“Star Wars Rise of Skywalker” picked up a cool $50 mil on Friday night. Add that to Thursday previews of $40 million, and the opening night will be recorded as $90 million.

The total for the weekend could be $190 million or higher, depending on word of mouth and the weather. Each looks pretty good, so $200 million seems possible.

LucasFilm and Disney can breathe sighs of relief. Reviews, bloggers in basements, and so on were stacked against them. Everyone wanted to kill this movie. For some reason, they expected JJ Abrams to give them some transcendent moment in which Carrie Fisher returns from the dead, Harrison Ford is de aged, and Tatouine opens a gay bar.

But “Rise” does what it’s supposed to: it wraps up 42 years, 11 movies, countless spin offs in different media. Palpatine comes back, who cares where he’s been? Chewie escapes death. Aren’t we glad? No, the bloggers wanted him to die, and have the cast seek revenge on his behalf? They also wanted Rey and Ren to marry and open that gay bar as Rey and Ren’s Truck Stop or something. No no no. Abrams did the right thing, and audiences are responding in kind.

“Cats” is really on life support, I am sad to say.

Tom Hooper’s eccentric musical film of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous show made around $2.1 million on Friday night. Add the $550,000 from Thursday previews, and they’re in dire straits.

It’s possible that “Cats” will make $7.5 million for the weekend. But even that seems like a high number now.

Not just bad reviews, but snarky, nasty ones are killing the project. No one can stop themselves from making puns. Cliches are flying faster than fur.

And yet, “Cats” is plenty entertaining, and worth a look. Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, and Ian McKellen are standouts. So are the ballet performers.

CGI fur? Cats with breasts? You’ll survive.

Audiences were somehow communicated the idea that “Richard Jewell” wasn’t for them.

But with “Star Wars” pulling in kids, and “Cats” growling in a different direction, Clint Eastwood’s jewel of a film is attracting fans.

Last night, “Richard Jewell” made $755,000. It was up 84%  from Thursday. What’s happening is that adults need a movie. They’re trying Eastwood’s film, liking it, and telling their friends. The $10 million mark is in sight.

Sadly, the movie has all but been abandoned. There was a tempest in a teapot about Olivia Wilde’s reporter character being portrayed inaccurately, but that seems to have died down now.

It’s possible, too, that Academy members are watching “Richard Jewell” either at home, in screenings, or in the movie theater. There are four Oscar nominate-able performances in Eastwood’s movie, from Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, and Wilde.

Also, just the idea of Eastwood making such a great film at age 89 is mind blowing. “Richard Jewell” is better directed than 99% of what we’ve seen this year.

So please– see it tonight. Or this week coming up. Just like “Bombshell,” “Just Mercy,” “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” these are artful movies for adults made with great craft that people will enjoy if they just take the chance.

The critics tried to kill it, but “Star Wars” lives.

“Rise of Skywalker” scored $40 million in previews Thursday night and is headed to a record weekend.

American audiences went crazy for the last chapter in George Lucas’s saga even if Chinese theaters were unimpressed. Over there, “Skywalker” failed to get much reaction with just $1.5 million on its opening day.

But word of mouth has been excellent here on social media, with fans posting favorable reactions. Many said they loved it and wanted to see it again. And so they shall.

This is the 5th best preview opening ever, but behind the last two “Star Wars” movies. But it’s the worst- reviewed, so that speak to the popularity of the franchise. Tonight, with excellent word of mouth, “Rise” should rise again!