''Freddy vs. Jason'' will smack down all newcomers

Last weekend, the big movie battle was ”Freddy vs. Jason.” This week, it’s Freddy and Jason vs. Jackie, as Jackie Chan premieres his latest fightfest, ”The Medallion.” Expect the gruesome twosome to prevail. After a fantastic $36.4 million opening weekend, ”Freddy vs. Jason” will see a sizable dropoff this week. Still, a decline of 55 percent would result in another $16 million, which should be good enough for a second week at No. 1.

”The Medallion,” meanwhile, features Chan as a cop in Hong Kong who has magical powers. But without a big-name costar like ”Rush Hour’s” Chris Tucker or ”Shanghai Noon’s” Owen Wilson, ”The Medallion” has a bit of a power shortage. Hardcore action fans, however, should support it to the tune of about $10 million.

Two returning films, ”S.W.A.T.” and ”Open Range,” will compete for No. 3, as each should earn about $9 million, while the long-delayed Ashton Kutcher comedy ”My Boss’s Daughter” will likely open poorly with about $5 million. But the biggest flop of the weekend will likely be Lisa Kudrow’s culture-clash comedy ”Marci X,” which will suffer from a low-profile marketing campaign and less-than-exciting release date. With $3 million, ”Marci” will make Kudrow count down the days until that ”Friends” season premiere.