LOS ANGELES:

Fox’s “XMen: Apocalypse” has the upper hand in the Memorial Day weekend with early forecasts showing an $80 million-plus launch at 4,100 locations at the US box office.

Recent estimates indicate that Disney’s sequel “Alice Through the Looking Glass” will open in the $60 million range.

With the two openers generating as much as $150 million combined, the four-day period looks to be much more robust than last year when George Clooney’s “Tomorrowland” under-performed with $42.7 million but still was the top grosser. Last year’s holiday frame was only the 12thhighest on record with $194.9 million, off 38% from the top Memorial Day weekend in 2013, when “Fast & Furious 6” opened.

“X-Men: Apocalypse,” the fourth X-Men movie directed by Bryan Singer, has an impressive legacy to follow during the Memorial Day holiday period. His “X-Men: Days of Future Past” generated $110.6 million on its opening in 2014, or nearly half the $231.4 million total box office for the weekend; in 2006, Brett Ratner’s “X-Men: The Last Stand” opened with $122.9 million on its way to a $234.4 million total -- both bests for the durable franchise.

Prospects for “X-Men: Apocalypse” have been bolstered by last weekend’s solid international launch of $101.6 million in 76 markets on 20,796 screens. Oscar Isaac is the titular villain with Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender returning.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” should be a solid performer at 3,750 sites for Disney, even without a firstplace finish. The studio has dominated 2016 moviegoing with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “The Jungle Book” and “Zootopia” so far.

The original “Alice in Wonderland” opened in 2010 to $116.1 million and went

LOS ANGELES:

Producer Gordon Bijelonic is launching development on the police thriller “Crossed,” written by the late rapper and actor Dwight “Heavy D” Myers and