Steven graduated Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications, focusing on film studies, journalism and theatre arts. Dubbed a "prolific" writer by Hollywood icon Kenneth Johnson (The Incredible Hulk, V, The Bionic Woman, Alien Nation), Steven has been honored by the Arkansas College Media Association for his story writing prowess. He has also received recognition for his dramatic writing from the Eerie, Shriekfest and Screamfest horror film festivals. Publications include: Carroll County News, Saline Courier, Forum, Echo and Moroch.

'The Last Jedi' joins the billion-dollar club

Posted Monday, January 1, 2018, at 8:04 PM

LITTLE ROCK — Beauty and the Beast's domestic record ($504 million) is no more. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" eclipses the $1 billion mark worldwide while also becoming the highest grossing movie for 2017 in the United States ($533 million).

Despite a fan score of 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Last Jedi is a financial juggernaut in just three weekends of screenings.

Love or hate Rian Johnson’s entry in the Star Wars’ sequel trilogy, fans are coming out in droves to watch The Last Jedi. The latest installment in the epic space opera has already eclipsed the billion-dollar mark worldwide in just three weeks, and the film is currently tied with Rogue One (2016) has the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise.

However, it took Rogue One 20 weeks to reach that final number, while The Last Jedi did it in just 20 days. The tie will be broken on Tuesday; The Last Jedi is the fourth Star Wars film to surpass $1 billion at the box office. In total, the motion pictures that all started with George Lucas’ seminal classic have grossed over $10 billion worldwide since 1977.

Here are the rankings: The Star Wars films’ money-making machine from first to worst.

TITLE	DOMESTIC	FOREIGN	TOTAL
The Force Awakens	$937 million	$1.132 billion	$2.068 billion
The Last Jedi	$533 million	$523 million	$1.056 billion*
Rogue One	$532 million	$524 million	$1.056 billion
Phantom Menace	$431 million	$553 million	$1.027 billion
Revenge of the Sith	$380 million	$469 million	$849 million
Star Wars	$461 million	$314 million	$775 million
Attack of the Clones	$311 million	$339 million	$649 million
Empire Strikes Back	$290 million	$248 million	$538 million
Return of the Jedi	$309 million	$166 million	$475 million
The Clone Wars	$35 million	$33 million	$68 million**

*as of 1/1/2018

** animated feature film