A preview of this weekend’s new movie releases with a focus on the business aspects of the plots.

BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT – In order for them to stay afloat during tough economic times, a barbershop and the beauty shop next door merge into one business. The new co-ed approach prompts a war of the sexes between the staff. But it’s the violent gang wars in the street outside that prove a bigger threat to attracting customers. So the staff bury the hatchet and work to take back their neighborhood from the gangs.

THE JUNGLE BOOK – To gain a competitive advantage over his rivals, King Louie, a rich and powerful ape who rules the Indian jungle, attempts to recruit a human boy named Mowgli to work for him. But Louie’s aspirations turn out to be more sinister: He wants Mowgli to show him how to make fire in order to burn anyone who stands in his way.

CRIMINAL – A neurosurgeon’s experimental work transferring memories from one brain to another captures the attention of the CIA. The spy agency hires him to implant the memories of one of their dead agents into the mind of a prisoner on death row in the hope the criminal can complete the dead agent’s mission in return for his freedom. Unfortunately for the CIA, the criminal uses his new knowledge to break into the dead spy’s house and steal the silverware.