Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens continued its dramatic imperial march into 2016, raking in an additional US$88.3 million (Dh324m) in US box offices over the New Year weekend, topping the box office for a third week. The movie – which was partly filmed in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with local producers twofour54 – has surpassed the domestic grosses of Jurassic World ($652.3m) and Titanic ($658.7m) to become the second-highest earner of all time with $740.3m. The top domestic-grossing film is Avatar with $760.5m. However, it took Avatar 72 days to reach $700m – Star Wars did it in 16 days and is now certain to surpass James Cameron's film. – The National staff
Amitabh Bachchan tweets about quake in Kolkata
Actor Amitabh Bachchan took to Twitter after feeling the tremors from an earthquake that shook India on Monday morning. A quake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale rocked India's north-east states and adjoining countries including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan. "EARTHQUAKE! Felt it around 4.30am here in Kolkata, bed shook ... I wondered ... confirmed this morning ... May all be safe! PRAYERS," Bachchan tweeted on Monday. The Bollywood superstar's latest film, the drama Wazir, will be released in the UAE on Thursday. At least six people were killed and more than 50 injured by the earthquake, and the death toll was expected to rise. – IANS
The year’s most pirated movies revealed
Christopher Nolan's Interstellar was the most-pirated movie of last year, with 46,762,310 illegal downloads. The figures, compiled by internet piracy monitor Excipio, make for worrying reading for copyright holders. Despite global efforts to crack down on piracy, including the regional Do The Right Thing project spearheaded by pay-TV provider OSN, the figures represent almost a 50 per cent increase compared to last year's most pirated movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, which had 30 million illegal downloads. This year's top-five list also included Furious 7 (which was partly filmed in the UAE), Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World and Mad Max: Fury Road. – The National Staff
Spotlight wins US film critics award
Tom McCarthy's Spotlight, which had its regional premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival last month, has won the US National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film. The movie, which tells the true story of the investigation by a group of journalists at the Boston Globe into child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Massachusetts, stars Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton, and was one of The National's "must-see films" among the 134 screened during Diff. Other Critics Award winners included Diff attendee Michael B Jordan as Best Actor for Creed, and a Best Actress Award for veteran star Charlotte Rampling, for her role in 45 Years. – AP
Jay Z wants to make solo star of Harry Styles
Jay Z intends to make One Direction member Harry Styles "the biggest artiste in the world". The rapper has mentored the likes of Rihanna, Shakira and Kanye West, and has now vowed to give Styles the help he needs to forge a solo career. "He does need to make the transition from being part of a group to becoming an individual artiste," Jay Z told The Daily Star Sunday. "I can get him working with the bigger artistes, the biggest producers – and have him as the biggest artiste in the world within a year." Styles, 21, has been working on solo material and has registered new songs with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. – IANS
Don’t bother about the Oscars, says Bhansali
Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose film Devdas was India's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2003, believes the Indian film industry shouldn't fret too much about the coveted American movie award. "Why should we be so worried about the Oscars and why do we want an acknowledgement from foreign [film industries]? Why is that? Do they ever say that they need a National Award?" he said. Bhansali – whose latest film, Bajirao Mastani, is out now – also said he has "no idea" what his next project will be. "I have no idea and that's the fun of it," he said. "I want to go into the New Year discovering new ideas. At the moment I am enjoying the success of Bajirao Mastani." – IANS