There are plenty of traditions that personify Christmas Day.

Stockings hung over the fireplace. Presents unwrapped under the tree. Bing Crosby crooning on the stereo.

Chestnuts roasting. Marshmallows toasting. Figgy pudding being eaten or soaked in or whatever.

But the Dec. 25 tradition of many families includes heading out to the multiplex/art house and seeing a movie. That’s why the holiday is considered one of the biggest box-office dates of the year.

So here is a rundown of the national releases opening in Lawrence between now and Christmas Day. Lights, camera, ho-ho-ho …

WEDNESDAY

Fun With Dick and Jane

Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni star in this remake of the 1977 George Segal/Jane Fonda comedy. Carrey plays a newly promoted Enron-type executive who gets left with the fallout when the company implodes. Unprepared to give up his suburban American dream, he and the wife hatch a scheme to steal from the big business conglomerate that burned them. Funny how cinematic plots change to fit their particular era. The original was a commentary on middle-class disintegration rather than a rallying cry against mega-corporations.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2

It wouldn’t be the holidays without a completely unnecessary sequel. The entire “Cheaper by the Dozen” cast reunites (hooray, Liliana Mumy and Shane Kinsman are together again!) for another family-friendly adventure. This time Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt take their 12 offspring for a summer vacation in Wisconsin, where they enter a cutthroat competition with the overachieving members of another large clan, led by Eugene Levy.

DECEMBER 23

Munich

In 1993, Steven Spielberg released a blockbuster popcorn movie (“Jurassic Park”) and an Oscar-primed prestige picture (“Schindler’s List”) within months of each other. Twelve years later he prepares to do the same thing, with “Munich” opening six months after “War of the Worlds.” Eric Bana (“Troy”) portrays a Mossad officer who tracks down members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September after they murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Spielberg has deliberately kept the project veiled in secrecy, not only as a way to avoid criticism from the Muslim community but also supporters of Israel who are apprehensive about how the Golda Meir government’s policy of retaliatory assassination is going to be depicted.

Memoirs of a Geisha

The Ringer

Those who thought the concept behind “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” seemed a little lowbrow might want to stay clear of “The Ringer.” Johnny Knoxville plays a former track star who decides to rig the Special Olympics in order to pay off his mounting debts. He will pose as a contestant, hoping to best the six-time defending champion (Leonard Flowers), who he’ll bet against. It’s been dubbed “The thrill of victory and the agony of deceit.” Curiously enough, the film has actually been endorsed by the Special Olympics. Talk about being good sports!

Memoirs of a Geisha

Nathan Lane, left, Matthew Broderick and Uma Thurman star in the Mel Brooks musical The

A lot of behind-the-scenes drama occurred while bringing Arthur Golden’s popular novel to the screen. (At one point Spielberg was set to direct before Columbia Pictures settled on “Chicago” filmmaker Rob Marshall). And now there is swelling controversy within the Asian community about the choice to cast the Chinese Ziyi Zhang and Malaysian Michelle Yeoh as Japanese geishas. The story follows a humble servant (Zhang), as she endures jealousy and cruelty on her way to becoming a renowned geisha during pre- and post-World War II.

Transamerica

This indie award-winner sprung from an idea writer/director Duncan Tucker had after he learned his roommate, actress Katherine Connella, had actually been raised a male. In “Transamerica,” Felicity Huffman portrays a pre-op transsexual man who days before his operation discovers he has a son (Kevin Zegers), which sends the pair on a road trip together. The role has already earned “Desperate Housewives” star Huffman a Golden Globe nomination. An Oscar nod would not be out of the question. The academy has a history of honoring a woman playing a man … or in this case, a woman playing a none-of-the-above.

DECEMBER 25

Rumor Has It …

It’s always intriguing when one movie finds a fresh way to examine how a previous movie came together. Look at “Shadow of the Vampire” or even “The Aviator” for some recent examples. The new romantic comedy “Rumor Has It …” finds Jennifer Aniston starring as a newly engaged woman who discovers her Pasadena family may have been the inspiration for “The Graduate” – and she could be the offspring of that “Mrs. Robinson”-style union. Director Rob Reiner hasn’t made a decent flick in a decade (does even he remember “Alex & Emma” or “The Story of Us”?), so this is a real shot for the formerly impressive filmmaker to regain some box-office clout.

The Producers

It’s a movie based on a play based on a movie about a play. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their roles in the Tony Award-winning musical about a producer and his nervous accountant who decide to concoct a show so awful that it will close opening night and they can pocket the surplus money it cost to put on. (Other than Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman, all the actors hail from the Broadway production.) What shocked audiences in 1968 when the Gene Wilder/Zero Mostel comedy debuted might not have the same impact these days. “Springtime for Hitler” seems almost tame compared to the rap lyrics blaring from your average teen’s car stereo.