A look at the plots of this weekend’s big new movie releases from a business perspective.

SUICIDE SQUAD: Harleen Quinzel M.D., a psychiatrist working at an asylum for the criminally insane, commits an act of professional misconduct by falling hopelessly in love with one of her patients. She immediately gives up the medical profession and joins her bad boy lover in a life of crime, changing her professional name to Harley Quinn. But Harley is soon captured by the authorities and sent to prison where she seems set to live out her days. Suddenly she gets a chance at redemption thanks to an unorthodox work release program under which the U.S. government commutes jail sentences of villains willing to risk their lives on high risk missions for a black-ops group known as the Suicide Squad. Margot Robbie stars.

NINE LIVES: A billionaire businessman who seems to care more about his corporation than his family pays the penalty when a mysterious pet store owner turns him into a cat called Mr Fuzzypants. The tycoon is told he has one week to change his ways or he will remain a feline forever. Kevin Spacey stars.

Managing editor Sandro Monetti can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @sandromonetti.