New Movies April 1: Church, State and a Purge Parody

Unless something very strange happens this weekend, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will repeat as the week's top movie. Last weekend's hit was still selling tickets at the beginning of this week, and neither of this weekend's two new releases looks like the kind of film that can topple a superhero blockbuster.

The first of the week's new releases is a sequel to 2014's God's Not Dead, in which persecuted Christian students at a fictional university are required by their philosophy professor to denounce Christ. In the sequel, a persecuted Christian public high school teacher goes to court to defend her right to teach about Jesus in her history class. God's Not Dead resonated with Christian audiences and grossed $60 million by the end of its run. The sequel could match or surpass its predecessor's $9-million opening weekend, and given that the spirit that gave rise to the first film is still alive and well (see last Christmas' Starbucks cup kerfuffle), it could still earn enough to secure second place for the weekend.

Also on deck this weekend is Meet the Blacks, a comedy starring Mike Epps, George Lopez and Mike Tyson. This one is a parody of The Purge about an African-American family dealing with scary hijinks in their new Beverly Hills home. Social media buzz about Meet the Blacks has been muted at best, so don't expect it to be a break-out hit.