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Sideshow: 'Star Wars' destroys opening-weekend box-office record!!

'Star Wars' sells a few tix It seems a couple of people actually went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Helmed by J.J. Abrams, the seventh entry in the mega-franchise made $238 mil over its opening weekend, according to studio estimates. That smashes -

Daisey Ridley (left) and John Boyega in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which set an opening-weekend record.
Daisey Ridley (left) and John Boyega in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which set an opening-weekend record.Read moreDisney / Lucasfilm

'Star Wars' sells a few tix

It seems a couple of people actually went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Helmed by J.J. Abrams, the seventh entry in the mega-franchise made $238 mil over its opening weekend, according to studio estimates. That smashes - into stardust - the all-time record of $208.8 mil, set just a few months ago by Jurassic World. "The enormity of this record-breaking weekend cannot be overstated," Rentrak marketing analyst Paul Dergarabedian tells USA Today.

R. Kelly's marketing genius

R. Kelly is making sure everyone hears he has released a new album, The Buffet. Last week, he posted a Facebook vid asking fans to buy a copy. And on Monday, he made headlines by throwing a hissy fit during an on-camera HuffPost Live interview and storming off the set.

Why the fit? Reporter Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani noted the new album is at only No. 16 on Billboard's chart and has sold less than 2013's Black Panties. She suggested fans may have turned away from Kelly because of the sex scandals involving underage girls that have plagued him over the years. "I say [bleep] that," said Kelly. "I say, I have a lot of fans around the world that love R. Kelly." (Men who refer to themselves in the third person are so awfully sexy!) Then the man who calls himself R. Kelly stormed out.

The Carell holiday tradition

Steve Carell and his family have a touching tradition. "My wife, Nancy, and our kids get into the car around Christmastime and we get a big box of doughnuts and hot chocolate and we drive around looking at Christmas lights in our neighborhood," Carell told Ellen DeGeneres Monday on her show - after helping her decorate a gingerbread house.

tirdad@phillynews.com

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