Grin and bear it: 'Revenant' beaten by 'Star Wars'

MAY THE fourth be with you.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" stayed on top of the North American box office for the fourth straight weekend, bear-ly beating out Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant," and becoming the third-largest grossing movie in the world ever.

According to studio estimates yesterday, the latest "Star Wars" film raked in $41.6 million in the U.S. and Canada and $104.3 million overseas, led by a record-breaking opening in China.

Disney distribution Executive Vice President Dave Hollis said the expected $53 million debut weekend in China was "spectacular" given the film is the first "Star Wars" episode many Chinese people have ever seen. "We're very encouraged," he said.

Yeah, like the first six films haven't been pirated in China. They're probably selling bootlegged DVDs on street corners.

In the U.S. and Canada, "Force Awakens" is the biggest movie ever and the first to pass $800 million-$812 million so far.

Its global total now stands at $1.73 billion (slightly more thanthe Powerball), according to Disney, passing "Jurassic World's" $1.67 billion.

The film now has in its sights No. 2 "Titanic," with its $2.2 billion box office haul in 1997-98, and No. 1 "Avatar," from 2009-2010 at $2.8 billion.

"The Revenant," a gritty R-rated movie directed by Alejandro Inarritu about an 1820s frontiersman who gets mauled by a bear, blasted through expectations of about $25 million in its first weekend of wide release with a $38 million haul, following limited showings in New York and Los Angeles in December.

Of the Top 10 films this weekend, only "The Forest" was in theaters for the first time over the weekend, coming in fourth at $13.1 million.

Christopher Lloyd

, who played Doc Brown in the "Back to the Future" trilogy, will reunite with castmates

Michael J. Fox

and

Lea Thompson

at this year's Wizard World Philadelphia.

Lloyd appeared at the Con in 2014, but has never appeared with his "Future" co-stars at any comic convention.

This year's dates are June 2-5 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

* Even princesses have to pay their taxes.

Spain's Princess Cristina and her husband, Olympic handball medalist turned businessman Inaki Urdangarin, are set to face anti-monarchy protesters and hordes of media today as they enter a makeshift courtroom and she makes history in front of millions of Spanish TV viewers as the first royal family member to face criminal charges since the monarchy was restored in 1975.

Following the trial, for tax fraud, the princess could face up to eight years in prison if a three-member panel of judges agrees the couple abused a real estate consulting firm described in court papers as a "front company" to bankroll a lavish lifestyle.

Have the Spanish considered a naked walk through Madrid as a bell-wielding nun yells "Shame!"

The fancypants spending included parties at their modernist Barcelona mansion, salsa dancing classes and vacations at expensive hotels.

Seriously, they couldn't pay for their own salsa dancing classes?

Cristina and Inaki will sit in the dock alongside 16 others in the case centering on allegations that Inqaki used his Duke of Palma title to embezzle about $6.5 million in public contracts through the Noos Institute. Noos was the nonprofit foundation he set up with a business partner to broker seminars and sports events as a tourism lure.

As usual, it seems, no Noos is good Noos.

* A producer for ABC's new sitcom "The Real O'Neals" wanted a gay actor for the role of a teenager who comes out to his shocked Catholic family but was prevented by a law designed to protect gays and lesbians from being asked about their sexual orientation.

The law of unintended consequences always rears its head in weird places.

The story is loosely based on the upbringing of Dan Savage, author of the "Savage Love" sex advice column. His very involvement infuriated conservative groups, who regard Savage as an anti-religious bigot. They launched an unsuccessful campaign last spring to convince ABC executives not to pick up the show.

* Playboy is looking to sell the iconic Playboy mansion.

The one catch? The purchaser has to let 89-year-old Hugh Hefner live there until he dies.

The good news, Mr. Real Estate Speculator is you can take full ownership of the mansion. The bad news is that there's a man wearing a bathrobe floating in the grotto.

Purchased by Hef more than 40 years ago for a little more than $1 million, the mansion could fetch 50 times that.

The asking price is around $200 million.

But like many Playboy Playmates, it's artificially inflated.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

Email: gensleh@phillynews.com

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