CinemaCon 2021 kicked off on Monday, August 23, bringing together the leaders of the film industry. Plenty of Hollywood news has been coming out of the convention in Las Vegas and we’re here to share all of it with you!
What is CinemaCon?
According to the convention’s website, CinemaCon is “the largest and most important gathering for the worldwide motion picture theater industry.” It is the Official Convention of the National Association of Theater Owners.
CinemaCon features the largest cinema trade show in the world and brings together guests from over 80 countries. The convention’s schedule includes announcements of upcoming films, premiere feature film screenings, and presentations from some of the film industry’s top professionals.
Industry heads push for more theatrical releases
After the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and months-long theater closures across the country, the movie theater industry is still trying to make up for lost time. National Association of Theaters Owners President and CEO John Fithian warned against same-day theatrical and streaming releases in order for movie theaters to survive the difficult year and a half that they have had.
“Exclusive release periods remain vital to the survival and success of the theatrical experience. Theatrical windows won’t be what they were before, but they can’t be what they were during the pandemic either,” said John Fithian. “What the future holds is up to our members and distributors to decide, but let us be clear about one thing: simultaneous release DOES. NOT. WORK. For anyone. A steady flow of strong movies released with exclusive windows is essential to the exhibition’s recovery, and to the profitability of the entire movie ecosystem.”
In a separate presentation, Sony President Josh Greenstein took a similar stance on the situation, emphasizing Sony’s dedication to theater-exclusive releases. According to Deadline, Josh Greenstein said, “Debuting movies simultaneously in theaters and in the home is devastating to our collective business… Our movies will be seen exclusively in our movie theaters. Movie theaters and the theatrical movie experience will triumph.”
Despite Warner Bros.’ recent film release model of same-day streaming on HBO Max, President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein echoed the importance of seeing new movies in theaters. In a virtual presentation on Tuesday August 24, Jeff Goldstein said, “Going to the theater is simply in our DNA and that will never change. That won’t be replicated in any way.” He went on to say that there are some films that simply do not have the same effect streaming at home as they do being watched on the big screen at the cinema.
CinemaCon 2021 attendees get exclusive looks at trailers and new footage
CinemaCon 2021 has brought a plethora of new movie announcements and previews from upcoming films. Perhaps the most anticipated trailer that debuted at the convention was Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Fans have been anxiously awaiting this trailer to see what we can expect from the upcoming MCU film. See how fans reacted to it here!
Sony gave the first look at its film adaptation of the video game Uncharted. The movie stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg and is directed by Ruben Fleischer. Sony shared a few clips from the film at CinemaCon, including 1 of Tom Holland as Nathan Drake falling out of a plane, as reported by Screen Rant. The film is scheduled for a February 2022 release.
A sizzle reel from the new Uncharted movie was revealed at CinemaCon. https://t.co/FVkBTovWjr pic.twitter.com/OSilHRIlxS
— IGN (@IGN) August 24, 2021
Sony also gave a screening of their upcoming film Ghostbusters: Afterlife starring Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd, which is set to release on November 11.
Warner Bros. released footage for 2 of its upcoming movies: The Batman starring Robert Pattinson and The Matrix Resurrections starring Keanu Reeves. The previews for both of these films were an exclusive look for CinemaCon attendees, so we’ll have to wait until the trailers are released to get a peek at what we can expect!
They showed the new trailer for #TheBatman at CinemaCon and it looks like The Dark Knight meets Joker. It looks like a very dark and angry film, which is totally my jam when it comes to superhero movies. I think fans are going to freak out when they see this trailer. pic.twitter.com/aJeGXNk0CT
— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) August 25, 2021
Neon gave CinemaCon attendees at the upcoming Princess Diana biopic Spencer before its festival run at Venice Film Festival and TIFF. The film stars Kristen Stewart as the Princess of Wales, was directed by Pablo Larraín, and written by Steven Knight.
CinemaCon attendees also got a sneak peek at the long-awaited James Bond film No Time to Die. According to USA Today, 9 minutes of action footage was screened at the convention, leaving the audience “shaken” and “stirred.” The movie, starring Daniel Craig, was originally supposed to be released in theaters in April 2020, but was pushed back twice due to the pandemic. It will finally hit the box office on October 8.
Which of these new films are you most excited to see in theaters when they are released? Let us know over on our Instagram!
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