New Movies March 31: 'Ghost in the Shell' and 'Boss Baby'

The country's box offices are crowded with high-profile, big-budget movies right now, making it an inhospitable time to be a newcomer. Two new movies will try their luck this week anyway, and one of them might have a chance at knocking Beauty And The Beast off the top of the mountain.

The biggest of this week's new wide releases is Ghost in the Shell, a film adaptation of a very popular manga/anime/video game franchise. With its multi-media appeal and with Scarlett Johansson in the lead role, this one might have a shot at the top spot. On the other hand, anime and video-game subjects rarely achieve mainstream success at the box office. Expect Ghost to take in between $30 and $40 million for the weekend, possibly enough to outpace Beauty in its third week.

This week's other new wide release will have a harder time of it. It's The Boss Baby, an animated flick featuring Alec Baldwin's voice. He'll be speaking for the central character, a very outspoken infant who torments his big brother. This family-oriented film will face competition from hold-overs Beauty and Power Rangers. Expect it to take in $20 to $30 million.

Beauty is also likely to hit somewhere in that range, and Power Rangers could very well earn somewhere in the 20s as well. That means the weekend could shape up to be a relatively tight race for the top four spots.

Scarlett Johansson's recent turns as a super-powered heroine include 2014's Lucy and 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Alec Baldwin is fresh off his success as a Donald Trump impersonator on Saturday Night Live.