Survey: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' will be franchise's best movie yet, most fans say

THE MOVIE "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

THE DEAL Nearly two-thirds of "Star Wars" fans think the upcoming seventh film in the series will be the best yet, according to a survey cited in Variety. The findings won't come as any surprise -- 36 percent of respondents are looking forward to "more advanced" special effects, while 25 percent are expecting a "more interesting story" -- but they bolster the film's status as a likely juggernaut at the box office in December. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the analytics provider FusionOps.

THE MOVIE "Trainspotting"

THE DEAL Danny Boyle has announced a sequel to his 1996 comedy-drama, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, about heroin addicts running amok through Edinburgh, Scotland, became a cultural touchstone of its decade and made a star of Ewan McGregor, who is said to be returning with castmates Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle and Ewan Bremner. The sequel could arrive as early as next year, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the original.

THE MOVIE "Friends and Romans"

THE DEAL This comedy about typecast Italian-American actors who decide to put on a Shakespeare play was written by Gregg Greenberg and director Christopher Kublan, two former Jericho High School students. (Michael Rispoli, the film's star, also co-wrote.) Their low-budget labor of love will open theatrically in New York City -- well, only on Staten Island, but that counts -- on Nov. 6. The cast includes Annabella Sciorra, Anthony DeSando and Tony Sirico.