December 18, 2015 must be the least desirable opening weekend in movie history – unless you are JJ Abrams of course.
The prospect of going toe-to-toe with the most eagerly anticipated movie event in history (the opening of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens in case you just emerged from a cave in the desert of Tatooine and missed it) can't fill many directors with hopes of box-office glory.
in fact, most big-name films and stars have avoided the weekend altogether – though Alvin and the Chipmunks are giving it a bash with their latest adventure, while Oscar-tipped Hungarian drama Son of Saul gets a limited release, too.
Also on the unlucky list of films being released on Star Wars day is Sisters, the new comedy from former Saturday Night Live stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
The pair are taking it in good humour though, and have produced a spoof "Making of Star Wars" clip to market their new movie.
Fey jokes that R2D2 is her "current bra size," while leading man Ike Barinholtz tells us: "Growing up I had a Sisters lunch box. I had all the Sisters toys."
To drive the point home that there are other films coming out that week, the stars have even launched the hopeful hashtag #YouCanSeeThemBoth.
cnewbould@thenational.ae