New movies this week: Sing, Assassin's Creed

RALEIGH, N.C. — A look at what's new in theaters this week.

Sing (Animation, Comedy, PG, Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly) - Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon, a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist-okay, maybe a bit of a scoundrel-who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life's ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world's greatest singing competition.

Assassin's Creed (Action/Adventure, PG-13, Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Khalid Abdalla) - Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch experiences the adventures of his ancestor in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.

Passengers (Action/Adventure, SciFi/Fantasy, PG-13, Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia) - On a routine journey through space to a new home, two passengers, sleeping in suspended animation, are awakened 90 years too early when their ship malfunctions. As Jim and Aurora face living the rest of their lives on board, with every luxury they could ever ask for, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction... until they discover the ship is in grave danger. With the lives of 5000 sleeping passengers at stake, only Jim and Aurora can save them all.

Why Him? (Comedy, R, Starring Bryan Cranston, James Franco) - Over the holidays, Ned, an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird . The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly inappropriate match for his daughter. The one-sided rivalry-and Ned's panic level-escalate when he finds himself increasingly out of step in the glamorous high-tech hub, and learns that Laird is about to pop the question.