politicians to Oscar winners and musicians, President Donald Trump practices diversity as an equal-opportunity insulter. Rahm Emanuel On Jan. 2, Trump tweeted, “Chicago murder rate is record setting – 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can’t do it he must ask for Federal help!” The swipe at Emanuel allowed Trump to take a shot both at an elected Democrat and his predecessor’s former Chief of Staff. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer On May 9, Trump tweeted, “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer stated recently, “I do not have confidence in him (James Comey) any longer.” Then acts so indignant. #draintheswamp.” The Senate Minority.

Alfie Curtis, who played the wanted outlaw Dr. Evazan in “Star Wars,” died this week at age 87, according to multiple media reports. His cause of death is not yet known. “Star Wars” fans know Dr. Evazan as the man who attempted to intimidate Luke Skywalker when he visited the Mos Eisley cantina early in the famous 1977 film. “You just watch yourself. We’re wanted men,” he famously warned the future Jedi before he was chopped down by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber. “I have the death sentence on 12 systems.” Also Read: Carrie Fisher: Mark Hamill, More Pay Tribute to Their

U2 frontman Bono thinks that new music has gotten tame, but it is his choice of words that may give him some unwanted attention. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the singer told Jann S. Wenner that “music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment – and that’s not good.” “When I was 16, I had a lot of anger in me. You need to find a place for it and for guitars, whether it is with a drum machine – I...

While tech heavyweights like Facebook and Twitter grapple with the spread of fake news and how to handle inflammatory, often odious comments on its platforms, former U.S. President Barack Obama has a straightforward answer for social media companies handling these issues: education, rather than regulation, is the way to go. In a wide-ranging BBC interview in which he was interviewed by Prince Harry of Wales, touched on topics from “Suits” versus “The Good Wife” to free speech — the 44th commander-in-chief said he leans towards a laissez-faire approach on controlling internet comments. Harry: On social media, educate or regulate? Also Read: Here's.

Chance the Rapper added his voice to the criticism against Netflix’s latest original film, “Bright.”

The musician expressed his disappointment Tuesday night on Twitter with what he describes as the movie’s “shallow” attempt to portray race relations in America.

Directed by David Ayer, “Bright” is set in an alternate reality where humans and mythical creatures live side by side, with orcs as the minority. Will Smith’s character gets paired up with the Lapd’s first orc cop, played by Joel Edgerton.

“Wondering how you guys are feeling about the lynched ] in #BrightMovie,” Chance began a five-tweet thread. “I found the way they tried to illustrate [America’s] racism through the mythical creatures to be a little shallow.”

He continued,”I always feel a lil cheated when I see allegorical racism in movies ’cause that racism usually stems from human emotion or tolerance, but not by law or systems, the way it is in real life. The

FX has given an eight-episode series order to the Ryan Murphy drama “Pose,” the network announced on Wednesday. The series, which stars Evan Peters, Kate Mara, James Van Der Beek and a record number of transgender series regulars, looks at the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in 1980s New York: the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe, the downtown social and literary scene and the ball culture world. The series will debut in summer 2018. Peters and Mara will costar as a New Jersey couple who get sucked into the glamour and intrigue of New York City in the 1980s.

Solange called off her New Year’s Eve concert at Johannesburg’s Afropunk Festival on Wednesday after revealing to fans she is suffering from health complications due to a nervous system disorder. The musician took to Instagram to share the news with fans, while addressing her Autonomic Disorder diagnosis. Solange said her physicians have not cleared her to travel to the festival in South Africa. “I can’t thank Afro Punk enough for their support, and to all of the other festivals this past summer/fall who have known about my health, kept it confidential, and gone out of their