If you are already bored of the Dilwale versus Bajirao Mastani battle for the box office, don’t care which December 18 release mopped up more money, and are looking forward to a trip to the cinemas that involves a dose of Christmas cheer that only Hollywood can administer, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is just the movie for you.

Fans of the never-ending Star Wars franchise, all 87 of them, have already gone insane with anticipation, and will have to be wheeled into the cinemas in their straitjackets. For the rest of us, here is what the December 25 release has to offer. The seventh edition of the trillion-dollar franchise that began in 1977 has been directed by JJ Abrams, the director of the Lost television series and the smart reboot of Star Trek. In terms of plot, the seventh chapter is set a decade after the events of Revenge of the Sith (2005). The evocatively named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has vanished, an evil force is attempting to destroy the Republic, and a resistance headed by Luke’s sister, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) continues to fight the good fight.

Harrison Ford also returns as Hans Solo, as do the droids R2D2 and C-3PO, but there are several new actors in the cast, including John Boyega, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac and Lupita Nyong’o. Initial reviews have been ecstatic, and the gargantuan box office takings, which can put the budgets of some Indian government ministries budgets to shame, indicate that the Force is always with this franchise.