Walt Disney Pictures(NEW YORK) — Opening nationwide on Friday:

* Maleficent: Mistress of Evil — The sequel to the 2014’s Maleficent picks up several years after the first film chronicled the events that drove the notorious Disney villain to curse a baby Princess Aurora.  It follows the complex relationship between the two as they form new alliances and face new adversaries.  Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning return as Maleficent and Aurora, respectively.  Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville also return to their previous roles.  Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein and Michelle Pfeiffer join the cast as new characters.  Rated PG.

* Zombieland: Double Tap — The sequel to the surprise 2009 horror zombie apocalypse comedy finds original cast members Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone, who played four strangers that meet on the road during a post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak, contending with newer, more evolved zombies, as well as new human survivors, as they deal with their own shaky relationships.  Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia and Roasario Dawson, Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch join the cast for the sequel.  Rated R.

Opening in limited release on Friday:

* Jojo Rabbit  Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi [TIE-ka Wah-TEET-ee] wrote and directed this satire, set in World War II Germany.  It follows the titular character, a young German boy in Adolph Hitler’s army, played by newcomer Roman Griffin Davis, whose mother, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.  Aided only by his imaginary friend, in the form of an idiotic version of Hitler, played by Waititi, Jojo must confront his ideology.  Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen and Sam Rockwell also star.  Rated PG-13.

* The Lighthouse  Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star in this black & white horror film about two keepers of a remote lighthouse who begin to lose their sanity and become threatened by their worst nightmares.  Rated R.

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